Pat-down leaves victim humiliated.

Urine-soaked bladder cancer survivor Thomas D. "Tom" Sawyer claims an aggressive pat-down broke the seal on his urostomy bag, leaving him covered in urine. The 61-year-old says he repeatedly informed TSA officials of his medical condition during the safety check, but was ignored. Sawyer added he was left "humiliated, upset, and wet." The TSA said it would review his complaint and "take appropriate action if necessary."

Cancer survivor forced to show prosthetic breast.

Breast cancer survivor and flight attendant Cathy Bossi was allegedly forced to remove her prosthetic breast from her blouse to show a TSA agent. The security employee felt Bossi's prosthesis during a pat-down in North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and asked to be shown it in a private room. "It was just so horrific an experience, I couldn't believe someone had done that to me," said Bossi.

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I would like to remind all travelers this US holiday week (thanksgiving,) that as a former Air Marshal (circa 1970s,) that:

The TSA does NOT have arrest or detention powers. Their personnel and organization must rely on civilian law enforcement in all local jurisdictions. The goons running the security checkpoints have zero authority. They are NOT law enforcement.

The TSA can - and will - attempt to bullsh!t the public into believing they have some sort of authority.

The TSA org draws power under civil statutes NOT criminal statutes. They can NOT arrest nor detain anyone!

TSA employees are NOT certified state or federal law enforcement.

That thug feeling up your teenager this week is NOT trained by a state or federal law enforcement academy.

The only reason I fly is for the chance to be groped. You should see the look on their faces when they find I got nothing on under my gym shorts.

If the terrorists want to shut down aviation in the U.S...
.. they just need to convince one guy to stick C-4 up his butt,... success lies in getting caught, not blowing anything up...  ...

stinger wrote on 11/23/10 at 21:57:15:


Your words only prove that YOU are capable of such a thought. I live and work with arabs every single day and I can assure you they are NOT the extremists you people think.

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Times are different now, a security violation that would once get you a telling off now wins you a cautionary detention as they wait for the DA or Air marshal to show up.

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I'd love to take a steamer across the ocean but my employer will not grant me two weeks paid holiday for a three day conference.

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Baloney, baloney, baloney. Those same "they" also swore in court smoking does not harm you and that it's OK to have nuclear explosions in New Mexico.

In the 1800's your guests would come to your Thanksgiving dinner with a six-shooter and a pocketful of cigars, can I come to your house with a gun and cigars ?  

Well, I could get on my soapbox over this, but I'll try to be somewhat restrained.

The problem is simple - Washington is full of "political correctness".

Anyone who knows anything about the effective counter terrorism measures needed also knows that profiling is the only way to accomplish even a modicum of effectiveness.

Look at how the Israelis do it - they profile behavior.

Sorry, but I agree with Juan Williams (recall him?)  When I fly on an airliner, which I do at least monthly, I am VERY uncomfortable when Middle Eastern, or African Muslims are in the gate waiting area to board my flight.

But since this country no longer has the guts to offend a very small minority of the population for the protection of the whole, profile them, and be effective, we'll all suffer through this insanity.

Right after 9/11, Northwest airlines wanted to start a "domestic passport" program.  It was to be aimed at the frequent flyer, the business person who rides on airplanes weekly or monthly, do a thorough background check on them if they enroll in the program, then issue them a photo ID card to allow them to submit to only rudimentary screening at the airport.

Of course, this was shot down by the gov't at once - not fair, they said, to give preference to frequent flyers.

So, we body scan 80 year old grandmothers, toddlers, etc. because we can't have the macho to look for the really bad guys and identify them by behavior and other traits.

Sorry, Lifter, this may offend your liberal sensitivities, but it is the only way to be effective.

LA -

Yes, it is.  When a very small minority gets unreasonably offended by a very strong need to protect the whole, to me, that's just fine.  

That's our problem today - we're so dammed worried about offending somebody.  I get offended every time I have to stop at a red light when there is no one coming thru the intersection.  Since I'm offended at having to waste money for gas to sit there, needlessly, till the light changes, should they tear out all of the traffic lights needed to regulate traffic?

I remember about 20 years ago there was a serial killer loose somewhere in the Los Angeles area who had killed several people in a very short time period.  Eyewitnesses pegged him as a black man, relatively tall, well over 6 feet, and about 25 years old.

So, LAPD started basically stopping every man in that neighborhood who met that description, and caught the killer within days.

One of the major news networks interviewed several black folks in LA, and to a person, none thought it was unreasonable for the police to briefly delay a person who met the description, especially in light of the fact that all of the victims were also black, and all of the killings happened in a very small geographical area.

That's the way people should feel and react.  Let's quit this crap of being "offended" all of the time.

LA, I agree wholeheartedly with Jerry.

Like me, he evidently has an "Old World" mentality.

If somebody or something steals your chickens from the coop, what do you do, take measures against chicken predators (i.e., weasels) and reinforce your fence, or leave things as they are and make life miserable to the other chickens? Maybe floodlights inside the chicken coop will help? Maybe the chickens will have a nervous breakdown and stop laying eggs?

Would you believe that US tourists here in Europe were at one time advised to pin cadanian flags to their shirts and pretend they were not American?

So, in order to avoid having a burglar break into your house, take measures, but don't body search the guests you intend to entertain for dinner.

I"m just trying to figure out who it's okay to offend, is it okay to offend old white guys stealing my tax money for their social security? or single moms for welfare? or who exactly is off limits??  or can I just be an not a very nice person to everyone??