Wednesday, November 17, 2010

TSA and Personal Invasion

Travelers are appalled that their private parts are being examined by people without a medical degree in exchange for the privilege of getting from point 'A' to point 'B' in a sardine can filled with aggravated passengers and jaded flight attendants.

Radio talk shows are having fun with the story, while some are clearly in favor of being fondled and equating it with the price you have to pay for freedom,  others are stating that none of this stops anything bad from happening.

Body scanners may not be as safe as they want us to believe.  No one can attest that a frequent flier (think business traveler) who is exposed to these machines a few times a month for the next few years won't develop health problems.

Fact:  Those body scans that are completely private, isolated, no one will ever see..... have made their way to the inter-webs and available for your perusal.  Do you recognize anyone you know?

Fact:  The effect of physical molestation perpetrated by TSA agents on children is something both parents and children will have to deal with for years on end.

Fact:  The radar machines used for fully body scans cost upwards of $150,000 a piece.  Tax payer dollars have made the India manufacturer wealth(ier).

All this TSA intrusion is very profitable.  Some seem to think that crossing the line to "fondle a man's junk" or a woman's nether regions is a very small price to pay for the privilege of allowing wealth to flow freely overseas.

What do you want to do?

Are you willing to forgo Thanksgiving and Christmas travel in order to keep YOUR money in the bank and send those airplanes out with empty seats? Are your willing to make that kind of a stand? or are we going to continue to complain while we forgo our civil rights?

My opinion:  I choose to stop feeding the beast.  I will not allow my children to be man (or woman) handled and we are more than willing to stay home.  No vacation is worth a cavity search or having a pre-teen subjected to a total stranger touching parts they don't even want their mom to see.

Solution:  Bomb sniffing dogs - not intrusive and highly efficient, just ask Israel or read this Israel-American Wordpress account. 

This Washington Post article on hiring perverts for TSA positions is just the tip of the iceberg.

This article from Wired has additional information about TSA illegally saved scans.

1 comment:

Robin said...

This is a tough one. I'm not particularly upset about it, but is worries me that all the TSA has done is move the target from the plane to the airport security line.

Why would a terrorist go to all the trouble of getting through security to bomb a plane when they can just walk into the airport, wait in line with 500 people and blow up a bomb on this side of the security check?

That would shut down every airport in the country.

If Obama is so smart (yes, I voted for him), why is Homeland security filled with idiots?