I hate the TSA!

[Dirty Dog]

My in-laws flew in for a week long visit. It's been great seeing them. We took them to the airport this morning for their flight home.

We check their bags, get them as far as you can go if you're not ticketed, and head home. 30 minutes after their flight leaves, we get a call.

Seems the TSA thinks my 80 year old mother inlaw, with her prosthetic hip and knee, needs extra attention. They pulled her out and did everything short of a cavity search. Went through her purse and carryon, groped her, scanned her, swabbed her, used their little wands... the whole thing. Turns out it was because some sequins on her shirt upset one of their pieces of technojunk.

By the time they get through the TSA, they missed their flight.

Fortunately, the airline was able to get them on a later flight.

I get the need for airport security. I really do. But from what I've seen in my own travels, and what I've heard from others, the TSA isn't security. It's just a way for minimum wage gropers with room temperature IQs to steal your iPad. Oh, and confiscate your tweezers. Gotta make sure you don't pluck someone to death.

 

[ballen0351]

I dont understand why old people dont get a free pass....................Oh Wait

 

[granfire]

I dont understand why old people dont get a free pass....................Oh Wait

was that explosive dope?

 

[ballen0351]

was that explosive dope?

Not this time. Give old people a free pass and watch and see how fast they strap a bomb on an old lady.

 

[Rumy73]

Crying about airport security is pathetic. While the TSA is far from perfect, I will gladly take it, rather than suffer the consequences. Terrorist groups have used all kinds of people as bombers. Better safe than sorry. I suggest arriving early at the airport than biotching about it.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

What consequences?

The TSA has caught 0 terrorists. It's not security, it's theater. I for one want security, not a make work program for sex offenders, mall cop rejects and petty thieves.

 

[granfire]

Crying about airport security is pathetic. While the TSA is far from perfect, I will gladly take it, rather than suffer the consequences. Terrorist groups have used all kinds of people as bombers. Better safe than sorry. I suggest arriving early at the airport than biotching about it.

The point is that in other places security works without strip searching people and fondling children.
The TSA is about show not substance, and frankly, people in the security sector should be able to pass a background check!

So far the terrorists have used the same type of people as bombers...
But, before there was 9/11 there was Oklahoma City....terrorists =/= middle eastern males (but 99% of the time males, non the less)

It's duck and cover all over again, just this time we were happy to sign our rights away to participate in this charade.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Crying about airport security is pathetic. While the TSA is far from perfect, I will gladly take it, rather than suffer the consequences. Terrorist groups have used all kinds of people as bombers. Better safe than sorry. I suggest arriving early at the airport than biotching about it.

The TSA is a dog and pony show. They've eroded personal liberties, but they have not made one person any safer in the air. Not one.

Confiscating Sue's eyebrow tweezers didn't make anyone safer. But they helped fill up a box of other non-dangerous objects taken from non-dangerous people so the TSA would have something to show the sheeple.

When was the last airline bombing? When was the last time the TSA (not actual law enforcement agencies, but the TSA) stopped a terrorist?

The 9/11 attack occurred because we, as a culture, have turned our safety over to others. That would be what YOU do, and expect others to do as well. Now THAT is pathetic.
The 9/11 attacks could never have occurred without sheeple. It is absolutely impossible to hijack an airplane with a freaking box cutter if 15 people jump on you. Impossible. And none of those people would need any special training either. Just have the balls to fight back. That's it.

So you go right ahead and turn your safety over to others if you like. Even to those who have shown themselves incapable of actually providing you with any safety. I'll take care of myself, thanks.

The TSA has, however, provided employment to lots of sex offenders and petty thieves.

 

[ballen0351]

The point is that in other places security works without strip searching people and fondling children.
The TSA is about show not substance, and frankly, people in the security sector should be able to pass a background check!

So far the terrorists have used the same type of people as bombers...
But, before there was 9/11 there was Oklahoma City....terrorists =/= middle eastern males (but 99% of the time males, non the less)

It's duck and cover all over again, just this time we were happy to sign our rights away to participate in this charade.

99% have been male here so far. However in the middle east bombs are strapped to woman, and mentally challenged teens and remotely detonated. They just have not needed to do that yet here.

 

[Rumy73]

The TSA is a dog and pony show. They've eroded personal liberties, but they have not made one person any safer in the air. Not one.

Confiscating Sue's eyebrow tweezers didn't make anyone safer. But they helped fill up a box of other non-dangerous objects taken from non-dangerous people so the TSA would have something to show the sheeple.

When was the last airline bombing? When was the last time the TSA (not actual law enforcement agencies, but the TSA) stopped a terrorist?

The 9/11 attack occurred because we, as a culture, have turned our safety over to others. That would be what YOU do, and expect others to do as well. Now THAT is pathetic.
The 9/11 attacks could never have occurred without sheeple. It is absolutely impossible to hijack an airplane with a freaking box cutter if 15 people jump on you. Impossible. And none of those people would need any special training either. Just have the balls to fight back. That's it.

So you go right ahead and turn your safety over to others if you like. Even to those who have shown themselves incapable of actually providing you with any safety. I'll take care of myself, thanks.

The TSA has, however, provided employment to lots of sex offenders and petty thieves.

Good luck and fly libertarian airlines, tubby

 

[Dirty Dog]

Good luck and fly libertarian airlines, tubby

If that were an option, I'll bet it would be far more profitable (and at least as safe) as flying after the TSA mandated colonoscopy. And I'd still have my iPad in my luggage when I arrive.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Good luck and fly libertarian airlines, tubby

You do realize that I can go down to my local air strip, and get on a plane with zero TSA screening right? Right now there are hundreds if not thousands of planes in the air where no TSA paedophile or thief screened, touched, searched or fondled anyone.

A federal review concludes there’s no solid evidence that airport checkpoint personnel have a clue when they scan the approaching line for suspicious passengers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...a999a0-4c93-11e3-be6b-d3d28122e6d4_story.html

A federal probe of a Transportation Security Administration program to screen suspicious behavior of passengers at airports suggests the effort, which has cost almost $1 billion since 2007, has not been proven effective, according to a report released Wednesday.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nat...ns-unproven/MbyTsQLvXpHp76OuvAZLhK/story.html

One of the politicians instrumental in creating the TSA, Rep. John Mica, who wrote the legislation that established the TSA, has apparently decided that the whole thing has been a failure and should be dismantled. He notes that "the whole program has been hijacked by bureaucrats."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...ays-its-failed-its-time-to-dismantle-it.shtml




TSA Department of Molestation Fridge Magnets
$3.65

 

[Tames D]

TSA is the reason I only travel when I have to. Just don't feel like playing their game.

 

[ballen0351]

I've never had an issue I don't know what you guys are doing. I read the rules make sure I do exactly what I'm supposed to do and I've never had an issue.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I've never had an issue I don't know what you guys are doing. I read the rules make sure I do exactly what I'm supposed to do and I've never had an issue.

I've never had a problem with them either. Then again, I've never been raped in prison, . That whole "avoid putting yourself in harms way" thing.

On 1 hand I feel bad for the TSA screeners. The job sucks. Long hours, tons of abuse, poor training, and a hostile work environment.

On the other hand, in the last 10 years over 500 have been arrested for Theft, murder, child molestation, rape, and prostitution among other crimes. While that's not a large % given the 55,000+ people currently employed, it's still a high number of people being caught violating trust and breaking laws. We could expect that there would be background checks, high standards, attention to detail, and so forth, but the reality is they do take a lot of warm bodies and don't look too hard at them if they need to fill positions fast. The FBI by comparison has 36,000 employees and you rarely hear of them being arrested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transp...inistration#Screening_effectivenessCriticisms have also included assertions that TSA employees slept on the job,[SUP][143][/SUP][SUP][144][/SUP][SUP][145][/SUP][SUP][146][/SUP] bypassed security checks,[SUP][147][/SUP] and failed to use good judgment and common sense.[SUP][148][/SUP][SUP][149][/SUP][SUP][150][/SUP]
TSA agents are also accused of having mistreated passengers, and having sexually harassed passengers,[SUP][151][/SUP][SUP][152][/SUP][SUP][153][/SUP][SUP][154][/SUP] having used invasive screening procedures, including touching the genitals, including those of children,[SUP][155][/SUP] removing nipple rings with pliers,[SUP][156][/SUP] having searched passengers or their belongings for items other than weapons or explosives,[SUP][157][/SUP] and having stolen from passengers.[SUP][109][/SUP][SUP][158][/SUP][SUP][159][/SUP][SUP][160][/SUP][SUP][161][/SUP][SUP][162][/SUP][SUP][163][/SUP][SUP][164][/SUP] The TSA fired 28 agents and suspended 15 others after an investigation determined they failed to scan checked baggage for explosives.[SUP][165][/SUP]
The TSA was also accused of having spent lavishly on events unrelated to airport security,[SUP][166][/SUP] having wasted money in hiring,[SUP][167][/SUP] and having had conflicts of interest.[SUP][168][/SUP]
The TSA was accused of having performed poorly at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration viewing areas, which left thousands of ticket holders excluded from the event in overcrowded conditions, while those who had arrived before the checkpoints were in place avoided screening altogether.[SUP][169][/SUP][SUP][170][/SUP]
In 2013 dozens of TSA workers were fired or suspended for illegal gambling at Pittsburgh International Airport.[SUP][171][/SUP]
A 2013 GAO report showed a 26% increase in misconduct among TSA employees between 2010 and 2012, from 2,691 cases to 3,408.[SUP][172][/SUP] Another GAO report said that there is no evidence that the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) behavioral detection program, with an annual budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, is effective.[SUP][173][/SUP]
A 2013 report by the Homeland Security Department Inspector General's Office charged that TSA was using criminal investigators to do the job of lower paid employees, wasting millions of dollars a year.[SUP][174][/SUP]

The TSA regularly missed guns, knives and even swords. They do however collect a lot of tweezers, nail files, and snow globes. Almost any US airport can be shut down for hours just by walking in the out door. Unauthorized people gain access to secure zones including the runway countless times each year.

[h=3]Unintended consequences of 2002 screening enhancements[/h] Two studies by a group of Cornell University researchers have found that strict airport security has the unintended consequence of increasing road fatalities, as would-be air travelers decide to drive and are exposed to the far greater risk of dying in a car accident.[SUP][129][/SUP][SUP][130][/SUP] In 2005, the researchers looked at the immediate aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and found that the change in passenger travel modes led to 242 added driving deaths per month.[SUP][129][/SUP] In all, they estimated that about 1,200 driving deaths could be attributed to the short-term effects of the attacks. The study attributes the change in traveler behavior to two factors: fear of terrorist attacks and the wish to avoid the inconvenience of strict security measures; no attempt is made to estimate separately the influence of each of these two factors.
In 2007, the researchers studied the specific effects of a change to security practices instituted by the TSA in late 2002. They concluded that this change reduced the number of air travelers by 6%, and estimated that consequently, 129 more people died in car accidents in the fourth quarter of 2002.[SUP][130][/SUP] Extrapolating this rate of fatalities, New York Times contributor Nate Silver remarked that this is equivalent to "four fully loaded Boeing 737s crashing each year."[SUP][131][/SUP] The 2007 study also noted that strict airport security hurts the airline industry; it was estimated that the 6% reduction in the number of passengers in the fourth quarter of 2002 cost the industry $1.1 billion in lost business.[SUP][132][/SUP]

I drive 3 days each way to TX rather than deal with the keystone theatrics at the airport. I feel safer.

Undercover operations to test the effectiveness of airport screening processes are routinely carried out by the TSA's Office of Investigations[SUP][113][/SUP] and the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's office.
A report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that TSA officials had collaborated with Covenant Aviation Security (CAS) at San Francisco International Airport to alert screeners to undercover tests.[SUP][114][/SUP] From August 2003 until May 2004, precise descriptions of the undercover personnel were provided to the screeners. The handing out of descriptions was then stopped, but until January 2005 screeners were still alerted whenever undercover operations were being undertaken.[SUP][115][/SUP] When no wrongdoing on the part of CAS was found, the contract was extended for four years. While employees of the firm and TSA were disciplined, none lost their jobs.[SUP][116][/SUP][SUP][117][/SUP]
A report on undercover operations conducted in October 2006 at Newark Liberty International Airport was leaked to the press. The screeners had failed 20 of 22 undercover security tests, missing numerous guns and bombs. The Government Accountability Office had previously pointed to repeated covert test failures by TSA personnel.[SUP][118][/SUP][SUP][119][/SUP] Revealing the results of covert tests is against TSA policy, and the agency responded by initiating an internal probe to discover the source of the leak.[SUP][120][/SUP]
In July 2007, the Times Union of Albany, New York reported that TSA screeners at Albany International Airport failed multiple covert security tests conducted by the TSA. Among them was a failure to detect a fake bomb.[SUP][121][/SUP]
In December 2010, ABC News Houston reported in an article about a man who accidentally took a forgotten gun through airport security, that "the failure rate approaches 70 percent at some major airports".[SUP][122][/SUP]
In June 2011 TSA fired 36 screeners at the Honolulu airport for regularly allowing bags through without being inspected.[SUP][123][/SUP]
In May 2012, a report from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General stated that the TSA "does not have a complete understanding" of breaches at the nation's airports, with some hubs doing very little to fix or report security breaches. These findings will be presented to Congress.[SUP][124][/SUP]
Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has had several joint hearings concerning the cost and benefits of the various safety programs including full body scanners, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), and the behavior detection program, among others.[SUP][125][/SUP]
Some measures employed by the TSA have been accused of being ineffective and fostering a false sense of safety.[SUP][126][/SUP][SUP][127][/SUP] This led security expert Bruce Schneier to coin the term security theater to describe those measures.[SUP][128][/SUP]

[h=4]Luggage locks[/h] In order to be able to search passenger baggage for security screening, the TSA will cut or otherwise disable locks they cannot open themselves. The agency authorized two companies to create padlocks, lockable straps, and luggage with built-in locks that can be opened and relocked by tools and information supplied by the lock manufacturers to the TSA. These are Travel Sentry and Safe Skies Locks.[SUP][99][/SUP]

If the screener doesn't have the TSA key, or is just feeling lazy, they will cut off the TSA approved locks anyway.

The TSA has been criticized[SUP][100][/SUP] for an increase in baggage theft after its inception. Reported thefts include both valuable and dangerous goods, such as laptops, jewelry[SUP][101][/SUP] guns,[SUP][102][/SUP] and knives.[SUP][103][/SUP] Such thefts have raised concerns that the same access might allow bombs to be placed aboard aircraft.[SUP][104][/SUP]
In 2004, over 17,000 claims of baggage theft were reported.[SUP][101][/SUP] As of 2004, 60 screeners had been arrested for baggage theft,[SUP][101][/SUP] a number which had grown to 200 screeners by 2008.[SUP][105][/SUP] 11,700 theft and damage claims were reported to the TSA in 2009, a drop from 26,500 in 2004, which was attributed to the installation of cameras and conveyor belts in airports.[SUP][106][/SUP]
As of 2011, the TSA employs about 60,000 screeners in total (counting both baggage and passenger screening)[SUP][107][/SUP] and approximately 500 TSA agents have been fired or suspended for stealing from passenger luggage since the agency's creation in November 2001. The most affected airports in the United States include three in the New York area: JFK, LaGuardia and Newark.[SUP][108][/SUP]
In 2008 an investigative report by WTAE in Pittsburgh discovered that despite over 400 reports of baggage theft, about half of which the TSA reimbursed passengers for, not a single arrest had been made.[SUP][109][/SUP] The TSA does not, as a matter of policy, share baggage theft reports with local police departments.[SUP][109][/SUP]
In September 2012, ABC News interviewed former TSA agent Pythias Brown, who has admitted to stealing more than $800,000 worth of items during his employment with the agency. Brown stated that it was "very convenient to steal" and poor morale within the agency is what causes agents to steal from passengers.[SUP][110][/SUP]
The TSA has also been criticized for not responding properly to theft and failing to reimburse passengers for stolen goods. For example, between 2011 and 2012, passengers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport reported $300,000 in property lost or damaged by the TSA. The agency only reimbursed $35,000 of those claims.[SUP][111][/SUP] Similar statistics were found at Jacksonville International Airport – passengers reported $22,000 worth of goods missing or damaged over the course of 15 months. The TSA only reimbursed $800.[SUP][112][/SUP]

Point blank, if the people we're entrusting to our security can't be trusted what's the value of having them?

Lets look at real cops for a moment. If real cops were this incompetent, this corrupt, and this power trippy, we'd have serious problems.

 

[Rumy73]

Tsa, tkd have a lot in common. Mostly theater, very expensive.

 

[oftheherd1]

...

When was the last airline bombing? When was the last time the TSA (not actual law enforcement agencies, but the TSA) stopped a terrorist?

...

Sounds to me like it is working. Did I ever tell you about my method that keeps tigers away from me? :lfao:

 

[granfire]

Sounds to me like it is working. Did I ever tell you about my method that keeps tigers away from me? :lfao:

It's like this joke:
Q: Why do Elephants have red eyes?
A: So they can hide in a cherry tree

Q: Have you ever seen an Elephant in a cherry tree?
A: No.
Conclusion: See how good it works!

 

[ballen0351]

I've never had a problem with them either. Then again, I've never been raped in prison, . That whole "avoid putting yourself in harms way" thing.

On 1 hand I feel bad for the TSA screeners. The job sucks. Long hours, tons of abuse, poor training, and a hostile work environment.

On the other hand, in the last 10 years over 500 have been arrested for Theft, murder, child molestation, rape, and prostitution among other crimes. While that's not a large % given the 55,000+ people currently employed, it's still a high number of people being caught violating trust and breaking laws. We could expect that there would be background checks, high standards, attention to detail, and so forth, but the reality is they do take a lot of warm bodies and don't look too hard at them if they need to fill positions fast. The FBI by comparison has 36,000 employees and you rarely hear of them being arrested.



The TSA regularly missed guns, knives and even swords. They do however collect a lot of tweezers, nail files, and snow globes. Almost any US airport can be shut down for hours just by walking in the out door. Unauthorized people gain access to secure zones including the runway countless times each year.



I drive 3 days each way to TX rather than deal with the keystone theatrics at the airport. I feel safer.



If the screener doesn't have the TSA key, or is just feeling lazy, they will cut off the TSA approved locks anyway.



Point blank, if the people we're entrusting to our security can't be trusted what's the value of having them?

Lets look at real cops for a moment. If real cops were this incompetent, this corrupt, and this power trippy, we'd have serious problems.

When you pay crap you get crap as employees. The reason the FBI guys don't get arrested as much is because they pay well and have great benefits. Which translate to way more applications then open positions. So they can raise the standards and be very selective. When your paying 10 bucks an hour for a screener you get bottom of the barrel employees that just need a job.

But again I've never had a problem and am not bothered by TSA or extra security steps.

In my opinion The millions of dollars in lawsuits from the 9-11 attacks is why we have them. Has nothing really to do with security and more to say "well you can't sue us now we did something." And private companies don't want to touch it because the next time there is an attack they will be sued into nonexistence.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

When you pay crap you get crap as employees. The reason the FBI guys don't get arrested as much is because they pay well and have great benefits. Which translate to way more applications then open positions. So they can raise the standards and be very selective. When your paying 10 bucks an hour for a screener you get bottom of the barrel employees that just need a job.

Transportation Security Officer 31 TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Salaries	$33,920
Transportation Security Officer - Hourly 23 TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Salaries	$14.63/hr
TSA OFFICER 8 TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Salaries	$33,443
TSA OFFICER - Hourly 7 TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Salaries	$16.50/hr

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/TSA-Transportation-Security-Administration-Salaries-E41347.htm

I still don't think it's too much to ask that the people entrusted with security be 1-honest and 2-professional.

But don't **** with me man. I've got a snow globe and I'm not afraid to shake it. I'll do it! I'm serious! Don't! Make! Me! Shake! It!

ok, now you've had it!

If you were a TSA pedo goon, you;d have wet yourself in terror and be taking this terrorist aside for some special attention!