Many have seen, and commented on, my posting — accompanied by photos taken by me personally — about the children manning the TSA checkpoint at State College, PA on April 28th.

At least one person thinks the photos were fakes or untrue. Go here and scroll down to “Darkumbra’s” posting.

The photos are in no way fakes, I took them myself. I was instructed by the woman in the TSA uniform in the photo to hand my driver’s license to the young man at the podium at the checkpoint. You can see (at far right), the woman in front of me whose DL is being examined.

Note the young man at the conveyor belt in background. In foreground, is another non-TSA person looking at DL’s. There were children all over the checkpoint both in front of and behind the metal detector.

The TSA itself thinks this was just fine. Link to their comments on their website here, scroll down. The following is a quote from the TSA spokesperson:

In the same posting, ‘Blogger Bob’ states:

Osama bin Laden Dead, Threat Still Very Much Alive

So, let us set aside the privacy issues and whether it is legal or appropriate to for the TSA to compel one to hand private information to a child. Here is my question to the TSA:

If the threat is so great … so great it justifies groping six-year old girls — why is the TSA putting these children in harm’s way??!!


THE TSA CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS: That the threat is so great we have to be groped, viewed nude, take our shoes off, not take liquids on board, harass bus passengers, search people coming OFF trains, etc., etc. and it is OK to have children manning checkpoints.  


I’m going to ask the question again: Have you written your Congresspeople to get the TSA reigned in?  I have.

UPDATE: 9PM, Sunday, 5/8/11. I have written a new posting on this topic here.

ORIGINAL POSTING:

I haven’t posted for a while about the Transportation Security Administration, even though they have been in the news recently over more of their grope searches of a 6-year old girl (story here ) and a former Miss USA (story here).

From the New York Post…

I know that some of my readers believe I post too-frequently on what I believe is a huge threat to the liberty of Americans: The Department of Homeland Security and its rogue agency the Transportation Safety Administration.

The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it would retest every full-body X-ray scanner that emits ionizing radiation — 247 machines at 38 airports — after maintenance records on some of the devices showed radiation levels 10 times higher than expected.

What a surprise. Tell me why we are putting up with this?

Details here.

TSA Overstates Costs of Private Alternatives

“TSA cooked the books to try to eliminate the federal-private screening program,” said Rep. John L. Mica, Florida Republican and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “GAO found that TSA ignored critical data relating to costs.”

More here.

You may recall my posting regarding the TSA VIPR team searching passengers coming off a train at Savannah, GA last month, including video evidence of groping young boys. The video is here.

From Trains here is more on the story, including a chief of police that finally is willing to take on this thuggish behavior:

Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was a joke. When he discovered that the TSA’s VIPR team did at least some of what the blog said, he was livid. He ordered the VIPR teams off Amtrak property, at least until a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy.

“Illegal.” I second that.

“When I saw it, I didn’t believe it was real,” O’Connor said. When it developed that the posting on an anti-TSA blog was not a joke, “I hit the ceiling.”

You may recall I held the story for four days because I thought it was a set up to make opponents of the TSA look bad (i.e., a planted fake tape). The story goes on:

O’Connor said he must take some of the blame because he did not more carefully observe what the VIPR teams were doing. He said the TSA had apologized repeatedly to him, but they must agree to firm restrictions before he will consider allowing them back on Amtrak property.

I salute Chief O’Connor. Now, where are all of the other local chiefs of police that are allowing this illegal nonsense to go on?

Here’s more:

The VIPR teams were rolled out on Dec. 12, 2005, then promptly pulled back two days later when it turned out that no one had informed numerous local governments. It was a fiasco. Several local jurisdictions said they had no interest and opted out, including the Washington Metro system. But teams, moving slowly, have apparently re-infiltrated surface transportation facilities. Unlike the TSA at airports, these teams have access to firepower. Although the TSA is not allowed to carry weapons, some armed Federal Air Marshals have been switched to ground duty.

One major unanswered question is: why? What purpose is being served other than to justify employment? You will certainly hear more about this in Trains.

They are setting up roadblocks, they are searching bus passengers, and they continue with the nude machines and grope searches at airports. There are news reports (see here for just one of numerous examples) that the TSA has set up or is setting up mobile vans to scan people on streets. Last year at this time, I wouldn’t have given that story any credibility, but given the TSA’s recent activities, I certainly do not rule it out.

I also want to salute Trains for its reporting on this issue. It is a mystery to me why so much of the media, which claims to take the Bill of Rights seriously, is virtually silent on the increasingly out-of-control TSA.

Have you contacted your congressperson?

I have been sitting on this story for several days because I simply could not believe it. I thought it might be a plant to make those of us who believe the TSA has evolved into a travesty look foolish for running it.

However, now that it has been reported by Drudge, Gizmodo, and others, here goes..

The TSA searched all of the passengers coming off an Amtrak train in Savannah. Keep in mind the TSA has no arrest powers (they have to call the local police to make an arrest) and they have no authority over drugs, etc. Their sole mission is safety of transportation.

 

In the photo above (a screen capture of a cell phone video at about the :40 mark) the TSA agent seems to be searching in the groin area of a 9-year old boy with his right hand. The entire video, about 55 seconds, is here.

If you look through some of the comments on my other TSA postings, you see the sentiment expressed by TSA apologists, “you don’t have to fly.” I reply with, they are checking people boarding trains and buses and they are setting up roadblocks for autos.  But, this reaches a new level of stupidity. They are leaving the train!


This is America. Since when to we have to put up with being searched, without probably cause, to travel??!!  Don’t tell me it is to keep us “safe,” they are leaving the train. 


Plus, do we really want to teach our children that public groping — for no apparent reason and by an agency that likely does not have the legal authority to do this (they are coming off the train!) — is something appropriate?

Have you written your congresspersons?  I have.

The March 2011 Trains has an article about the TSA by Don Phillips, America’s number one transportation reporter. It is on page 8 and it is well worth reading regardless of what mode(s) of travel you prefer.

So says airline security expert Bruce Schneier.

Having experienced the insanity of the new procedures myself returning from Charlotte  Thursday, I highly recommend this article from Schneier regarding where we should go from here.

If you agree, please call or write your elected representatives and the airlines. Only public pressure will get this changed. Otherwise, our spouses and children will still be dealing with this three decades, or more, from now.