Get scanned, then get the pat-down!

Alaskan State Representative, Sharon Cissna, had a mastectomy, so her body scan at Sea-Tac showed an "abnormality." This meant she would have to be manually checked - of course, this custodial search would focus at and around her breast. So she did what any sane person would do: she refused, left the airport, and took a ferry back to Alaska.

Hey, airlines, is this really how you want your passengers to be treated? Even if they opt to not fly as a result?

The Seattle cafe model?

I've seen this story passed around Facebook and a couple of readers have also sent me the link. I hesitated to post it because it was hard to verify. Then another reader let me know that the originator of the story had posted a follow-up.

The story goes that there is a cafe near the Sea-Tac airport that is pissed off by the TSA's actions and is fighting back: he's refusing to serve any TSA employees in his cafe. This is a great way to ostracize the self-righteous bullies who are "only doing their job" by harassing their fellow men, women, children, and grannies. I love the story, as many other anti-TSA folks do. But, the original blogger at elliott.org is having trouble confirming details, as are the local media. It may be a hoax, but it's still a great model!

H/T Christopher Barsi for the follow-up story

Privacy and the law

Law.com has a sound editorial on how we are supposed to assess privacy rights through the court system. The authors argue that we are a "Naked Society" in Vance Packard's vision. The very fact that everyone's rights are being equitably violated may make this regression more palatable, but it also makes it more dangerous.

Illegal harassment by the TSA

Mary Theroux's account of her abuse at the hands of the over-empowered TSA is shocking. The purpose was all too clear: humiliation and inconvenience for any dissenters.

Wonkette on the "privacy filter" scanners

It's good for a laugh after seeing article after article that just parrots the TSA's propaganda.