Traveler survey

This survey from last month is rather interesting. It was a very long survey, so I'm definitely cherry-picking here, but I have been a proponent of the idea that this will not change unless it hits the airlines where it hurts: their wallets. So, let's look at the questions that involved whether people are cutting down on air travel and why.

First: Yes, Americans are cutting down on air travel, whether for business or pleasure, but not yet in large numbers. This can be seen in that more people are cutting down on travel (28-31%) than are increasing air travel (17-26%), but most people are holding steady (42-54%). (These graphics are from the Powerpoint download provided by the US Travel Association.)

Word of the Year

“Gate Rape” is winning word of the year for 2010 over at Urban Dictionary with almost 70,000 votes. Yes — it is a reference to airport “security.”

EPIC vs DHS

There is news from the lawsuit filed by EPIC against DHS over the scanners: DHS finally filed its answer brief. A run-down of its contents can be found at Network World. Expect to hear more about this suit in March, when the hearing is scheduled to take place.

EPIC sponsored a conference that coincided with this news. Ralph Nader - whom I disagree with on many things - is a consistent civil libertarian and calls out the TSA policies. I don't know what his solution is (ahem! abolition) but his criticism is dead-on:

The TSA is a basketcase, collectively... What's happening is, we are incrementally losing our freedoms.

 Edward Luttock of the Center for International and Strategic Studies (an organization whose policy suggestions I rarely agree with) had an interesting story about the efficacy of the scanners:

In a test conducted in Europe, German prison guards were instructed to sneak explosives past three different scanners, including the full-body X-ray machine currently causing such a furore in the United States, Luttwak, a senior associate at the Center for International and Strategic Studies, said.

"They did it with such ease that the Air Travel Association, IATA, said there is no case for scanners," said Luttwak.

And word is that Rep. Chaffetz will re-introduce his legislation to prevent scanners from being used as primary screening. Chaffetz is one of the good guys here as he's been against the scanners from the start. Speaking personally, though, this is too little too late: I won't fly until airports and airlines run their own security.

What the TSA says about scanner-proof underwear

The TSA posted on it's blog that if you wear garments through the scanners that obstruct the technician's view of your naked body, that you will be patted down. From what I understand of post-scanner pat-downs, they focus only on the anomalous area. Note that these garments are being marketed as blocking a person's most private parts, so the implication is that the subsequent pat-down would be focused on breasts, buttocks, and genitals.

The owner of one of the companies that makes these supposedly scanner-proof garments, Marc Carey, is a lawyer, so it is interesting to read his response to this. Of course, he wants to sell more of his product, but there is an interesting legal point he is making:

"I can't imagine a member of the Supreme Court saying in a published decision that in order to board an airplane you have to grant a government official permission to grope your genitals," Carey says.

"The TSA can not be talking about our products (in the blog), Carey adds. "I consider this an endorsement."

But, then again, Dave Barry was already selected for a groping due to his abnormal groin and the policy didn't come to a halt.

Protest the TSA, get arrested

A college student was arrested for "Disorderly Conduct" after calmly walking through an airport's metal detector in his skivvies (Oh - and he exposed the text of the 4th Amendment that was written on his chest):




Link via David Kramer.

TSA Humor

Laughing at them may be the best thing we can do. Here's blogger Gary Gaddy's parody of TSA public relations.

Who watches the watchers?

This came out just before the holidays, but there's actually some good investigative reporting that happened, so it's worth looking over if you haven't already. The TSA lied (shocking, I know) by stating that there were several agencies checking into the safety of the scanners. Well, reporters have contacted all of the named agencies and found that they are not ensuring the safety of the scanners.

"The safety of our scanning systems are routinely and thoroughly tested by the manufacturer, FDA, the U.S. Army, the Health Physics Society, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and others," the [TSA] spokesman said.

... FDA says it doesn't do routine inspections of any nonmedical X-ray unit...

...Two-person teams from the Army unit this year performed surveys of scanners at only three airports — in Boston, Los Angeles and Cincinnati, [an Army Health Command physicist] said...

"[Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's] role was to measure radiation coming off the body scanners to verify that it fell within [accepted] standards. We were testing equipment and in no way determined its safety to humans," said Helen Worth, the lab's head of public affairs. "Many news articles have said we declared the equipment to be safe, but that was not what we were tasked to do."

Religious freedom

There are some things that used to be held sacred in this country - laid out most poignantly in the Bill of Rights. It is not a coincidence that free speech and freedom of religion are both in the First Amendment. How many parts of the Constitution can the TSA breach at once? Here's another one to add to the list: Freedom to cover up for religious purposes.

Mica is worse than I thought

Rep John Mica, who picked up on the public backlash over the TSA scan 'n grope policies by recommending that airports "opt out" of security, is (not surprisingly) a typical politician. I opposed his suggestion, since it is only substituting fascism for socialism. The "opting out" means that airports can hire a TSA-approved contractor that follows TSA guidelines (including the scans and gropes). Just what we need - more efficient violations of our rights!

Well, it turns out that Mica's interests are most likely with the special interests:

Covenant, based in Mica's home district in northeastern coastal Florida, has airport screening contracts in Sioux Falls, S.D., Tupelo, Miss., and seven small airports in northern and eastern Montana. Its deal at San Francisco International is by far its largest. Covenant employs nearly 1,100 people in the Bay Area, who make up nearly all of its 1,150 workers. The last four-year contract, from 2006 to 2010, totaled $314 million.

Don't forget - this is the same person who drafted the legislation that created both the TSA and the airport "opt out" rules. We won't be safe until this agency is disbanded and airports/airlines are given full discretion over their security.

John Pistole: Enemy of the Constitution

Jon Deniro forwarded me the following letter that he sent to John Pistole at TSA headquarters on December 16th.

John Pistole,

I have never in my life written to any member or employee of the US government before today. Your recent actions and arrogant refusal to 1) act in accord within the framework of the Constitutional restraint on governmental invasion of the Peoples' rights and/or 2) abide by the wishes of the American people have forced me to get involved. I swore a solemn oath, many years ago, and reaffirmed it on more than one occasion to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America from all enemies, foreign and domestic." You sir, are an enemy of the Constitution -- as are all employees of the TSA who stand with you or otherwise acquiesce to your instructions.

The very fact that you and other members of the TSA have been caught outright lying to the American public is irrefutable proof that your actions are criminal, immoral, unconstitutional, and inherently anti-American. Misleading and outright lying to the public to instill fear so that you may advance your agenda is by definition an act of terrorism. If your actions were in any way justifiable, you would not need dishonesty to gain submission from the masses.

Woman denied visit to see family for holidays

If this doesn't convince you that this is about theater and power, not security, you have had too much Kool-Aid:



To the various passengers at the end who say that this is needed for safety, I pose this question: How does denying air travel to a middle-aged rape victim with a pacemaker make you safer? Although I deny the validity of the TSA, metal detectors, and x-ray scans of baggage, it is telling that TSA refuses to use hand-held wands anymore (please see Toni Litsinger's letter on this site confirming this policy).

US Air: pretending I'm a satisfied customer

I recently received these two letters from US Air. So, they've now responded to my third and fourth letters, but, as you can see, they have ignored my request for further accommodations for my trip.

In the meantime, my roundabout trip to avoid the scanners was extremely inconvenient. My husband says the millimeter wave scanners were indeed in use at BWI, but he, himself, avoided a scan or custody search.

A miniscule victory

Word is that Congress may actually do something about the TSA overstepping its bounds. Don't expect too much, though. Like airport security, it is likely to be a lot of theater. Ron Paul's bill to make TSA agents culpable will be helpful in bringing down morale and breaking the organization from the inside out. It's even possible that Jason Chaffetz's oversight of DHS will play out well - he authored the "Chaffetz amendment" prohibiting TSA scanners before there was a public outcry over them Of course, his amendment failed, which is why Congress is to blame for the TSA abuses and I am not hopeful that much will change.

The safest plane last Christmas

Apparently, there is hope that a significant number of airplanes each day that have an armed citizen to protect us. For instance, last Christmas (year of the underbomber), a law-abiding oil executive forgot to remove his loaded Glock from his laptop bag when he went to the airport. Poor, overworked TSA agents... it's so hard to sit in front of a computer monitor all day and try to detect guns. That's why they need more power, of course. Invading our privacy is the only way to keep us free and safe!

If flying is "a privilege," what about public transportation?

To all of the commenters (here and elsewhere) who say that those of us who are anti-scanner should stop flying and shut-up, because it's a privilege for us to be allowed to complete a lawful private contract we made with an airline: do you think it's in line with the Constitution to have random searches on buses and trains?

As I wrote over at LewRockwell.com:

A couple of years ago, there were threats of random searches of bags for DC Metro train riders (a la NYC and Boston), but I never heard anything more. Today, the TSA started random checks of customers’ bags and this apparently affects both the rail and bus lines for the DC area. It’s good to hear an uproar about this on the MSM, as they point out that there are petitions being filed against this action. But the quotes from the Metro officials are status quo:

“It’s good to vary your security posture,” he said, noting that transit agencies in New York, New Jersey and Boston have successfully carried out random checks.
…
The screening will be conducted before passengers pay to enter the rail system or board a bus, and customers who refuse the inspections will be “free to leave,” Taborn said. But there is a possibility that those who decline screening will be questioned.

Translation: We like to keep law-abiding citizens on their toes. And if they show resistance to this tyranny by peacefully walking away, we reserve the right to make their lives miserable.