We Won't Fly Day

We Won't Fly has set Dec 23rd as "We Won't Fly Day." As they say:

Now, every day is We Won’t Fly Day. The government is not listening. The airline and travel industries are our last shots. We must open their hearts and show them our consumer power so they’ll get on our side. Together we have an excellent chance to replace the scanners and gropers with real security. Without the airlines on our side, further begging of congress critters is an exercise in futility.

But December 23rd is special. December 23rd is a space for creative conscious-raising on an international stage. Our goal this time is educational meetups at 50 airports in the US, 5 in Canada and 1 in the UK. We’ll support anyone who wants to organize an outreach, no matter where you may be located. Even airports without scanners are critical. Airports of all sizes worldwide are tightly connected. Ultimately, many will face the possibility of being scanned or groped. We need to reach everyone.

I recommend not flying at all in the future and telling the airlines that you would use why. Education is very important here as more people need to be made aware of what the scanners and frisks entail.

Disclaimer: I will be flying on Dec 23rd. It will be my last trip by air until the TSA is disbanded and airlines take back their responsibility to provide their own security.

Explaining the TSA

Chris Waidele explains that the TSA policies are absurd, and, yet, the public continues to accept them as essential. An excerpt:

When forced to confront contradictions, we humans can come up with some of the most creative, roundabout stories to explain them away. So, as you see, all that is needed is a believable conclusion, and our minds do the rest.

This is why we obediently put up with actions that are patently ridiculous, like subjecting ourselves to fondling by the TSA. We accept the conclusion that it is for our own protection and work backward by filling in the justifications.

A more accurate narrative is that any terrorist with the most basic intelligence will know the security procedures and find a way to circumvent or avoid them. More importantly, total security is an illusion: it would require ever-increasing intrusions into our private affairs by people who could become, in real terms, much more of a threat than terrorists.

A Roman-style privileged class?

The cynic in me views Clinton's statement over the weekend that TSA policies will be reviewed as yet another step towards a privileged flying class. High-ranking officials of the state do not go through regular airport security. Pilots have been agitating - and it looks like they'll get - a special pass to avoid scanners and frisks. Next up are ambassadors, and then maybe certain federal employees, state legislators, ...

The TSA is already acting illegally

Denis Drew argues that what the TSA is doing can not be reconciled with existing law. An excerpt:

Both same-sex naked viewing and same-sex private part touching conflict with the justification previously cited by courts for okaying so-called administrative (warrant-less) searches: relatively limited invasion of privacy (sobriety checkpoints as far as it's been stretched). 17 out of 17 TSA employees out of the 20 who answered a query from a travel site survey proclaimed their disgust with being forced to perform overly personal pat-downs (at last count drawing 819 mostly disgruntled comments).

He also blogs regularly on the topic of the TSA.

No longer a frequent flyer

Kishin Thadani shares his letter to Continental airlines:

December 11, 2010

RE: Your loyal customer (OnePass member ########) & the T.S.A.

HEAD OF CUSTOMER CARE

Continental Airlines, Inc.

900 Grand Plaza Drive NHCCR

Houston, TX 77067-4323

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to confide in you about a decision that I have made.  You see, I have decided to stop flying.  My last flight was in August 2010 with Continental Airlines and I do not have any intentions of flying again in the foreseeable future.  In fact, I recently changed my travel plans and I have decided to drive over 1,200 miles to attend my best friend's wedding in Florida rather than to hop on a direct three hour flight.  As I am sure that you are aware, Newark Airport (EWR) is a Continental Airlines hub and you have daily non-stop service to several airports in south Florida.  You may then be curious as to what would compel someone like me to forego the time convenience and cost effectiveness of a Continental Airlines flight and instead make such a person opt for an 18 hour long drive.

Well, allow me to expound on the reasoning behind my decision as well as that of others who share my feelings.

The outstanding reason for my decision can be attributed to the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration, or simply the TSA.  Specifically, it is the TSA's policies, procedures, and practices that are dissuading me from ever wanting to fly again.  Ever since the TSA introduced what they call "Advanced Imaging Technology" x-ray machines (a.k.a. the naked body scanners) in the airports, there has been a rightful outrage over their use and abuse. 

Crossing paths with US Air

I just wanted to post this letter from United US Air (below). It is apparently a response to my third letter, not my most recent letter. However, Ms. Kerman did not address my concerns at all, and seems to be responding to what I wrote in my second letter. Very confusing, isn't it? The delay between letters this time is much longer, so I will wait longer this time to hear their response to my most recent letter.

Oh, and no word from Orbitz, yet.

Sign on the dotted line

This is a great quote from Donna D'Errico:

"I must have overlooked the clause in both my Playboy and 'Baywatch' contracts stating that once appearing in that magazine, or on that show, I would forever be subject to being seen naked live and in person by anyone, at anytime, under any conditions, whether I agree to it or not, and for free," she said sarcastically.

"I posed for Playboy 15 years ago. I was on 'Baywatch' 13 years ago. Both of those were controlled environments, with proper lighting, makeup, etc., and were jobs. I contractually agreed to do both of those jobs. I could have stopped or changed my mind at any time. None of those conditions are present when TSA decides for you that you will consent to being scanned or felt up, or you simply won't be allowed your constitutional right to travel from one place to another freely."

Followed by this zinger:

It's a misuse of power and authority, and as much a personal violation as a Peeping Tom. The difference is that Peeping Toms can have charges pressed against them.

Ouch!

H/T Becky Akers

You can't call this woman insensitive

I have been accused on this blog of being insensitive to victims of 9/11. Of course, it is expected that the mere mention of the phrase "9/11" is a debate-stopper. Well, this woman lost her husband in a plane hijacking, and she still opposes these tactics.

Is TSA an arm of the DEA?

First, Willie Nelson is arrested after being stopped by a Border Patrol agent for drug possession. Then rapper Kurtis Blow gets a ticket for possession at LAX. There's no argument that can be made here that these events made transportation in the US more secure. However, they both entail warrantless searches.

Southwest's response changes a little

Southwest responded to JC Warren's message. Note that it's a little different from earlier responses.

Dear Jc,
Thank you for contacting us in regard to the recent changes to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening procedures.  Without a doubt, we fully acknowledge how vital your feedback is to our operation, and can assure you that your dissatisfaction has been taken to heart.
Although we do not have any direct influence over these Federal directives, we have made very careful notations of your feedback which will be summarized and indexed for additional review by our Senior Leaders.

If you would like to share your concerns directly with the TSA, please utilize the hyperlink below:
https://contact.tsa.dhs.gov/DynaForm.aspx?FormID=10

We wish you all the best over the coming months, and sincerely hope to have an opportunity to welcome you on board in the near future.

Sincerely, Charity, Southwest Airlines

The file reference number for your e-mail is 1126815811.

More TSA humor

A friend sent me this video. Enjoy!

Lawsuits

One in Denver Federal Court, filed by Gary Fielder, and another in Massachusetts, filed by two Harvard Law students. The second article says that there are also lawsuits in Florida and Arkansas from passengers, and two lawsuits from pilots. And, of course, EPIC's motions are still underway.

I think it is unlikely that any of these lawsuits will find against TSA/DHS, and there are some high-profile law professors who agree, but I'll root for them anyway!

Which side will Orbitz and US Air choose?

Will these companies stay on the side of those who are wrong - violating privacy and basic human rights - or the side of the angels, so to speak?

Orbitz Scanner Letter 3

Read the letter to US Air, as well:

Our Helpful MSM

From the TSA twitter account, I found this propaganda from CBS showing how benign TSA scanners are to our health. As I've said before, this is a secondary issue, but CBS's reporting here is abhorrent. I also found similar news stories titled "Body Scanners Don't Pose Health Risk." The doctor in the video should have his medical license revoked (if he is a medical doctor). There's just no medical data on this, and, I believe that most doctors feel that unnecessary radiation exposure is never warranted.

(I must say that I like the title of this report from an Australian news source: Full-body airport scanners 'as likely to kill you as terrorist bombs')

TSA's response to Opt-Out Day

It's been hard to find confirmation of the reports that the scanners were turned off. However, typical Thanksgiving eve wait times at airports are long, and the news was reporting very short waits at all airports. I expected the TSA to schedule an abundance of screeners on Wednesday to get ready for the opt-outs. It seems that they did do that and also limited the number of scanners in use.

Aside from the anecdotal tweets, this article states that there were a lot of screeners and not many scanners at Newark. However, this article from Wired cites many airports with the scanners in use, but commenters note that there were two obvious lines so that passengers could choose whether to go through the scanner or metal detector. I wouldn't be surprised if the TSA reacted in this way to the protest to be able to claim that there is widespread public support for their security methods, but it's impossible to tell if this is what actually happened.

By the way, I'd love if some disgruntled TSOs would start becoming whistle-blowers. I, for one, promise to protect anyone's identity who requests it. But, if you don't trust me, there's always Julian Assange.

UPDATE: NY Times has a good critique of the data.