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Hating the TSA
Muth's Truths ^ | 10/8/2006 | Chuck Muth

Posted on 10/08/2006 10:00:47 PM PDT by Dick Bachert

I don't use the "H" word lightly, but when it comes to the TSA - Transportation Security Administration or Thousands Standing Around, depending on your perspective - I make an exception. Oh, how I hate thee, let me count the ways.

While acknowledging that my horror experiences with airport security are far from unique, or even unusual these days, at least, dear reader, you can be sure these stories are real and not some made-up Internet hoax. My most recent run-in with the TSA involves the recently-discovered deadly threat of carrying toothpaste on a plane at 30,000 feet.

When the TSA banned Colgate and Crest a couple months ago, most of us thought: 1.) That's just plain stupid. 2.) That's par for the course over at the TSA. The good news, however, is that some air travelers aren't taking such stupidity sitting down on their flotation devices any longer. They're speaking up and speaking out. They're letting the TSA have it. And they're finding kindred spirits all across the nation, thanks to the Internet (God bless Al Gore for inventing it!).

So under public pressure, the TSA, in its infinite bureaucratic wisdom, recently relaxed its prohibitions against deadly Sensodyne, Speed Stick and Listerine. You may now bring these potentially lethal items onboard with you - but only if they're in small quantities and only if packed in a sealable, clear plastic bag. (Apparently the notion of three terrorists all buying a ticket on the same flight and then mixing their toothpastes together to obtain the quantity necessary to bring down a jumbo jet never occurred to the world's leading airport security organization.)

So on my recent trip to our nation's capital, I packed miniature containers of toothpaste, deodorant and mouthwash in the sealable, clear plastic toiletry bag which came with my suitcase (proudly purchased from a non-union Wal-Mart) and took off for Reno International Airport. And that's where the fun began.

Airport security under the TSA generally encompasses three separate operations: There's the well-known long, snaking lines for the document verification phase ("Papers, please."). There's the take-off-your-shoes-and-walk-through-the-beeper-machine phase. And then, if you're unlucky enough to set off Mr. Beeper, there's the spread-your-legs-and-extend-your-arms perp-search phase.

But in Reno they've now added a fourth layer for those brave passengers who dare to pack personal hygiene items. Before you even get in line to show your boarding pass and photo ID, you now must stop at a new table manned by three full-time, government-trained, taxpayer-funded Barney Fifes. There you must present your bag of lethal weapon toiletries for close inspection to assure that you are carrying only 3 ounces of toothpaste and not 4 - and that said toothpaste is contained in a government-approved sealable clear plastic bag.

Alas, while my toiletries passed the size and quantity test, my sealable clear plastic toiletry bag - which was manufactured for the specific purpose of carrying.well, toiletries - did not.

According to the Einstein who inspected my bag, a sealable, clear plastic toiletry bag designed for the expressed purpose of carrying toiletries was not acceptable to the government. If I wanted to carry potentially lethal toothpaste on the plane, Goober explained, it had to be packed in a government-approved sealable clear plastic bag designed to carry.sandwiches. And if I wanted to get out of line and go back downstairs, Mr. Gump informed, I could purchase a proper sandwich bag for my miniature tube of toothpaste in the gift shop.

My head, which was not at the time considered by the TSA to be a potentially lethal weapon, was ready to explode.

Not wanting to miss my plane, I opted, without good cheer, to allow Deputy Dawg to confiscate my Crest. But here's the kicker. While this TSA security professional removed and confiscated my toothpaste, the bonehead missed two double-edge razors in the same bag, as well as a banned cigarette lighter. Boy, don't I feel secure now!

But you know what? This kind of bureaucratic stupidity isn't what I hate most about the TSA. And it's not their inefficiency. It's not their incompetence. It's not the unnecessary inconvenience. It's not even the expensive false sense of security TSA is giving the traveling public.

No, what I hate most about the TSA is how it's turned so many supposedly freedom-loving American citizens into sheep who mindlessly stand for such indignities and inanities all in the name of some illusory feeling of safety. The TSA has made random search-and-seizures without any cause, let alone probable, a perfectly acceptable practice.

And woe to the traveler who raises his voice in objection to being searched like a common criminal all because a machine beeped because you foolishly forgot to remove 73 cents worth of coins from your pocket. Your fellow passengers won't cheer your knowledge of constitutional rights or your vocal opposition to having them violated by gun-toting, badge-wearing government agents. No, no, no! You'll be mocked and ridiculed. You'll be eyed as a trouble-maker deserving of even more scrutiny, if not a cavity search. After all, if you have nothing to hide then what are you getting so worked up about, right?

I may hate the TSA, but I loathe the government school system which has systematically destroyed the pro-liberty/anti-government heritage our Founders passed on to us. "Give me liberty or give me death"? Give me a break. Patrick Henry would be stoned with miniature tubes of AquaFresh by fellow passengers were he to utter such nonsense in a TSA line.

When exactly did we lose the spirit of George Washington who once said, "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence - it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and fearful master"? Or Thomas Jefferson who said, "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive"?

As you wait in line to show your government-approved toiletry bag, filled with your government-approved portions of mouthwash and toothpaste, before presenting your identification papers to an armed government agent, you realize Jefferson's spirit of resistance is largely dead.

May God have mercy on the political souls of the idiot Republicans who brought this plague of airport security federal bureaucrats upon us. May they rest in TSA hell.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airportsecurity; privacy; rights; tsa; weareterrorized
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Years ago when the metal detectors went into the airports (didn't THEY work wonderfully well on 9-11???), I predicted that this was but the FIRST step toward desensitizing the Ameican people to the gradual erosion of their rights by government. I also predicted that it would, in time, lead to deeper and deeper erosion to the point where anyone who questioned what was going on would be considered -- if not an enemy of the state -- one who would bear "watching" by a power grasping bureaucracy.

Chuck Muth has described the experiences now commonplace in our daily lives.

I can safely -- and very sadly -- predict that the abuses will continue and grow, our "safety" will NOT be enhanced (I don't think it was ever really believed by those in power that it would be) and the America -- the IDEA, NOT the PLACE-- in which many of us grew up will wither and die.

And in the words of men far more learned and wiser than I, it will not have been murdered: It will have died by suicide.

"...the natural tendency of things is for government to gain ground and for liberty to yield...let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." Thomas Jefferson

"...the idea of liberty must grow weak in the hearts of men before it can be killed at the hands of tyrants." T.Jefferson

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." William Pitt The Younger in the House of Commons, 18 Nov. 1783

“Those who would trade their freedom for a little security deserve neither freedom nor security.” Ben Franklin

"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; if it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it."— Judge Learned Hand, 1944.

1 posted on 10/08/2006 10:00:47 PM PDT by Dick Bachert
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To: Dick Bachert

None of these people quoted here had any experience in dealing with Islam.

My sense is that most Libertarians appear to be clueless as well, government efficiency not withstanding.


2 posted on 10/08/2006 10:04:45 PM PDT by misterrob (Bill Clinton, The Wizard of "Is")
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To: Dick Bachert

We went through Dulles security and Lindbergh last week with two carry ons and two checked bags and things moved quick, it wasn't a big deal at all. They handled everyone professionally and swiftly. Just put the liquids in your check in bags. It was a five to ten minute process.
Everything we took with us we came home with. It just rides in a different part of the plane.


3 posted on 10/08/2006 10:14:53 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
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To: Dick Bachert; Doug Fiedor; Jeff Head; SLB; logos

bump!!


4 posted on 10/08/2006 10:18:44 PM PDT by the irate magistrate
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To: misterrob
None of these people quoted here had any experience in dealing with Islam.

And how does requiring people to use government-approved sandwich bags for their toothpaste in any way relate to dealing with Islam?

5 posted on 10/08/2006 10:33:13 PM PDT by supercat (Sony delenda est.)
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To: Dick Bachert

As a frequent flyer I've never had a problem. Though I do like those little TVs they have on JetBlue.


6 posted on 10/08/2006 10:35:33 PM PDT by durasell (!)
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To: Dick Bachert

I travel to Europe and Asia every 3 months and take dozens of domestic flights a year. I never had a problem with TSA and never personally saw anyone who had a problem with TSA. While it may be a false sense of security, there is a least some security with the TSA. I would never set foot on a commercial airliner today if there was no TSA to screen the passengers. Don't blame TSA for terrorists. That's like blaming the weatherman for the weather. If you have a better solution, then let's hear about it.

Funny how the most vocal complainers are those that fly maybe once every 5 years - or who never set foot on a plane at all, but they think they know what is best for the millions of us who fly every day.


7 posted on 10/08/2006 10:38:10 PM PDT by Kirkwood
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To: supercat
The point I was making is how libertarians (and Muth is one of them) are so very quick to break out the loss of liberty rap whenever government does anything to try and provide security for people. While government bureaucrats are not that effective in coming up with workable solutions to real world problems and it is always fair game to mock their lame efforts, people want to grouse about their freedoms being impinged upon and quote dead people from up to 200 plus years ago as a way to sound relevant.
8 posted on 10/08/2006 10:40:36 PM PDT by misterrob (Bill Clinton, The Wizard of "Is")
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To: Dick Bachert
Freedom is good, m'kay? But civil disobedience at airport security is the wrong move. Constructive suggestions properly channeled are an option we have.

I'm not trying to flame you or anything. I guess you wanted reactions. I agree, flying sucks big time.


9 posted on 10/08/2006 10:42:38 PM PDT by I see my hands (_8(|)
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To: durasell

I've found the smaller airports to be less a hassle - flying out of Westchester airport this weekend was a breeze, and the TSA at security were friendly and chatted with everyone - and compared to the bleak, robotic TSa at SFO, or JFK, a breath of fresh air.

I've compared notes with lots of friends and family, and the number of verboten items gotten through outnumber the items seized or found. Clearly, this method of banning items like liquids and lighters and tweezers is closing the barn door after the horses have escaped, and that the fight against terrorism lies elsewhere - if they are determined, they WILL blow up a plane, and there's not much we can do - if we the public are aware of the items being banned, then it's too late, and undoubtedly the terrorists have moved on to more exciting and un-thought of ways of doing it.

The more I think about it, the more I think the TSA and their edicts and bans are simply public red flags to distract from the other glaring issues, like the borders.


10 posted on 10/08/2006 10:43:43 PM PDT by ByDesign
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To: Dick Bachert
May God have mercy on the political souls of the idiot Republicans who brought this plague of airport security federal bureaucrats upon us.

Seemm to remember it was the Democrats who howled about creating DHS etc. So if he doesn't like TSA, what is his alternative suggestion ?
"PC" says we can't possibly profile the passengers themselves which is of course the obvious thing to do so what's the alternative ?

11 posted on 10/08/2006 10:44:57 PM PDT by 1066AD
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To: misterrob
None of these people quoted here had any experience in dealing with Islam

Never heard of the Barbary Pirates, eh?

L

12 posted on 10/08/2006 10:45:40 PM PDT by Lurker (islam is not a religion. It's the new face of Fascism in our time. We ignore it at our peril.)
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To: ByDesign

My sense of the thing is that they're doing the best they can with the resources available. I can't fault them for that.

Except for a few long lines, I've never had a problem. And the vast majority of TSA employees I've encountered seem dedicated and competent.

And yeah, I agree, smaller airports are better, but often require a longer cab ride to the destination.


13 posted on 10/08/2006 10:47:41 PM PDT by durasell (!)
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To: misterrob

Please. Within the context of this article do not try to plead your case that the restrictions on the freedoms of American citizens is necessary for the safety of all. The TSA is the most incompetent bureaucracy ever devised by man.


14 posted on 10/08/2006 11:24:05 PM PDT by saganite (Billions and billions and billions-------and that's just the NASA budget!)
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To: Dick Bachert

OK, so when exactly did the Utopia this guy alludes to exist?


15 posted on 10/08/2006 11:28:00 PM PDT by PC99
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To: ByDesign
Actually, as someone who travels all the time around the Midwest. The "smaller" airports have more of a hassle. Granted the lines are longer at the larger airports. However, flying regularly out of ORD and MDW, they move things pretty quickly. However, flying out of for instance CID or OMA, you need your boarding pass to the first agent. Then for some reason you need to show it again to a second person. Approximately every 5th person has to undergo a "laptop check" which involves taking samples and doing who know what with them..also more likely to have bags searched because of suspicious object, which turns out to be a radio or a battery.

The gels and liquid ban is absolutely ridiculous. However, I personally liked it because since passengers could not bring drinks on the plane, the usually did not bring their food to eat also..one of my pet peeves.

16 posted on 10/08/2006 11:43:09 PM PDT by Fast Ed97
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To: PC99
OK, so when exactly did the Utopia this guy alludes to exist?

Pre-1968 when you could take a gun onto a plane.

And prior to which there weren't any hijackings to speak of.

What a coincidence, eh?

More guns means less crime. On aircraft too.

17 posted on 10/08/2006 11:58:14 PM PDT by Knitebane (Happily Microsoft free since 1999.)
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To: saganite

Off topic, but the DMV far surpasses the TSA for incompetence


18 posted on 10/09/2006 12:23:25 AM PDT by Nailbiter
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To: Knitebane
Wrong on pre-'69 hijacks, but to heck with facts.
19 posted on 10/09/2006 12:30:23 AM PDT by endthematrix (“Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence.”)
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To: endthematrix
Since 1947, 60% of hijackings have been refugee escapes. In 1968-69 there was a massive rise in the number of hijackings.

Aw darn. There go those "fact" thingies screwing up your reasoned debate.

20 posted on 10/09/2006 12:42:28 AM PDT by Knitebane (Happily Microsoft free since 1999.)
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