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.

Where is the feminist outrage?

I posted just the other day about how terrifying the TSA procedures are for sexual assault survivors. BB just sent me this link of another woman being left in tears because the scanner noticed an "anomaly": her menstrual pad. So, she was groped in her most private area after being scanned to make sure she wasn't a terrorist.

This seems to fit right in with Gary North's 1st rule of bureaucracy:

Some bureaucrat will enforce a written rule in such a way as to make the rule and the bureaucracy seem either ridiculous, tyrannical, or both.

Shouldn't the women of The View be sensitive to this type of invasion?

Life imitates art

The maker of Smile! You're on Candid Camera did his version of the porno-scanners about 10 years ago. It's interesting to read his take on Americans' perspectives on authority.

Also, this clip from Airplane! predicted the porno-scanners decades in advance (NB: nudity, of course). Link via LRC.

December 1st protest

From Shut Down The Airports:

December 1st, 2010

The day we stand up to the government and demand they keep their hands off our bodies is Wednesday, December 1st, 2010.

On this day we will:

1. Take a day off from work - unpaid, if necessary - YES, IT IS WORTH IT. Do not be fooled - your civil liberties are worth more than a day's wage. Your children will look up to you for the stand you make for your and their freedoms. IT IS WORTH IT!
2. Be non-violent - it worked once for MLK, it can again for us.
3. Take your family/friends/co-workers and go to the nearest airport. Find a nice parking spot and ignore it - park in the road. Even better, park where the cops patrol (departures) and walk right by them. Don't worry about your car getting towed - it would take days to tow all the cars that will be there. Don't park in neat lines - make it difficult for anyone to remove vehicles.
4. Walk to the screening area and join the hundreds/thousands of other concerned Americans - tell the TSA in no uncertain terms that we will not allow them to view us naked or sexually molest us any longer.
5. You may want to take drinking water or some snacks. You may want to take signs that you can hold up to voice your displeasure (nothing that can be misconstrued as a weapon, though.) If the News Media take video or phots, show them that you are an ordinary American fed up with the TSA and their antics.
6. Be nice, but don't move. And don't let anyone through the line or the machines. You can display civil disobedience by laying down on the floor and blocking the machines/walkways.
7. Take cameras and camera phones - if you have any interaction with the TSA or Real Law Enforcement, be sure to videotape everything.
   In public places there is no expectation of privacy and video-recording (with sound) is explicitly allowed by the Supreme Court.

What's the big deal?

I can't say how many times I've heard the media try to marginalize the outburst against scanners with some comment like "What's the big deal?," implying that only the rare prude would object to being seen naked or felt-up against their will. I don't think this tactic will work in the long run - I have friends and family from the left, right, center, the politically outspoken and the apolitical all indicate outrage over the scanners.

Vedran Vuk sent me an email noting that the most recent gallop poll only asked frequent flyers about the scanners, accounting for only 23% of Americans. So 71% of 23% think the scanners are A-OK. The media should be careful about relying on the opinions of 16% of the population in their smear campaign painting anti-scanner mentality as belonging only to fringe groups. Meanwhile, there's a Zogby poll that says that most Americans oppose the TSA security measures.

One group that the media is not mentioning are those who have been sexually assaulted in the past. This article tells the story of such a person who finds going through security to be very traumatic now. (Note: I'm not 100% sure the story is true, and it is impossible to verify, but the point remains that this type of thing is statistically likely to happen.) Thanks to Dennis Drew for the link.

Some TSA humor

A reader sends along this video and says "Satire is always an effective statement of rebellion to shake up the system."



And a friend sends along this link of Adam Savage's (of Mythbusters fame) experience with security theater (NB: bad language):

Only some of us had to submit, so it's okay.

My husband sent me this link the day before yesterday. Now that we know that yesterday's protest did not cause delays, it's interesting to look at it again. He commented:

[It] suggests that 80% of security lanes won't have scanners.  For most people the procedure at the security checkpoint will be business as usual: remove your shoes, belt, jewelery, empty your pockets, fluids in small bottles, zip-lock bags, no nail clippers, etc. Therefore the furor is overblown, and when the other 80% of security lanes get the scanner and when the full-body pat-down becomes the norm, well then once again the security checkpoint procedure will be business as usual.

Calm down people, the government is not forcing us all to submit, it's just forcing some of us to submit.  It's not really a violation of constitutional rights unless it affects a simple majority, right?

One of my personal goals with speaking out (using this website and in other ways) was to educate Americans about this injustice. The "overblown" opt-out was on the news at every turn for the last two days. That's a win!