TSA Attitude Adjustment

[JohnRich 4]

Excerpted from the Washington Times, commentary by former Congressman Bob Barr:

Attitude adjustment at TSA

"The wonderful folks at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are just now preparing to implement the already discredited Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System ("CAPPS II") — have finally discovered what most government bureaucracies learn in their first days. They have discovered taxpayer-citizens are but wallets to be opened and fleeced at will.

"A set of TSA Guidelines issued recently set forth what fines its employees are to charge, and what circumstances will cause those fines to be increased, decreased or perhaps not levied at all. A great deal of confusion has already resulted...

"A threshold problem presents itself at U.S. airport checkpoints through which some 2 million-plus air travelers must pass each day — there are no signs warning a traveler caught with a forgotten Swiss Army knife might be subject to fines up to $10,000. Thus, basic notions of due process and notification are not met, adding to the arbitrariness of the process.

"According to press accounts, a woman returning to Boston from Baltimore after her wedding forgot her carry-on bag contained a — shudder — silver-plated cake-serving set. Even though the woman was allowed to place the items in her checked baggage and proceed on a later flight, some green-eyeshade bureaucrat at TSA later decided her offense was so egregious as to warrant a $150 fine.

"A California lawyer was fined a like amount for failing to remember she carried a small steak knife in her briefcase (for slicing fruit; something many do in California). The lawyer made the further mistake, however, of asking for a hearing when notice of the later-levied fine arrived. Even though the barrister decided not to pursue the hearing (since TSA insisted the hearing take place in Baltimore, while she lived in Los Angeles), the nice folks at TSA decided to punish her for even considering an appeal of its action. Her fine was doubled.

"A fine of up to $1,500 can be levied (after the fact, of course) against an air traveler for something called "nonphysical interference with screening." What is that? Looking at the screener the wrong way? Failing to jump high enough when told to jump? Or maybe, just maybe, "nonphysical interference with screening" consists of a bad "attitude"; perhaps failing to greet a screener with appropriate deference or subservience as she arbitrarily forces you to disrobe publicly or submit to an additional, "random" inspection?
No kidding. The TSA is asserting the right and the power to fine you, a law-abiding American citizen or lawful visitor to this great land, simply because its employees don't like your "attitude..."

* * * * *

Full Story

[Lee03 0]

TSA does not need to have an attitude adjustment, it needs to be disbanded completely!

--------
To put your life in danger from time to time ... breeds a saneness in dealing with day-to-day trivialities.

--Nevil Shute, Slide Rule

[FrogNog 1]

Quote

Here is a shining example of "nonphysical interference with screening."

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[gmanpilot 0]

Quote

TSA does not need to have an attitude adjustment, it needs to be disbanded completely!

I will agree that TSA is pretty jacked up, but disbanding it is like swinging the pendulum to the other side. TSA'spresecessor(FAA), is as total slave to the airlines. Congress has allowed TSA to becomethe same thing. The airlines drive TSA policy, and they can institute any changes they wish. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They have been tasked with securing civil aviation, which runs counter to the profit motives of the airlines. If you ever get a chance to listen to the unedited recordings from the flight decks of the hijacked planes on 9/11, you should do it. I have. They are horrid, and it is going to happen again if we are not vigilant.

_________________________________________
-There's always free cheese in a mouse trap.