 You can haul a Lady Baltimore cake through BWI airport or a Boston cream pie home via Logan. Just expect a little extra TLC from the TSA, and don't forget to jam that jelly into luggage you'll be checking. Thousands of jet-setting epicures are on the go for the biggest food holiday of the year - and airport security screening is at an all-time high. Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Jonella J. Culmer weighed in on which edibles can be carried onboard, and which are best transported in your belly or your checked bags. Culmer told us via e-mail, that unless these items are purchased from a vendor after the security checkpoint, these items may not be carried onto the plane:
These foods tend to fall under the TSA's 3-1-1 policy governing liquids, gels and aerosols, as liquid explosives are still thought to pose a threat aboard airplanes. A traveler could opt to pack a 3.4 ounce bottle or less, seal that in a 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag and send that in a screening bin through a checkpoint scanner, but is all that kerfuffle really worth it for a few spoonfuls of your Aunt Francine's giblet gravy? Okay, yes, we've had gravy that good, but if that's the case, it just makes sense to eat the egregious baggage fee - at least on one leg of the journey - and stock your suitcase with thoroughly sealed, non-breakable containers of foods you'd like to share, or those you'd care to savor once you're back at home. You're paying the big bucks anyhow, so why not make the most of it? Most solid leftovers will journey well in a hard-sided container, and liquids in tightly-sealed jars, but learn from our pain. Unless you don't mind an entirely sauce-stained wardrobe, take the time to wrap the container in several tight layers of plastic wrap, then seal that in a plastic, zippered bag. And when it comes to traveling with tipples, we've fallen in love with WineSkin. For $9.99, you get three padded, contoured, double-sealed sleeves that protect checked bottles and keep the contents from leaking all over your clothes. But back to the sweet stuff. Culmer informed us that, "Pies are permitted through the security checkpoint," and the TSA website amends this to allow for cakes as well and note, "Please be advised that they are subject to additional screening." When in doubt as to the flying viability of an item, travelers may consult the TSA's mobile website or download the free "MyTSA" app from iTunes. While the breadth of the "Can I Bring" tab of the app seems to be in an early phase, users searching for "bacon," "tiramisu," or "flan" may suggest the addition of these items via a button. Jerky is entirely permissible for carry-on, so snack away, intrepid holiday traveler. Snack like the wind. A few more tips to ensure a minimum of TSA fuss:
Have you planned to haul your cookies cross-country, only to have them nabbed at airport security? We'd love to hear about it below. Share your tasty travel stories in the comments below and for much more, visit CNN Travel's complete holiday travel coverage. |
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Personally, I don't mind the security. We came together as a country after 09/11 and requested that we be protected. They are doing just that. If having someone's hands all over me is what it takes, great, because im happy knowing that the next person is getting felt up too, share the love. Please have respect for the people that ensure our safety, I'm sure they don't want to touch you either. Im certain there are some that just don't belong in the TSA, but that goes with every job. I'm sure these people would be a lot nicer if they didn't have rude, snobby, ignorant travelers coming through all day either. The liquids and foods thing is a bit much, but considering your checked baggage is allowed, ok. The government will never be able to please everyone. Just live with what we have. At least our government cares for us enough to subject us to these measures to ensure we leave in one piece and come back that way. Some countries have governments that just do not care if you live or die. I also would agree with the person before who said parents with children should have their own compartment. The woman got herself knocked up, I shouldn't have to suffer by listening to her brats cry and scream. -+UPS/Fed-Ex Overnight them to the destination, or toss them in the cargo hold.
I think that the airline execs have influenced the TSA into what is "legal" and what is not for carry-on. The airlines make big money on booze, drinks, and food, and isn't it convenient that many of these items are the very same ones that are "banned?" Cell phones DO NOT interfere with navigation devices (not even the same frequencies!); rather, the airlines make money on those airline telephones and internet services provided on the plane.
Hey super..now our traveling gets slower by waiting for some nut who just has to bring food back home to be screened and then listen to the arguing. SIMPLE..NO FOOD ITEMS..screen'm, pack'm and lets go.
I'm tired of airline food and am very happy to be able to take a sandwich and piece of fruit with me when I travel. I don't slow down the line and TSA seems to be ok with my food choices which are easily screened. All I get stuck buying is water.
We live in a world where there is no such thing as absolute security. At what point in this slippery slope downward do we draw the line and say "That's enough"? At what point are further erosions of our freedom not worth the possible increase in security? Is that point when we have to witness children being molested at the airport?
Just another example of big liberal government taking our freedoms away. This is exactly whey we need to elect real conservatives in 2012 not the liberals currently running for the republican nomination. We need real conservatives in office to rid our country of the Taliban Society of America.
Thanks for your post. I read the article and wondered to myself "are there really people so stupid that they would travel on airplanes with pies and cakes?" But then I saw your post and realized there is indeed a ready supply of incredibly stupid people.
Problem is that most of those 'Real Conservatives' you're talking about are in mental hospitals... Where they belong.
There's no freedoms being taken away. No one is requiring you to take a plane anywhere. If you don't like TSA feel free to take a bus, drive, ride a horse or walk.
In Germany, no one "required" Jews to own businesses, travel, live in certain parts of the city, speak out against authorities. Therefore the Nazis were perfectly justified in taking all those things away from them, right? Your illogic profounds me.
Last summer at Sky Harbor Airport (Phoenix) three Muslims were arrested after trying to get past security with jars of sesame paste that had cell phones attached to them. Now I know why, They were testing thew 3-1-1 rule. Oddly, Muslims have also tested the 3-1-1 rule, in remarkably similar fashion, (coincidence I'm sure) at Memphis and Kansas City airports as well.
How come it's always Muslims attempting to get through our airport security with cylindrical containers packed with dense material that have cell phones attached to them?
It must be a cultural thing.
That's because we are coming after paraniod, Christian fruit-loops like you, waycist... we also like to blow up bigots...
No comment
Did, too!
All you must remember something, this generation of people growing up have never had the freedoms that we had in our time. I'm 61 years young and remember being able to walk from my car to the airport and check luggage and walk on an airplane without all this security. This generation has never seen the kinds of freedoms we had and don't know what they have lost. We as a country will never get it back, because this generation will eventually be running our country.
The problem is that this country and most western countries have lost the plot and become too politically correct. That's why TSA will strip search an elderly white man, yet do nothing to the passing Muslim. Jeez! We cannot profile, yet has there really been a terrorist on a plane other than a Muslim. The answer is no, by the way.
Bigotry is live and well.
You can thank a muslim for that, or you can do what I do, point at them and take their picture, they appreciate it.
if you took my picture without asking me i would first ask you politely to delete and if you didn't i would rip it out of your hand and do it myself and give camera/phone back to you. we don't need more racist people like yourself.
Sorry, but the generation has nothing to do with it. Technology is what has changed. Passengers weren't going to be detonating a bomb with a cell phone in, say, 1965. Nor did the average airline traveler have access to plastic explosives. Life is different, and you're right, it's never going to be the same. But no need to blame it on any particular generation or group.
Sorry, but GENERATION has EVERYTHING to do with it! People in the latest GENERATION do not have a clue regarding the many FREEDOMS we enjoyed in the 60's, 70's, 80's... You have to put your TECHNOLOGY in some CONTEXT here...
Fact is, each generation has lost more and more FREEDOMS... all in the name of SECURITY, which, of course, we simply do not have. TECHNOLOGY is both the METHODOGY and the EXCUSE that the GOVERNMENT uses to take away more and still more of our FREEDOMS.
This is all done under the guise of PROTECTING US!
We have more to fear from TSA, DHS, and the Patriot Act than we ever will from any terrorist.
I want my liberty and freedom back.
Disband TSA and the multi-billion dollar DHS boondoogle.
.
I agree whole heartedly... not only the TSA a waste of money... so is most of a lot of other government agencies including engergy..... lets save a lot of money and reduce government size by 1/3 and make both house participate in social security and take ALL the special perks AWAY from them.
AMEN... and th UN-Patriotic PATRIOT ACT!
The TSA won't swipe your pie... But they may swipe your electronics or jewelry.
I put all my small cables and chargers in a clear zip bag now. If they need to look inside, they can clearly see what's in the small bag. Less likelihood of something being forgotten – or stolen.
For women, you may want to put your 'personal' items in a bag, too. Who wants some guy pawing through your undies!
TSA has to justify their job somehow. If they can poke, pat, pull and pet legally why not?
Tes ticle
Squeezing
As s holes
its safe to fly with 15 boxes of Berger Cookies out of BWI...
If you drive, you will likely meet the other arm of terror – the Highway Patrol. All states are broke, and blue-light taxation is the easiest remedy around. At least the TSA doesn't charge me $150 to pass go...
Do the spped limit and you won't pay a cent. . . duh. . ..
Also, don't wear any heavy clothing, as they mistake you as a person of interest.
"duh..." IF you drive you may have a tail light out, you may be black or tanned, your license plate may become loose or you might have a turn signal not working... any excuse will do. "duh..."
You're an idiot... "duh..."
I had a 4 ounce bottle of hand sanitizer which was 1/2 empty and they would not allow me to take it in my carry-on... where's the logic there? 3.4 ounces is allowed. 4 X 1/2 = 2 ounces . empty thermos or water bottle is allowed, so it's got nothing to do with capacity.
The logic is simple: They are paid to hassle you, got it?
We've been subjected to this 3-3-1 thing for a few years now.. Everyone should be fully aware of the rules. It's never about the volume of the item itself, but the volume of the container that the item is in. Can't explain the reasoning, but think of it like this, a container 3.3oz or smaller requires no mental calculation to determine the volume of the product within, while a container larger that 3.3oz would require either a) a weight of the product to confirm the contents are under 3.3oz or an expert eye to determine the actual volume of the item. With tens of thousands of people passing through a day, imagine if the TSA had to then take the extra 1-2 minutes per person to evaluate the volume of the item, it's not efficient. So to save yourself headaches (and the rest of us standing patiently in line to get to our gates), keep your containers to the legal allowed or pack it in your checked baggage.
If the TSA officer can't divide 4/2 in a split second, then they are not of mental capacity to be performing searches of any kind
"Is it exactly half? Wait, the container isn't transparent. Gotta peak through the hole. Hey willy, could you peek in here and see if this is half or more like 60%?" Meanwhile, you've just turned the person behind you into a terrorist.
4 x 1/2 = 4 1/2 (4.5). Simple math.
Vist relatives, and go through all the hassle, and expense?
I'll just use the phone. :-)
visting relatives are the biggeset hassels
Look at how restrictive we are now when travelling. The terrorists have won, even if they haven't attacked us in years.
You left off the little zinger TSA puts on every announcement: These rules are not definitive or binding. TSA officer may make on the spot decisions about what is and is not permitted in baggage based solely on his or her determination.
In other words, we don't have to let anything on that we don't want and you can't do a d*** thing about it if you expect to fly that day.
I'll bet this time of year the TSA break room is *very* well stocked. "Hey, I seized some "suspicious" looking fudge, anyone want some before I take it home?" (General laughter ensues)
Once again, TSA + public air travel = terrible travel experience!
Be sure if you are visiting relatives out of the country that you check on what you can bring back through customs. It differs from traveling within the US greatly. Meaning, that you may not be able to bring some of those baked goods or other foods back with you.
Can the TSA makes rules about bringing young kids onto airplanes? I just know that some idiot parents are going to have thier crying toddler on the red-eye tonight.
They should be packed into compartments in the back of the plane. That way the rest of us can get some sleep.
Just tell the TSA agent, "I think that kid cried more than 3.4 ounces", and they will not allow them to board.
Geez you must not have kids. Sorry but it's hard to control when a baby cries and what are we supposed to leave the kids at home all of the time? I get far more annoyed by people with body odor or strong perfume!
I'm with lola on this one!
IF you are going to ignore the needs of the PAYING traveling public with your RAT, you at the very least should put the RAT back where it came from!
No one wants to deal/train or be bothered with YOUR INBRED CHILD, especially on an cramped airplane!
they should make rules about fat people. no offense, but if you're wider than the seat pay for two. nothing worse than being crammed between an obese man and a window...especially when he's sleeping and taking over half your seat. not to mention the wailing infants behind me... but I guess I don't deserve to complain about the little kids because I hate it when people say little kids shouldn't be allowed. Maybe they should make planes with a second compartment for parents and their toddlers, preferably one in a "safe" area of the plane and SOUND-PROOFED. But the fat people...sorry but unlike the little kids crying, your weight is your fault. you should have to buy two seats because I don't think anyone wants to pander to your overeating issue......... (now, I'm not totally ignorant...I know some people are genetically fat or they have some weird disease or whatever, but still.)
*Sorry about the capitalization. Whoopsies :)
Maybe the cheapassed airlines should invest in seats that were designed for people bigger than the proportions of the Model T! Airlines are scum, and do not care about their customers, fat and skinny ones alike. So, you might as well get used to it, because fat is here to stay in the U.S.A.
Beaker.
Or vote for Ron Paul and get rid of the TSA and privatize airports and security. The plane I choose will be the one I choose. But that plane will also be responsible for its actions.
Mail it home before going to the airport, if it can survive the process.
The USPS needs the business.
FINALLY someone says it! I've shipped items home quite a few times that i didn't feel like dealing with w/TSA. Problem solved and it's one less thing to schlep to/from the airport.
Culmer told us via e-mail, that unless these items are purchased from a vendor after the security checkpoint, these items may not be carried onto the plane:
if these items were not purchased from a vendor after security how the hell did they get them through security
TSA: The George W. Bush Healthcare plan...Thanks to this plan we all receive free prostate exams, x-rays and even MRI's.
Then why doesn't your boy "Oblame it on Bush" eliminate the TSA
I personally don't care for the fact that they have these monkeys who make low-wage, don't go through their own security procedures in charge of the safety of our skies. But unless you have a better solution keep your smart aleck comments to yourself
Everything BAD in AMERCA is BUSH'S fault... the only people that don't understand that are Big Bear, Tea Baggers, the Republic Party and people with an IQ under 80...
TSA – Only in America. No common sense just plain crazy.
A ten year old suggestion that would have, and still can completely eliminate the need for TSA. Modify all commercial airliners to have the ONLY access to the cockpit via an outside door. Weld shut any passage from the cockpit to the passenger cabin. The pilots cannot be forced to do anything. Put an airline representative in the cabin with authority to do what the pilot/captain would do, if he/she could access the cabin. Worst case scenario – terrorists blow up the plane, but to what end? They can't force the plane to fly into any buildings. They can't hijack the plane to Iraq, or wherever. All they can do is threaten the passengers, but the plane will land in a circle of SWAT officers and the perps will be either off to jail or killed. TSA hassle solved.
TSA=Touch Someone's @ss
i wish the general american public was a bit smarter and instead of saying 'i feel safer this way" would say get rid of the entire TSA and every agency that even remotely worked with them. Totally useless bunch of high school drop outs. I wouldn't trust them with a plastic spoon.
Just another example of big liberal government taking our freedoms away. Hopefully, we will soon have a real conservative president that will put a stop to these terrorist policies.
you id1ot, who do you think passed this TSA law? Your conservative id1ot bush. And he was just dumb for America, he was okay for Texas. His buddy Rick is even dumb for Texas, I'd be surprised if he knew which hand he uses to wipe.
Just like his father, he is not a real Republican but a global fascist dictator that usurped the elections.
Gore isn't any better – when will we as a nation realize we are being served up by these government and security officials.
I am not afraid of my fellow american – i am afraid of my congressman, president, and anyone in a position of power that can use the monopolistic fury of the state to confine me to a jail cell or other 'treatment' for my condition.
Neither Bush know what a true conservative is. Both of them were just a couple of liberals. Almost as liberal as the democrat god bill clinton.
Neither Bush had a brain... and Texas is where brain-dead people are born to become politicians...
Where do you think those rules came from?? The silly thing is there is NO evidence that a baby or little child has ever been used to blow up a plane. We need to take a cue from Isreal and El Al and BEGIN profiling. They are in one of the most hostile areas for attacks, however their safety record is to be admired. Anyone that has ever flown into any of these airports will tell you they feel as safe as they can be.
TSA was formed under President Bush after 911. A republican President.
Right! I can't wait for conservatives to come back into power to restore all our freedoms – like the freedom to choose whether to give birth, the freedom to marry whom we choose ... wait ... what?
The Patriot Act is all GW Bushs' doing
TSA = Gestapo
Actually, it stands for Terrorists of Sexual Assault.
TSA Agents are the "Burger Flippers" of Homeland Security
nope, they are not even agents, they are just burger flippers with a side job at tsa
Drive whenever possible. Everything else will fall in its place when the airline profits decline.
If you people Boycott the Airliners and I guarantee you will get better security when the Gov revokes Northrop Grumman's Contract. Profit over Security, Dignity...
It's an old article from 2010 - but still worth discussing.
Face it - you're losing your rights. You can argue all you want and say "they're keeping us safe". Are they? When they fail you, are you going to come back here and comment about how they didn't protect you?
The TSA is a sham. It's just another organization sucking billions from our wallets every year while providing no additional protection. It is unlikely that terrorists would use planes again, and if they did - everyone on board, including the women and children would attack them.
"But they found over a thousand guns".
So what. Most were probably brought on-board by people like me who carry concealed everyday that we don't think about it and often forget to remove the weapon from us. When you carry everywhere, you get use to having it with you and you don't even notice it anymore.
"They say the x-rays are safe, and they're report is good enough".
We don't know this. Their report cannot be confirmed by an outside party because of "national security". We just have to assume the company is producing a safer product and the techs who work on them know what they're doing - most don't.
"The pat downs aren't so bad".
They are unnecessary and violating. It's an ideal playground for a pervert or pedophile.
Want to travel? Get in the car. Spend as much time with your family as you can…you won't be around forever for them to get to know you.
screw the TSA
Be nice!
I only eat endangered species, so this article was quite disappointing. Has anyone ever had panda ribs with pepper marmalade?
Only if it comes from an endangered variety of pepper tree, of course.
Endangered pepper! You are sick!
Holiday Travel Tip:
If you are not sure if you are allowed to bring something in your carry on baggage, you probably can't.
TSA has new Tube you can shove in your az so that they can check your but for explosives.
Last Christmas, I had a sealed and labeled glass jar of mushrooms some relatives had sent from overseas. TSA kindly offered me the opportunity to find a post office and mail the jar to myself, but I decided to catch my flight instead, without the jar of food.
"Pies are permitted through the security checkpoint," and the TSA website amends this to allow for cakes as well and note, "Please be advised that they are subject to additional screening."
The additional screening procedure involves a knife and fork.
......And a glass of milk for a thorough screening.
TSA can blow goats for a penny a head and a nickle a herd, I'm driving.
More and more people should stop flying.
Sorry but the TSA is a joke.The whole thing of the TSA and all the checks they do are taking away our freedom.now couple that witht he morons in Washington debating on SOPA or the PROTECT-IP ACT and there is a trend.These guys are slowly but surely leading us straight into the real 1984.
Those two bills will give them complete control of the Internet and the security stuff gives them complete control of transportation.
I agree with everything you say. The SOPA and PROTECT-IP Act are what scrare me the most.
Some times Limo service is cheaper than taxis for airport rides. So next time when you travel call few limousine services and you will be surprised to know that the rates are not that high as you may have thought, most of the time its a few dollars more than a taxi and some times even less than a taxi. Some of the limo service providers offer shares rides and they are deffinetly less than cab.
Give it a try and you will be surprised !!
Don't forget that your limo driver dresses nicer, is more polite, has much more accountability for his job performance, and expects a tip that is suitable to a limo driver. ($50 or so, regardless of how long you have him/her) while a cabbie will be happy with a $5 tip.
But yes, you can get a limo for around $50 an hour, just expect all the little fees and things you didn't think about to add up.
I sometimes wonder how many people that are complaining so loudly have actually been subjected to a backscatter X-ray and pat down.
I was the last time I was a on a plane, and I can tell you that the agent who took me through the process was very professional about the whole thing. It was an inconvenience, sure, but a lot less time-consuming than waiting to check in for my flight. I didn't feel violated in any way, nor did my overprotective parents think that the TSA agent was touching me inappropriately.
This is not the point. Your freedom is being taken away. Just because it's not an inconvenience doesn't negate the fact that your freedom is much more valuable than that. Inappropriate search and seizure is a violation of the Constitution, a *freedom* of yours. If we become numb to the lack of freedoms now, even as "convenient" as they may seem now, how will we feel in 20 years when even more freedom is stripped away?
I completely disagree with you. These searches are not unreasonable nor are they against the law. The Constitution also mandates the government provides for security of the populace. You are not forced to fly; you can drive, take a train, a boat, etc. Flying is an optional service provided by companies regulated by the Federal Government – who has a responsibility to keep the public safe. There is no freedom being taken away from you – if anything, everyone else's freedom and fear is being removed by these searches.
The TSA is the start of a bonafide police state. Have you noticed how our college students are pepper sprayed and beaten by campus pigs for protesting peacefully on their campus? It'll be getting worse going forward, wait and see.
I find people who give the whole "yes but you're not forced to fly" argument to be missing the point. Of course not, nor are you forced to leave your property, really, for anything either... shall we institute a search at the genesis of potential trouble? OUR constitution clearly states that no one is allowed to touch one's person without their permission or reasonable cause for suspicion of criminal intent. Boarding an airplane does not meet the threshold of reasonable cause – it's fairly cut and dry. Add to this the ample evidence that this search and seizure does not in fact prevent those with criminal intent and you have two strong arguments to severely limit the contact power of TSA without causing undue harm to travelers and residents alike.
You don't need a search warrant when the subject consents to the search by entering a security checkpoint. Nobody is forced to go through a security checkpoint, and if you don't want to be searched, then don't go to one... it's that simple. TSA doesn't violate anyone's rights, only people who don't know anything about the Constitution or the law think that TSA searches are unconstitutional. You don't have to subject yourself to search, but if/when you do, don't act like you're being oppressed please, because you're not.
Nobody is forced to go through a security checkpoint, and if you don't want to be searched, then don't go to one... it's that simple.
-------
Would you subject yourself to being randomly taken to a room, stripped down, and poked and massaged where the sun doesn't shine? This includes opening your mouth wide and having them insert a tube down your throat for a random stomach inspection. How about having them take a sample of your blood for identification and health purposes through DNA analysis, each time you fly. How much would you sacrifice in the name of security?
I've always opted out of the backscatter machines. You know it emits an unknown level ionizing radiation. You can take the TSA's word that it's safe, but they are very reluctant to independently test the machines and insist on the public taking their word on it. Think of all the sound, thoughtful things TSA has done for your travel. I studied Physics in college so I understand enough to not want to unnecessarily expose myself to this type of radiation for questionable benefit when there is an alternative.
I have opted out 8 times in the last year. The agents have always been professional, but I think the policy and procedure is meant to embarrass and discourage people from doing it in lieu of the X-ray machines. They take you aside next to the line, they call out to bring attention to you, then the process involves rubbing your hair, grabbing your feet, and touching around your waist. I don't see how I could possibly hide anything inside my feet or my (short) hair so I can only conclude that it's designed to be uncomfortable.
A less intrusive policy and more information, especially when it's forced on ALL travelers, would definitely allay a lot of these concerns. That they don't do it, makes me doubt the safety of the machines.
For the most part, I agree with you. I think it depends on who the TSA agent is and their boss on scene (they work in teams with a team boss). I travel a LOT and most agents are nice and polite. I have had some TSA agents who were very rude, disrespectful, and destructive to personal property. I came very close to punching a guy who talked openly about how cute my wife was – it would have felt nice if not for his crude comments and descriptions. On the other hand, I have seen (and had) a few super TSA agents who bent over backwards to help people. One time the whole team minus one person moved to an empty machine to keep the line moving when an elderly couple came through and were having troubles; the one TSA agent not only checked everything but walked them to their gate. I think most people forget TSA agents are people – you treat them right and respectfully, they will do the same to you.
Waiting until you are in the line being directed towards the cancer-machine is a little late to complain. Should we just wait until we're dead to protest this?
You're a real moron.
Kate,
You are conditioned to think that you are somehow special because these reports are bad and nothing happened to you. Trust me, you can look on TV or hear about it on the web and then if and when it does happen to you – consider how you'd feel. The TSA is a joke and a scam and a sham and a waste of money and has not prevented any disasters from happening.
All that is needed is a sealed cockpit and air marshalls.
The entire hijacking was a scam and they let it happen, they knew these guys were going to blow up the twin towers and that would rush in acceptance of these tyrannical procedures – this is only the beginning Kate, trust me, your time will come.
Well, I wasn't patted down, but guess who was? My nine-year-old son. He has a deadly allergy to peanuts, and he carries an Epipen in case he has something he shouldn't. Apparently the TSA decided that nine-year-old Caucasian and Christian kids are likely to be terrorists carrying some kind of drug or bomb. It was a Epipen. That's just pathetic. So either my kid dies from an airplane snack containing peanuts, or he gets patted down by some random guy. Great choice. And we were going overseas, so we couldn't even drive.
Because terrorists always use exploding gravy.
Hehehehe!
I got stopped in Hartford for the 7oz jar of peanut butter in my luggage. The agents were unforgivably rude about it and tried to take it away, and then gave in and let me walk it back out. Outside security, I spread the entire jar between two slices of bread and went back through, showing it to the agents. They allowed it no questions asked, though one of them did seem to recognize the absurdity. I sent a nastygram to Hartford TSA and actually got a call from the head of TSA at that airport. He pretty much just gave me a knowing sigh, like this is all so ridiculous and there is nothing he can do about it, but it is better than when airlines ran checkpoints using the lowest bidder, some of whom he would find asleep.
I had a brand new, never used container of lubriderm lotion confiscated at John Wayne Airport by the TSA because it exceeded the acceptable weight limit. I hope the TSA hacks enjoyed using it on their chapped skin.
You might want to consider that those people working the security checkpoints are employees just like you, following procedures that they are not allowed to detour from under pain of write-up/termination, and stop being such a whinyb!tch about it.
I have never been treated with discourtesy by a TSA agent, and I fly around 30 times a year.
I have never been treated with discourtesy by a TSA agent, and I fly around 30 times a year.
-------------–
As the saying goes, there is a first time for everything. The world does not revolve around you and one day an agent may treat you otherwise. One agent I encountered a few years ago was close to treating me and my family with discourtesy, only to be stopped by another agent who intervened. All of the TSA employees I have encountered over the years with the exception of one performed their duties professionally.
They obviously don't have the TSA we have at New Orleans. They root through everything for the last 2 years at least when they inspect your checkins. Just a week ago they took the bubble wrap off a bottle of cooking liqour, opened it, then didn't properly reseal it or put the wrap back on. I've had my toiletries stuff left open there 3 times in recent times too. Its like they dump all the clothes out and shove it back in too. And those TSA only locks don't work when they don't put them back on either.
I had a 16oz container of hair gel and they didn't stop me. Weird, eh?
People get through with knifes, large bottles of fluid, etc all the time. TSA probably stops about half of it.
It is all false security. I don't want to be groped or even my grandchild or my wife. Truth is as already stated the TSA will not stop someone that really wants to blow up a plane that is know fact. Actually the TSA gets tested all the time and they fail to find the stuff. Do you feel safer now.
The TSA is scanning people's thanksgiving pies but allowing teenagers to stow away in the wheel well of planes. Oh I feel so much safer.
Lets expedite things, when you get to the security checkpoint you are handed a piece of bacon you have to eat. If you refuse, additional scrutiny forthcoming.
nice, the Swine-Tactic
Is that a grope-a-vegan tactic ? :)
I can't believe the public, after 9/11, everyone complained the govt didn't do enough to secure us, that it was the govt fault. So, they raised the security at airports, made it harder for terrorist to get weapons on airplanes so there wont be another 9/11, and they have to change there methods every so often to get ahead of the terrorist, who come up with ways to get around the security. with the new explosives they are developing, and have tried to use in past year, just metal detectors doesn't work anymore. they have come up with a new scanner, and they want select people to go through it. If you don't want to be scanned, then they will do a pat down search. They are giving you a option, scan or pat down, and everyone is complaining.
Say we drop the scanner and pat down search, and at Christmas, some terrorist gets a bomb on a airplane that would of been detected by scanner or pat down, How many of you who complained to get them stopped will be screaming the govt didn't do enough to stop the terrorist. The govt answer will be "because you , the public, didn't want the searches anymore". You the public wont take that as a valid answer, but it well be the truth.
I think it's Crazy, EVERYONE bitched about 9/11, and the govt didn't do enough to protect us, but when they do put in steps to protect us, EVERYONE complains, because it disrupts us, or delays us.
What I'm trying to say is, EITHER GO THROUGH SCANNER, GET A PAT DOWN, OR RISK BEING BLOWN OUT OF THE SKY WHEN THE TERRORIST GET A BOMB ON THE PLANE, AND THEY WILL AS SOON AS WE LOWER THE SECURITY ENOUGH FOR THEM TO SNEAK A BOMB ON THE PLANE.
CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS, HAVE SECURITY OR HAVE IT EASY, BUT NOT BOTH.
Of course there is a middle ground with sensible security measures instead of overly intrusive ones; measures selected precisely because they make us safer, not for show (which is much of what TSA appears to be doing most of the time). I think we all should realize we have to balance the risk with the inconveneince, but no matter what the inconvenience we will never have absolute safety, so why pretend we will?
People Complaining dont know the FACTS. GOV did KNOW! It was a false FLAG Operation.
I'd like to get all of you "false flag" nuts in the same room and have a vote. Who set up the false flag? A) Evil communist liberals B) Evil fascist conservatives C) Evil StarChamber/Illuminati D) Evil extraterrestrials. Let the fist fights begin.
System won't let me reply directly to ubquiet, but this is my GIGANTIC +1. Rock on, buddy!
The terrorist of 9/11 didn't have bombs. They had box cutters and the "threat" of an unseen explosive. Prior to TSA, we had terrorist threats and the government DID stop them (guns, explosives, etc.) The current security measures are just for show and are an erosion of your civil liberties. The terrorist have won.
I can't belive all the people who acytually belive the "official" 9-11 story. First of NORAD is the premier air defense system, and those planes were in the air over 40 minutes without the slightest intervention? Then two planes hit the twin towers, which were built with massive concrete reinforced steel beams, dump what is basically glorified diesel fuel into them, and that poorly burning flame (nowhere near hot enought to melt steel) causes them to come STRAIGHT down, just like the controlled demolition it was? And the Pentagon. Hmmmm... How did they manage that sharp 180 degree turn to hit the unoccupied section of that one? Oh, so many questions... Our government didn't do enough? I think our government DID it. Or at least somebody did. TSA? Here's an interesting tidbit... http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php/17609-Surpise-Former-TSA-Director-Michael-Chertoff-Owns-Body-Scanning-Company
All democracies end when the need for security is the given reason for the demand that individual freedoms are suppressed.
The TSA is a joke, and the new policy of body scans and pat downs has not, curiously, been used by an even more security conscious nation than America-Israel. What do the Israelis know that TSA does not? I have flown through Tel Aviv; I was pulled out of line and questioned.
And we are not safer with all this nonsense, any more than DC was safer with jets flying up and down the Potomac in the wake of 911. It was a matter of appearances.
I flew out of Reagan National with a two inch Swiss Army knife (accidentally left in my bag) to the West Coast in 2005. Do you feel safer?
Dulles did a full body search on my 86 year old mother, bound for NYC, to bury my father. Seemed she had two replacement hips, which she told them. Do you feel safer?
Have they found any more shoe bombs? They did not find the first one; passengers did, the same with the underwear bomber.
But millions of us take our shoes off to feed a security process that "wants to make us safe."
Are we really "safer?"
We are less and less free to wear our shoes, carry a pie or a pair of scissors, or have our genitals touched.
Bureaucracies always justify the loss of freedom in the name of security. Democracies are always fragile.
Those of you who support these "small" losses of freedom, remember that income taxes were supposed to be temporary for wartime, and that Rome had the trappings of a republic long after Augustus Caesar turned it to a empire.
As for the obsessive need for "feeling safe".
Good luck with that.
Benjamin Franklin quotes:
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
hear hear!
Benjamin Franklin did not live in our time. The country is in a completely different place now than when he was alive.
There Ideas are classic. Modern Society Doesnt = Lose of freedom. You're rational is inconsistent. Some things in the past are better then things in the present>
Exactly. Gosh, things have changed, people say. Well, not fundamentally, they haven't. When we let things like the Patriot Act (disgusting propagandistic name) occur, we're abandoning principles that literally millions have died for. Do not trust the government, because it is composed of politicians and bureaucrats who pursue these positions. Until and unless we eliminate the "career" politician/bureaucrat, these people are among the most dangerous among us.
I'm not sure this will make a difference to you-neither the shoe bomber nor the underwear bomber were on flights that originated out of the US-maybe because of the US's airport security that is in place. These flights were out of other countries bound for the US. TSA actually had nothing to do with screening those flights. The US isn't regulating airport security in other countries.
The 9/11 incident would not have happened if passengers had weapons and had the nerve to fight back, there is noway they did not know the flight crew was being butchered . 2nd point explosive screening has been around long before 9/11 just not in our airports and some other countries(wasps are brilliant bomb detectors).
Besides better screenings of cargo did anyone ever consider terrorists will do what cartels do ? like bribe threaten employees or work for the airports. or simple improvised weapons that everyone has but doesn't realize.
Too funny, I have a similar post from earlier this month! My heart goes out to all the gravy lovers during their travels. <3 http://ivysomething.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/gravy-friday-banned-by-tsa-nation-mourns/
Too funny! I have a related post from earlier this month! My heart goes out to all the gravy lovers during their travels <3 http://ivysomething.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/gravy-friday-banned-by-tsa-nation-mourns/
Don't trust your food! I had a container of wedding cake packed in my checked luggage. When I arrived, it was half gone, and TSA tastetester left fork marks in the remaining frosting and container! Tacky.
I would file a report with the police and sue. fk em.
Im calling bullsh!t on this claim. Who would eat food of an unknown origin? Find another lie to amuse yourself with.
They made this guy reveal his "cake" haha But would you mind if TSA looked like these girls?
Lets Make fun of your country going down the tubes.
plain and simple: if you don't like it, don't fly. nobody's forcing you. there are other methods of transportation. you don't need a license to ride a train or a bus. chill with the hate. this is ridiculous.
You've obviously missed the news stories about how the TSA is now checking passengers at bus depots and train stations. If you want to avoid the TSA, a private vehicle is the only way to ensure you won't encounter them, and I'm sure that's only because they haven't figured out a way to screen everyone on the interstate yet.
I wouldn't mind so much if this actually made us any safer, but as others have pointed out it doesn't. It's just incredibly disruptive, abusive and absurd security theater.
The last 10 years I have avoided flying due to the hassle of being searched and scrutinized by former McDonalds burger flippers, now TSA security guards.
At this point, I absolutely refuse to fly. For any reason. Under any circumstances. This country has lost its moral compass, its ability to think and reason, and its basic civility to fellow citizens. Between the precipitous decline in education, the mob rule mentality that targets the educated and the thoughtful rather than the wealthy corporatocracy, and fascism silently marching up Main Street carrying a cross and wrapped in a flag - forget the complaints about the TSA, people. You are not just fiddling while Rome burns - you are standing in the cooling ashes.
It seems that more terror attacks have been foiled by the terrorist's incompetence rather than TSA's competence.
do you think these body images are really invasive – please – what if I draw a stick figure with genitailia and say that it is you? Is that going to make you feel like your body has been invaded? Really? And to see all the people on here referring to the Bill of rights. Heaven forbid but if a terrorist gets his hands on a dirty bomb and blows up a big city killing 1 million + people – YOU WILL BE WIPING YOUR BEHIND WITH THE BILL OF RIGHTS!! the public will demand Draconian measures (that will far surpass the body scanners of today) Get a grip people!!!
Forget the pumpkin pie...just don't grab my cucumber!
And if you have to grab his, at least wash your hands before grabbing mine. I don't know where "oh my" has been!
Terrorism? On a plane? What makes you think we are trying to blow up planes anymore? Been there. done that. It's so 2001. As Yum! points out, we could walk right up to the scanners and just blow a few hundred people away with no problem. Gasoline trucks? Heard of those? We can hotwire them while Mr. Trucker is getting a shower at a truck-stop and drive into the large plate glass windows of an office building and send a few hundred more to their deaths. Better yet, just walk in as cleaning crew members and rig up a whole damned building or three. Illusion? Yeah, pretty much.
You can't even double clutch you idiot. And what make you think we take showers?
I remember in the 70's I was in Hawaii and went through the scanner they had at that time .... and had a letter opener that I forgot about laying in the bottom of the big HAWAII bag that I was carrying .... they took it out, found a box and
taped it to the inside of the big box and sent it on it's way through with the luggage. Ah, those were the days. It's kind of funny that it's just mostly they guys who are complaining .... but we get our boobs felt around on and we don't complain that much ...... it's only certain airports that do that ..... but hey ,,,, it keeps us safe, right?????
I am wearing an athletic protective cup the next time I fly. No one gets to handle my junk without my say-so.
Fail. You will be detained and searched in private. They will force you to remove the cup. If you refuse and attempt to leave the airport; you will be arrested under the Patriot Act as a Terrorist.
ummmmmm, I doubt there will be much demand to handle your junk, unless you're underage and flying out of State College.
Geez, when I saw the headline I thought this was going to be another article on the pat-downs....
About a week and a half ago I went through security with some of my aunt's yummy pumpkin bread wrapped in foil. I meant to remove the foil and put is in a plastic bag since I figured the foil wrapping might cause problems, but I forgot. The TSA didn't blink an eye, or search or re-scan my bag, or even ask me what it was. I had an unknown mass wrapped in foil in my computer bag, and no one said a thing. So, TSA, you're willing to grab my boobs and crotch in the name of "safety," but a C-4-sized mass wrapped in foil in my bag causes no suspicion?
xrays go trough tinfoil.
Unless you found LEAD foil, that aluminum isn't stopping anything. And I'm not sure, but I don't think you can buy foil made from Tin anymore on a consumer level.
I carry pepper spray in my purse all the time. I had shoved my purse into my backpack to make for fewer carryons, completely forgetting about the pepper spray. Did they find it? Nope.
Reminds me of the time i heard that a pax claim water wasn't a liquid.
- A
It is not if it is below 32 deg
If I don't want people to get in my car with dirty shoes, I have the right to make them take off their shoes before getting in my car. If they do not want to take off their dirty shoes then they do not have to ride in my car.
If someone else does not want me to wear a jacket in their car, then I can choose to take off my jacket or choose not to get in their car.
How many of you own a car and have gotten a ticket because someone else was driving it and did something wrong? Did it make you angry? Sure. Was it your fault? YES. It is your vehicle and you are responsible for it. Unless you reported it stolen then you allowed the person to get in and use it. You trusted them. Now, after getting this huge fine, are you going to trust them with the car again...NO.
Do you own a plane? Have you gotten fined for the millions of complaints?
Think about the reasons why it doesn't take 5 days to get on a plane and why air travel is still the safest way to travel.
Anyone can complain if they don't think about their own part in something.
Why is everyone so upset about the whole-body-scan. Private areas are blurred out and the radiation dose is equivalent to 4 minutes of cosmic does you receive when at altitude. The scans came about to protect against idiots like the Christmas underware bomber. I guess if you are okay flying with the underware-bomber-dude, then continue to harrass TSA.
@Snowman-z :
The energies are different .. you're comparing "whole body" doses, when the backscatter deposits its energy in the outer layer of the skin .. maybe 2% of the body mass at most. Learn some science before you march into the "showers".
I brought a foil pan filled with cookies on a plane once as a carry-on item. As long as it can go through the x-ray machine it's ok. They didn't unwrap or sift through the cookies, I just got a lot of comments of, "Are those for me?" from airport workers and other travelers too.
hi
The simplest thing to do is Avoid Flying. Write a letter, dial a call, send an eMail if you must, but Do Not Fly.
Try telling your boss that when he wants you to go to a conference. Or tell your family that when they ask why you're not coming for Christmas. "Sorry, Mom and Dad. Here's an email instead."
cool.
OK, I travel quite a bit. Is the screening a pain? Of Course. But hey, it is what it is. I also am pretty good around the Kitchen. So I am reading this article asking myself "who would drag a cake, pie or something along those lines on a Plane where the overhead bins have everything, including the kitchen sink?". I mean I get concerned about putting my luggage in the overhead bins. Some clown comes along and can't get his / her clown car in the over head bin and smash my laptop or whatever.
TSA response to the public: "Shutup". Wear your "I'm cattle and proud of it" button.
It's funny to me that people fly with food, er, Thanksgiving dinner/dessert. I'm guessing it's common but I've not particularly heard of it.
As for the TSA bull, try taking a train, I hear it's nice! =)
Not too many trains run out to us here in Hawaii...
I don't understand why not; Hawaii does have an interstate, after all...
1933 Germany had the Reichstag Fire, Hitler passed the Enabling Act, and the Gestapo were created to "protect the homeland". 2001 we had 9/11, Bush passed the Patriot Act and created the Dept. of Homeland Security to "protect the homeland". Make no mistake, we are on the road to Fascism. Unless you stand up for your civil rights, you will lose them.
The current security measures are simply an ILLUSION and the government is hoping that it quells the apprehension of just a few travelers. The problem is that the number of people that this ILLUSION hinders is far greater than those who are soothed by it. The problem with the current measures are that they are reactionary, not preventative. The current measures do nothing but hinder the travel process. People should be aware of their surroundings and should be the first line of defense, not the TSA agents. If we all work together as a society and look after one another we can squash the problem. Right now the terrorists have succeeded in causing unrest. This chaos is just want they want. Don't let them have the satisfaction, let's repeal this scanning/body search crap. The only thing it is doing is making the scanner manufacturer very wealthy.
The TSA is a product of a conspiracy between high government officials and LearJet, in order to sell more private jets. I'm telling you!!
tsa will be the downfall of many an airlines..just wait till the passenger count goes to crap..and people wise up..take a bus, train, car, you can carry all the jams, jelly's, pies, cakes, and gel crap you want!!!!!!
Wait until the TSA figures out that they can do the same thing to people who want to board buses and trains...
They already are – have been for months.
Meanwhile, if you have your own plane you can skip all the hassle and just get right on it.
Gee, sure is a good thing them durn turrists don't have the money ta buy themselves a plane, ain't it?
yeah, and just listen to the corporations and lobbyists crying like babies if they have to do anything remotely approximating what the general public has to do (or pay for using the air traffic facilities, or declare something semi-reasonable as depreciation on their taxes). Another perk the 1% enjoy, subsidized by the rest of us.
Why are you people even still flying?
Some of us live 3000 miles away from family and we would like to see them once in a while.
And some of us live in Hawaii.
Calm down people, the government method of creating fear and e scare tactics is working. They use this to hijack our constitutional rights. Are we all becoming robots? Do we all believe that all TSA agents are angels; I sure don’t want a stranger, especially a male patting down my wife or my little daughter or looking at their naked pictures. Screw flying, I won’t do it and my family won’t do it either. We the people can resolve this issue very easy by refusing to fly. But it seems like they brain washed most of us very well by their fear and scare tactics
Amen! Doost,
I have traveled every summer for eleven years - eight of those trips overseas - and there is a BIG difference in airport security. I have NEVER had to take my shoes off in European airports. European airports sent me through multiple screenings, BUT I always felt safe and secure. I was always treated with respect and dignity. Four years ago I was patted down in Munich, and this past summer I had to explain my extra camera batteries in Milan, but at neither time was I treated like a criminal or possible terrorist. In American airports, however, I have not felt safe. Rather, I felt intimidated and embarrassed. TSA agents have yelled at, barked at, shouted at passengers. Rolled their eyes and complained loudly and insultingly whenever someone refused to go through the full body scanner - which is their right. I am very insulted that, as an American citizen, my own government allows their representatives, the TSA, to treat me and my fellow Americans as subhuman threats.
And to those who say that I must submit to this to fight terrorism, I say to them: Grow a Backbone! I had three great-uncles who served in the army and navy during World War II, and my great-aunt, their sister, who was an Army nurse serving in front line hospitals. None of them would have caved-in to ":terroristic" fears, and I knew them, and I know they'd be rolling in their graves if their grand-nephew grovelled and wept for safety.
Sorry to have rambled on so, and with such a angry tone, but my family has been in America for a long time, and none of us have been broken by nature or by man, and I don't intend to be the first.
I am so sick of the liquid ban. The 'bomb' those idiots were trying to make would never have worked in the first place but because it made headlines now we have a ban to stop a threat that never existed in the first place. Security theater at its finest.
Yup. One group of bad guys was working on a plot to mix up a liquid based bomb, so now we have limitations on liquids going through security. A real bad guy with a real recipie can buy bottled water on the other side of security. He can have 10 accomplices each bring 3 oz of liquids through the checkpoint and hand them off in the terminal. He can mix up a gel and put it in a pie. But people FEEL safe because security is a hassle, so everything is ok. Billions of dollars spent, millions of hours wasted, no attacks prevented, but it's ok because people FEEL safer.
If you don't want to fly, don't... otherwise stop complaining...
Our culture has gotten where everyone feels so self-entitled..
Yeah, because it's not as if people are required to fly for their jobs. And hey, so what if Mom is dying and you want to be by her side? If you don't like the security measures, drive there! *eyeroll* The only entitlement I'm seeing is from people who think they're entitled to feel 100 percent safe, 100 percent of the time.
You are right! Just because I live in Hawaii, doesn't mean I have the right to go anywhere else in the US.
If you don't fly, TSA can't touch your pie....
I miss JDiz.
We concur and well said! It's nice to get poetry on a Food Blog/
Laughs. That is pretty dang clever.
Johnny Cochran would be proud.
Actually, I have fashioned myself some special underwear out of potato skins sewn together. I am calling it......
...
Wait for it...
"The Dictator"
That's worse then my first summer job baiting hooks for the old ladies at our local lake. After a week I got a promotion and became Masterbaiter! Job Titles aren't everything.
I know what you mean...A friend of mine worked in the shipping and packing department of the Acme Fudge company, packing boxes of fudge for shipment...:)
http://amzn.to/aV2dQa Funny, touching, memorable short Thanksgiving stories about holiday disasters, family and friends.
On November 19 I had a mango cake the size of a brownie in my carry on. TSA in La Guardia has to call the bomb squad after it was mistakenly identified as an explosive device by their xray scanner.
This is an entirely predictable result of decades of belligerent, war-mongering foreign policy that made the US the most hated nation in the middle east. But, TSA screenings are far less invasive and anti-America than the unconstitutional law in OK banning Sharia law or the racial profiling laws in AZ. Xenophobia, meet plutocracy.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety".- Ben Franklin
I can't say it better than this.
Please don,t grope my suckling pig,Pal.
Blow up a rubber glove and stick it down your shorts.
I don't fly often, and I'm glad of that now. I read a report once that stated that no matter how strict with security we become, we're always a step behind. There's no possible way to predict everything someone is going to do. It really is more of an illusion of safety more than a guarantee. Not that I don't applaud efforts to keep us safe, but when they start crossing lines with all these things – and spending a LOT of money on extra security – it just doesn't seem worth it.
How will the TSA react to 2 dozen bagels just out of the oven!
They will confiscate them, followed shortly by an announcement of a gate closure due to a mandatory TSA lunch break...
You're okay as long as you don't bring the cream cheese.
That wine bottle cover thing is cool!
The only time TSA has ever done something "extreme" is when I was about 10 years old and the security guards made me take my shoes off so he could check and scan them. This was of course before 9/11 and the removing of shoes was necessary. It was just a little strange.
Why are all these people talking about a cookbook? I read eatocracy about every day but rarely comment but everyday I see someone talking about a cook book and its like the same line? What is this a sales ploy?
I meant removing shoes was not necessary... oops
good thing you were 10 back then and not now... they'd grope you now
Thousands Standing Around...
It might be inconvenient or worse to go through security, but I think it's important to be safe. If someone's loved one were killed because they missed something, they would be all up the TSA's backside. I feel bad for the people who are just there doing their jobs and taking a lot of flack for it.
There are more drunk drivers on the road than bombers looking to get on airplanes, and a drunk driver can kill lots of people. I'll bet you secretly wish all vehicles have a breathalyzer attached to the steering column too.
What's the big deal? Honestly. I'm surprised how many people feel they are soooooooooo hot that its 'wrong' that people see them nude via xray. Really do you think yourself so danged hot that you want to hold your nudity private? Heck I pity the fool who gets to see my average amercian mother of one, womanly flab. I wonder if I jiggle some of my c/s flab they'll laugh at me.
Get over yourself.
Id rather then check EVERYONE head to toe and feel at ease on my flight then worry about the muslim lady who got a pass because of her attire as a religious right sitting next to me quietly. Is it racial profiling? Probably, but its the TRUTH. If you are ignorant enough to believe you won't judge a person by their appearance then you are the reason why we are in danger to begin with.
Do the xray, move on and shut up. If not, don't whine about the pat down. You ASKED for it!
meh
What's the big deal? When the security officer puts her hands in your kids pants while your kid screams and cries, you tell me what the big deal is. If you complain, if you raise your voice, if you move suddenly toward the security officer, in that situation, you will be delayed, detained, and potentially arrested. No big deal.
Will they laugh at your overweight body? They might. Or they may grimace, or complain, or suggest you get some exercise. Explain that to your children. "Sorry for the delay kids, if your mother had spent some time on the treadmill and skipped a pie or two we wouldn't have to do this screening and you would be on your way already". Remember, no complaints or you will be marked as a domestic terrorist and put on the no-fly list. No more cross country holidays for you.
@whoreallycares My 2 year old doesn't deserve to be a pedophiles turn on whether its the pornoscope or grope-down so stop being ignorant and condone traumatizing our kids who are supposed to be taught strangers don't touch their genitals.
@healthyfitandvegetarian: Yeah especially those who groped a dallas fan because she was a dallas fan or groped a 3 year old girl because she cried when they snatched her teddy bear away... wonder how that's supposed to be security?!? Or tsa guys flipping down and exposing a woman's chest and laughing about it... security? None were... they power-trip as usual... the gov't gave them the legality to molest people... disgusting.
... and the guards at Buchenwald were just doing their jobs too. TSA – Same thing.
I just think it's weird to fly with food.
Huh? Ever try finding anything remotely healthy and tasty (and affordable!) at an airport?
Yes, but not in the USA. I also find the food is better on the flights that are not run by American companies. AirFrance and British Airways have awesome food even in the Economy seats.
One time I brought on a bag of Dorito's and we were up in the air, the bag popped and scared the pi$$ out of everybody. I was mortified!
...Because the air pressure in the bag got much greater than the air pressure outside the bag due to altitude. Cool story.
I second T's idea. I'm all for security, as long as it's effective security. The airlines have the most to lose from poor security, and they have an interest in making sure their passengers are happy.
Also, JJ, to be fair, you are far, far, far more likely to die driving on the highway than flying in the air. Letting one underpants bomber through is still safer than having thousands of people chose driving over flying because they don't want to have their genitals fondled.
Why fly? I vow to keep it to an absolute minimum from now on.
- Do not wrap food gifts that will be carried onto the plane.
- Food must be wrapped or in a container to avoid messes at screening stations.
So, don't wrap the food, but wrap it... Excellent...
Yeah, I noticed that stupidity too!
I think they mean don't wrap the food like a present for Aunt Sally, but please wrap it with plastic to prevent spills.
We could write the article better ourselves.
"Hey Timmy, i voted for Obama, and I think this security thing is an invasion of privacy and our rights. Let's not make this partisan–we can ALL hate the TSA. It'll be what brings this nation together"
Well guess what the republicans have brought us? To this... it was their own spreading of fear and paranoia about muslims that brought about such regulations. Now all you hear on right wing radio is "TSA Patdowns" and how intrusive they are. I mean maybe they could come up with something actually constructive for once... or a good idea occasionally but you won't hear that from them. Spread more fear and panic... about patdowns.
Yes, the Post Office accepts food. I mailed 8 large plastic bottles of syrup yesterday. Use the large flat rate boxes to save money. Beware of what you put in your check baggage. I put 4 plastic bottles of maple syrup in individual ziploc bags, then inside a large ziploc bag, then inside bubble wrap, then inside a cardboard box, then inside my checked luggage to go to China this summer. American TSA opened my luggage and opened the bottles to check them. They left a pre-printed note saying so. No problem. However, they didn't screw the caps on tightly and didn't completely zip the ziploc bag. What a lovely gift to open your luggage covered with sweet sticky syrup upon arrival. Thanks TSA!
The rat bastards – sue their asses!!
Happened to me once with nail polish top coat. It was all over my bag, including a lot of expensive chocolate that I had bought as a gift for someone. The TSA sticker was right on my bag too. Had to throw out the bag and most of its contents.
I have a close relative that used to work for TSA. You would not believe the stories she could tell about the things they did, and didn't do, to get luggage through screening and onto the planes. No longer working with TSA but to this day she refuses to fly.
I had a dress that I'd worn to my high school reunion, and it was in perfect shape when I packed it. When I unpacked it at home, there was a huge rip in one sleeve that couldn't be repaired. I don't even know what they did to cause that, but I was not pleased.
Referring to a comment by Chris about racial profiling..what if you were to fly to an arab conuntry and get profiled at the airport because they know that you are a racist?
that made no sense. If you changed "racist" to "caucasian" or "Christian" or "westerner", it would make sense, but no one can tell a racist just by looking at them.
First of all, aknowledging the fact that all of these bombings and prevented bombings have been commited by arabic men between 20 and 40 who are muslim extremists is not racism. Its a fact. And I don't know what you do for a living but being the daughter of a National Guard officer who has worked closely with DHS and several different countries in the past has given me an interesting view of how little our government does to prevent terrorism. If you think racism is doing extra background checks on muslim males and keeping them under surveillance then America is the least racist country in the world.
Second, these are muslim extremists who think that the rest of the world deserves to die because of their country, skin color, or religion. But hey, that's fine with you. I mean, at least they're not racists...right?
Isreal has the most effective security, at the most attacked airport, in the world. They don't use scanners, they use observation, profiling, and interrogation as their primary defense. And here's the key, they don't profile based on race. They are stongly opposed to race based profiling. Not because of political correctness, not because of ethics, not because of any ideaology. They are opposed to racial profiling because the most damaging attack against their air travel was done by asians, they face constant threat from arabs, the islamic radicals who hate them the most recruit from every racial group on the planet, and they have to deal with common criminals on top of all that. Racial profiling would be a disaster and they know it, based on real world results, measured and tested.
Hey Timmy, i voted for Obama, and I think this security thing is an invasion of privacy and our rights. Let's not make this partisan–we can ALL hate the TSA. It'll be what brings this nation together.
Hating the TSA is somewhat extreme. There are a lot of good people trying to do their best to ensure safety on aircraft. I doubt any of you would want open gates and allowing people to bring guns, ammo and knives on board. Most of the agents are just doing their job and following procedures.
This is just about what level of security people want to accept. At the moment, it seems people want to go back to basic checks... right up until the next incident when suddenly the TSA will be condemned for not doing enough to ensure safety.
Most people complaining about the TSA would have a completely different opinion if a loved one was killed on a plane because someone managed to get some liquid onboard which they turned into a bomb.
I trust a metal detector and luggage scanner more than the TSA "experts"
I agree!
Each time I open the refrigerator to grope my frozen turkey and see if he is thawed-I have to put on this stupid TSA uniform!
You should buy it the new TSA Underwear.
That was meant as a reply to RichardHead.
I meant that I agree with you. Mark my words... lawsuits will be coming out of the wood work with these new TSA checks. Why is it necessary to be able to see naked bodies? Very odd.
Many weapons and bombs can be all non metal
Don't fly, Duncan. It's much too dangerous for you.
Actually, I'd LOVE to go back to the days when an adult could freely carry a weapon on themselves for the protection of themselves and others no matter where they were. This country is TOO coddled! We need to "MAN UP" as a nation, and start protecting ourselves. Besides, I don't care if they outlaw guns, I use swords.
I want my own Mamma Grizzly to protect me!
The most recent bomb that was found was in the cargo of a plane. Cargo doesn't go through the same rigorous screening that passengers are now forced to endure. Certain airport employees (like bag handlers) are also not screened upon entering the airport. So what's to prevent a bag handler from stashing an explosive in his pocket and smuggling it on board that way? Nothing.
Both the underwear bomber and the printer-cartridge bombs weren't found by ANY airport security measures. They were found by anti-terrorism intelligence. They also took place in another frigging country! If you actually look at pictures of the mass of explosive that the underwear bomber had stashed, you'll see that an amount that small could easily be stashed in a body cavity if someone was determined to blow up a plane... so bottom line, these invasive new procedures won't keep us any safer. They're a pointless waste of taxpayer money designed to make us feel safer without actually doing anything but making the process of getting to Grandma's for Christmas a humiliating experience.
I wonder if there are any TSA agents that are quitting because they didn't hire on to be groping people all day.
Nothing the TSA is doing now would prevent a terrorist from bringing a "liquid bomb" through security. 3oz at a time. Or they could bring powders and mix them with bottled water purchased on the other side of the security checkpoint. Or they could mark their liquids as medical use, and that would be permitted.
Really you have no idea. I would not want the entire country to suffer because of one liquid bomb carrying idiot. There are many different ways to do this – trust me, 911 and the entire situation was a scam.
The Nigerian underwear bomber was also a scam, they say he was rushed on a plane in Europe by suited individuals who still to this day have not been identified. His father is also a banker supposedly.
The bottom line is that the country is in a trance of fear as are you that you could be blown up at any time anywhere dude.
The problem with supplying that piece of information is that it destroys anything credible you might have to say. I would keep that piece of information private. That is actually embarrassing to know you were suckered by the smoother talking Obummer.
Timmy!
Please lets get over it. If it really bothers you,don't fly. Drive,As they say better safe than sorry. How would you react if something happened to a loved one on a flight, what would you say They should have screened better. Please get real
How many times have we caught a bomb in the TSA security line? ZERO times. TSA is a group of morons. The only incidents where a bomb has been stopped is on the plane by the passengers.
And how many of those bombs were on flights that originated on the US where TSA had a chance to screen that passenger. And please don't say 9/11 cause as we all know the TSA didn't exist unitl November 2001.
"Better safe than sorry" only goes so far, you know. How much of your rights are you willing to give up because you want to be completely sure the world is totally safe? (Here's a hint: It's not.) And that tired old, "If you don't like it, don't fly" is just plain idiotic. There are many people whose jobs require them to fly, for example. If tomorrow, the TSA began practicing the same "security measures" on anyone who wanted to use public transportation, would you then tell people if they don't like it, they should walk?
- Don't have much choice but fly if I want to stay employed
- It doesn't make us any safer
- It's unconstitutional
- Don't want my kids to have naked pictures taken of them or their genitals groped
- Flying IS my right (regulated right, fine, as long as it's constitutionally regulated)
- How 'bout YOU don't fly and let me fly unmolested
So if your 5 year old doesn't want to fly because he/she knows it's bad to get groped are you going to let them drive? Oh no, your going to make them get groped and traumatize them for the rest of their life. Dumb parents!!
That was at JJ
Steaks on a Plane!
We're on the Gravy Plane now.
It's all just Pie in the Sky mentality.
Waiter, there's a soup in my fly.....
If we let them take our cranberry sauce then the terrorists have won...
OK, who is going to eat gravy after it has been on a plane for hours?
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin
Those that lose their life... are dead.
Everybody dies at one point in their life. People die everyday. Just sayin'...
This is a tired old quote which is used in all these discussions. I am pretty sure that BF would think differently if he lived in a world in which a suitcase with a nuke in it could wipe out New York City and kill 5 million people.
Yea cause Benjamin Franklin lived in real calm times ^_^
Why? You think dying is different in the 1700s was different then dying now? Dead is dead. I am quite certain the man (and partiot) understood what it meant to sacrifice. 17,000 non combantants died during the Revolutionary War, that's 6 times the number who died on 9/11/01. Think of what percentage of the population represents. Want to re-think your arguement of what Ben Franklin would think today?
...and that suitcase nuke can EASILY be smuggled into this country through any one of THOUSANDS of shipping containers that enter this country unchecked every day! BF was a wise man as were many of this nation's founding fathers. Surrendering our essential rights (the 4th Amendment, for one) for a little perceived safety is cowardly and opens the door to tyranny. After all, the Nazis demanded, and got, total control of Germany in 1932 under the guise of keeping the populace safe from those nasty old jewish commies who set fire to the Reichstag, didn't they?
AmerIcan's have really had it bad these past 8 years. Sad to see what you been reduced to. You have turned over your lives to a government and have asked them to take care of you. Not just liberals or conservatives, but all of you. If you put up with another day of TSA you are nothing but sheep.
Here is a brainstorm. Took me about 5 minutes to come up with this. Why don't you remove your government from the airports, and allow the airlines to run security for their own planes? Just send the TSA home.
The private security the airlines provide could profile the passengers. No more 90 year old ladies taking off their shoes. No more taking your laptop out and taking your belt off. No more listening to a 250 lb black woman with an attitude yell at you about see your ID or to get in line or whatever it is these dreggs of society do.
Are you safer after 8 years?
tl;dr
Americans, in the plural sense of the word, as you meant it, has NO APOSTROPHE. Jesus....
One advantage the TSA has over the airlines and other private businesses is they cannot be effectively sued.
The threat of lawsuits may have led to airlines placing security into the hands of the state
He!! no! If I knew that I'd go to Iraq so TSA could legally molest children I would've never signed at MEPS. If it gets worse I'm moving to Canada.
I would LOVE to implement your suggestion! And next let's get rid of those 12 useless jacktards on the "supercommittee" who failed to do their jobs not just once, but twice. Thank you.
What I would like to know is, are the TSA agents watching the screening porn and doing the groping pat downs people of alternative lifestyle, or child molesters? Seems like some are. So after you are, uh, searched, ask the person if they enjoyed themselves. Can we opt for the other gender to grope us?
Don't clump people of alternative lifestyles with child molesters. They are two totally different groups. ( Now if you would have said child molesters and clergy, you would have had a good chance at being right.) But as for the TSA, they are taking it too far in some of their gropings. As a flier, I don't feel I would need to be seriously groped after all the scanners and the wands being waved around. A pat-down by someone who knows what they are doing would be acceptable, not a mauling by someone who has had minimal training and no real experience in what they are looking for.
Yeah their background checks suck... some are CONVICTED sex offenders. Who do you think would pick a child out "randomly" or grope a child? A child molester
I brought a cup of peaches once. It was confiscated at security. They said if I had had a child with me, it would have been permissible, but because I was an adult on my own, they had to take. Really? Peaches?
I always wondered why she missed that flight.
Herb, I thought you found out why Peaches missed the flight when you two were reunited.
Jamie - I had to get out of the line at Denver and mail home a 4oz jar of honey butter I had bought. When I got home that night and was unpacking my checked bag, I found a note that TSA had given it extra attention. Hmm.. wonder why
The only reason Pies are exempt-They all banded together at DFW airport and Loudly proclaimed "Don't Touch My Junk!" I Love Cherry Pies. MMMMMM.
I hope I fall under the pie exemption. Just the thought of hearing the snap of a surgical glove and seeing a finger pointed my way scares the creme filling out of me!
Are you an author? Your comment about "hearing a surgical glove snap" was amazing to me somehow. I actually heard the glove snap as I read that sentence, either it was an accident or your writing is really good but that is the best comment i've read so far this week
why don't pies fall under gels or liquids? Creme pie, pie filling... all gelatenous
We are special because WE taste so good and WE {{{{jiggle}}}} in all the right places when WE walk.
Pies and cakes will go through extra screening? haha. We are going to have some very fat TSA agents.
Do you want them to touch your food with the same gloves that touched ...... well everything else? Eeeeewww!
Last I heard flying was a for-profit commercial enterprise. We pay for the tickets and we also pay for the goons that TSA employs to supposedly keep us safe. It's that thing called a "security fee" and taxes
Sad to see that our privacy and freedom is invaded...
I would just like to point at as many others have that flying is not a right it is a privilege. Just like any other privilege in life, if you want it you have to meet some circumstances. If you don't like the rules...don't fly!
No, you are actually completely wrong.
49 U.S.C. § 40103 Section (a) (2)
A citizen of the United States has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace.
To further that right, the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board established under section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 792) before prescribing a regulation or issuing an order or procedure that will have a significant impact on the accessibility of commercial airports or commercial air transportation for handicapped individuals.
lol....
somebody that knows how to cut and paste is an over inflated egotistical, self-proclaiming, know it all dou_che bag!
also......FLYING IS NOT A RIGHT!
only the ability to use the public airspace is granted as a right, not the concept of getting on a plane...that is still a priviledge........and where does the second part fit into the response to Kelly's comment?.....you know, the part about handicaps????
lmao...totally self-fullfilled wannaBe flyboy.....
i have a novel idea....take some pilot lessons.....AND LEARN THE REALITY OF IT ALL!!!
as i figure you find out every single day of your life...........you will learn you do not know nearly anything about the subject.
maddawg has issues. Thank you for taking the emotion out of it and pulling it back to legal rights, rules and facts.
I... Wow. I'm not even gonna touch that one maddawg.
"only the ability to use the public airspace is granted as a right, not the concept of getting on a plane...that is still a priviledge"..
There ya go , Matt...Madawg has PROVEN that only Superman has the right to fly since he doesn't need a plane. Shows how smart you are...
Maddawg is actually right. Access to the airspace is not just for Superman: you have access to the national airspace via your own private plane – you can bring ALL the 5 gallon water jugs you want. Can't afford that private plane? That's on you. Your access to the airspace is not restricted by the government, it's restricted by your inability to afford your own plane. Also – the accessibility to the airports bit at the end only refers to the actual airport and has more in common with ADA legislation than restricting your ability to fly. If you can get to the building, your rights have not been violated.
WRONG! Do a little reading before making ignorant statements. See other replies for details, or just read the friggin' constitution.
So.. where in the Constitution does it say that ANYTHING is a "Privilege"? Nowhere, that's where. Everything is a RIGHT until one person's "right" starts to infringe upon another person's rights, and then we create laws to make things as fair as possible. Virtually every law is a "balancing" of rights, and has NOTHING to do with "privileges". The Bill of Rights is just reinforcement of certain rights that were considered SO important they needed special mention, such as protection against unreasonable SEARCH and seizure.
Ultimately there are only 9 people in the US that can say for certain that TSA is violating the 4th Amendment, and only 5 of them have to agree with each other.
Personally I feel TSA is toeing the line of unreasonable searches and has probably crossed the line. I, however, am not one of those 9. We'll have to wait and see if the question ever gets that far.
Tell that to someone who studies on the other side of the country and has to fly at least six times a year. I'm not as thrilled about Christmas break now!
You know, I am so tired of this specious argument. Driving is a privilege and not a right, too. And you potentially threaten many lives every time you drive. BUT, as a licensed driver you have certain rights when dealing with law enforcement. Probable cause before searches, actually committing an infraction before being pulled over. In Virginia (and in many states), there is "implied consent," which means that when you got your license, you agreed to consent to a blood or breath test for drugs or alcohol...BUT ONLY AFTER there was reasonable suspicion to pull you over and probable cause to make an arrest. I just want them to apply the same standards to these SEARCHES (because they are not euphemistic "pat downs"). Establish probable cause, then you can search, Until then, you are not touching this retired, disabled in the line of duty police officer.
This in a very interesting point of view. Thanks for the thought
@Savory
By that standard, the airlines should have the right to choose whether their passengers should be subjected to these searches. As they do not, that argument really doesn't hold water.
@Savory: So what you are saying is, the wealthy have special rights, and the middle class and poor get to have their kids personal areas fondled by security agents who may have had a 2 hour class on search proceedures?
Actually, driving is a RIGHT that is (necessarily) very highly regulated because it is so easy for a driver to infringe upon other citizens' more important rights to safety and life. I know that's not the way we're taught, and to some it may be immaterial, but I think that may be why some people feel flying, among other things is a "privilege", when it is, in fact, a right in this "free" country.
@Savory: No, that's not true. Think about the public bus or subway. Are you subject to random searches before boarding a public bus or subway unless a police officer has reasonable cause to do so?
thats how the man keeps you down....its a priviledge and not a right....so, toilet paper, priviledge or right?
Apparently, if you have to pay for it, it's a privilege.
It is a right. You are ignorant.
Show me where in the Constitution it says that you have the right to board a commercial flight operated by an independent carrier.
@just a quick reminder:
The constitution outlines what the federal government is ALLOWED to do (so, turning it on you, where does it say, "the federal government has the right to search without cause"?). When it comes to citizens, they have the inherent right to do whatever the hell they want so long as they aren't interfering with the rights of others. Getting on a plane, public or private, is not interfering with the rights of others. It is UNREASONABLE SEARCH as defined by the constitution you are attempting to mis-quote.
bulletproof cockpit doors and armed pilots... so stop trying to grope children TSA pervs
I wonder if UPS or FedEx ships food? I know people who fly, who FedEx their baggage instead of checking it on the plane. They do that because you can track FedEx shipments. The difference between FedEx losing packages and airlines losing luggage is like night & day!
Yes they do, I do it all the time. it's worth the money....
Both UPS and FedEx will ship food. Instructions are on their websites, but both recommend sending non-perishable food (Nothing that will melt, spill or spoil).
It's pretty sad what we put up with now just for the illusion of safety.
Illusion of safety?
Cut it down tiger! Those guys in the TSA and around our borders are working their ass*s off to make sure that we all have a good night's sleep.
Its not an illusion.
Try going to war where you could get yourself killed any moment, and then try saying illusion of safety...
Gosh!
troll ...
the TSA exists to harass and humiliate
Exactly. How soon we forget. I had to fly the day planes went back into the air after 9/11. The jet from Chicago to Dallas had 12 people on it. You want to go back to total fear when flying? We should also be doing A LOT of racial profiling. Let's get real.
The reason it had 12 people on it was because everyone had canceled due to the uncertainty and no one was flying. To suggest people were not flying immediately after 9/11 because of fear is ignorant.
You just keep telling yourself that, sounds like you live in the land of illusion it seems. Here they are touching children's private parts, yet our borders are left wide open. It is an illusion, you are being corralled, you just don't realize it yet.
Are you comparing the TSA to the Military!?!?!?!?! That is a joke of a comparison. The Military does provide security for this country and I ahve nothing but the highest respect for the men and women who put their lives on the line to help protect us. However they are nothing like the TSA, I whole completely agree that the TSA is an illusion of safety they aren't working the @$$ off they are completely reactionary. Oh someone tried to sneak a bomb in shoe.... everyone take off your shoes now. I have heard countless stories of technical people traveling with loads of electronics in their bags through the so call great TSA scanners and they don't even get a second look, but my bottle of water that I forgot take out of my bag earns me a body cavity search. I am happy to put up with a lot (pat downs, body scanners, restricted carry ons) if I thought the person behind the counter had more than an hour training video and knew what they were doing. Fact is those they most of them don't know what they are looking, they are just following the steps someone gave them. Which yes will prevent the careless, dumb attackers, but someone who is really determined will know what we are looking for and figure out a way around it. Does the TSA serve a purpose, yes they do, but the way the execute their jobs does not leave me feeling safe.
So tell me, how many of the last "plots" have been uncovered by the TSA and their machines? Think really hard. Can't think of one? That's because the answer is none. It's the vigilance of other passengers that has kept terrorism in check. I've seen the TSA "in action" (I use that sarcastically). I remember the one that yelled at me to throw out a bottle of water I had forgotten hanging on my backpack, but just let my walk right through with the one I had forgotten, in my frustration, in my hand. I have lost count of the amount of "contraband" that I've forgotten at the bottom of purses and bags that's gone right through. I've laughed, but it isn't really a joke. If terrorists want to blow us out of the sky, they will, despite pat downs and scanners and humiliations galore because the TSA are in general small-minded goons that have been given a little job and are more interested in throwing their weight around than providing any real sort of protection. We live in fear if we choose to. And what the TSA is doing now gives us a very false and dangerous sense of security while crippling the airline and travel industry.
just don't grope my suckling pig ,Pal.
WELL SAID Abhinandan!!!
Some of you dingbats are crazy. how can you think its OK to give up your rights to be safe. When its our soldiers who give there lives for those rights. What disrespect! You people make me sick. Don't you dare call yourself an American if you agree with this sick policy. All the lives lost and hard work to make this country free and you want to give it all up. I gave 8 yrs for you @sshols in the Army Infantry and this is what I come back to. A country full of cowards afraid of third world bogeymen. We should round you people up and send you to Afghanistan so you have something to be afraid of.
I'm not a terrorist, but I can think of half a dozen ways to circumvent TSA security protocols off the top of my head. When the bad guys™ know what security is looking for, they already know what not to try.
The one thing all of these body scanners/luggage checks hasn't addressed, imo, is how organized terrorist groups are. Who's to say one person can't carry on innocuous Piece A of a bomb, and someone else carries on innocuous piece B – or just plant them on unsuspecting carriers like drug runners often do? Once on plane, take piece to the bathroom and assemble for boom? Or better yet, and "easier" for the bad guys – just blow everyone the heck up while they're all nicely piled up waiting to go through the scanners?
If someone like me can think of ways to get around security measures – you have to know that the bad guys have already thought of more ways. TSA is an illusion, and nothing more.
We are at war, with fear. You have lost your war, that's fine, but why do the rest of us have to suffer in fear and let ourselves be treated like second class citizens ? It's truly sad, there are a myriad of signs pointing to the end of the American empire, US money is woth less everyday, unemployment over 12 %, a 14 trillion dollar debt. America is a nation owned by it's government, beaurocracy gone wild, all payed for by the taxpayer.
What a waste of a nation.
The TSA should change their name to "The Gestapo." Who they are and what they do would be understood better.
I refuse to trade freedom and civil rights for Homeland Security.
The TSA is statistically superfluous and a gigantic waste of resources. So far they have not prevented any threats from boarding. In any event, it would take the monthly loss of 27 planes carrying 300 passengers each to equal the number of deaths caused by medical mistakes per year in the United States.
Get a grip. If you think that the current TSA system is somehow making your flying safer, you are deluded!
You all realize that flying is a privilege not a right, correct? If you don't want to abide by the rules set forth by the bodies governing air travel in the United States, you a free to drive, walk, run, take the train, snowshoe, or ride a horse (among other modes of transportation I am surely forgetting) to your destination. Taking off my shoes and going through a body scanner isn't my idea of a rockin' time on a Saturday night, but when I'm trying to get to my family members who are 1500 miles away it sure beats a 2 or 3 day car trip. Your fundamental right to bitch about the TSA is protected by the Constitution. Your fundamental right to get on an airplane doesn't exist. If you don't want to have your stuff inspected by a bunch of people who may (or more likely) may not have any clue what they're looking for, don't fly. The TSA is sort of the flying equivalent of a red light camera – they may not be as effective as advertised, but knowing they're there slows people down.
Exactly right. The TSA slows people down. It doesn't prevent actual bad guys from doing bad stuff. It won't prevent a terrorist from executing an attack. It usually won't even stop a drug trafficer from trafficing drugs. But it will slow people down. It will keep you and me from taking a bottle of wine on a plane. It will keep me from putting my multi-tool in my camera bag when I fly. It will harass a young mother for bringing milk on the flight. But it won't stop a 230 pound, body building martial arts expert from bringing a 4 foot long hardwood fighting stick on the plane, as long as he calls it a "cane" and says he has a bad ankle.
just a quick reminder: Flying is a RIGHT not a privilege. Period. Read the Constitution, the 4th amendment, supporting case law and Federal Regulations before you "speak". I am SOOOO... sick of hearing that lame, uneducated argument. Bunch of lemmings. That said, the TSA agents basically ARE there to protect us, MOSTLY do a good job, and they don't need to be harassed. Napolitano, Pistole, and Chertoff, on the other hand need to be brought under control (i.e. FIRED in the case of Napster and Pistol)
@Dan: Seriously! Those are my thoughts every time I read this crap.. I didn't go to Iraq in the Marines so my 2 year old can get groped by a pedophile because THOSE are the only people who would "randomly" pick a child out of a crowd. Like groping that 3 yr old because she cried over the teddy bear... 10k would've been worth my 3 yr olds dignity... shame on these parents.
@bennett – Yeah that title would fit them perfectly
@just a quick reminder – My 2 year old girl remaining molestation-free is worth a 3 day trip. I've made the cross country trip twice and it's better than if I were to see my daughter get groped by a pedophile TSA agent and be arrested for breaking his jaw. Notice the gov't and Obama aren't having their kids groped like we are... making a law you can't follow yourself.
Absolutely ridiculous. Just how far are you willing to go for your so-called safety? Or rather, how far are you willing to give up your freedoms? It would be safer if everyone flew naked, with no luggage, and were subjected to a thorough cavity search before getting on the plane. Sound like fun to you? For that matter, why stop with terrorists? How many people die each year in alcohol related deaths, either from the alcohol itself or from something caused by the alcohol? So the government should bring back prohibition. How many people die each year in car accidents? The government should take away our cars and make us all ride public transportation. How many people have health problems related to being overweight? Say bye bye Big Macs. And how many of us would be healthier if we exercised more? So now, a helpful police officer will come by your house and force you to exercise 30 minutes a day.
The fact is there are story after story after story of how ineffective these new rules are, but not one that shows that they've been successful. There's a reason why they're called TERRORists, and not assassins. It's because their goal isn't to kill us, it's to make us afraid, so that we disrupt our lives, retreating to our "safe" little corners. Well congratulations, they've done exactly that. Then again, with our own government feeding our fears to gain more power for themselves, they didn't really have to work too hard at it did they.
FreqFlier, flying is a right, BUT flying on somebody else's plane IS NOT. Period. You don't have a RIGHT to go fly on a privately owned airline. Flying as a right is in US Law; protection of your private property from being taken for public use is in the Constitution. The Constitution wins every time in that case.
I have a good friend, lets call him Fred for the sake of this comment. Fred works at Homeland Security. His job and the job of his division as he explained it to me is to run dockets with lists of all passangers on flights in the US against the terrorist watch list and other related lists that Homeland Security keeps. If a match is found on the list of passangers and the Homeland Security list, that person in flagged (for security reasons he obviously did not disclose exactly what happens when someone is flagged). My point is that there is so much money and man power invested into the screening of passangers even BEFORE we arrive at the airport, that it almost seems cumbersome that the TSA wants to invest more into the screening of passangers at the airport. This says to me one of two things: either the US Gov't has such sub par intellegence gathering skills that they still do actually rely on point of impact (if you will) security, or they want to keep up the dog and pony show at the airport to keep up the illusion of security in the eyes of those actaully boarding the planes. There's also secret option three: this is just a huge pissing contest between the TSA and Homeland Security over who has control over the security of passangers at the airport.
Bingo! Your last sentence says it all.
Homeland Security wants YOU on their watch list!
No points for research... the TSA is a branch of the Department of Homeland Security.
9/11 they had box cutters supposidly. They did not have water bottles filled with a secret agent poision, bomb cakes. All this is stupid. Pat downs? this is simply a progression of giving someone unlimited power and they will excerise it. I am convinced if a terrorist wanted to take over a plane they could. Man, Do you know how much damage 5 guys and thier belts, simply thier belts, can do? I have seen a belt fight in italy, they take each other out man!
I fly 2 times a week. I get fondeld two times a week, because I have a tan and black hair – I am not a blond blue eyed hunk. This week I went through a machine and STILL got a pat down. Whats worse, I was wearing short sleeves and the guy was patting down my arms. What? I have some embedded bomb in my elbow? SImply put, TSA means: TOTALLY STUPID AGENTS! And this is not the people on the ground, they are doing thier job, its the morons who are running the show.
Whats worse, NO ONE IN THE FIRST AND BUSSINESS CLASS line had to go through the machine or be fondeld. Money talks and all the rest of us, buy the bullshit!
sam says, "Whats worse, NO ONE IN THE FIRST AND BUSSINESS CLASS line had to go through the machine or be fondeld. Money talks and all the rest of us, buy the bullshit!"
Garbage. They even want to scan the freakin' pilots. Everyone gets a turn, even first and business class.
Then take the bus
Why is everyone so upset about the whole-body-scan. Private areas are blurred out and the radiation dose is equivalent to 4 minutes of cosmic does you receive when at altitude. The scans came about to protect against idiots like the Christmas underware bomber. I guess if you are okay flying with the underware-bomber-dude, then continue to harrass TSA.
According to the FDA – the dosage is high enough to increase chances of cancer at a statistically significantly higher rate than, say, having dental x-rays done (which is only twice a year).
Bought the propaganda did you?
Actually, if you're okay flying with Mr. Fruit-of-the-Boom, do nothing. The system worked.
- It is very easy to hide lots of explosives (PETN) on yourself and, if you're so unlucky as to be in the 3% that get scanned, still not have it detected (i.e. what's the point?)
- Random scanning IS unconstitutional – read the 4th amendment AND supporting case law. If there's reasonable cause to suspect you, then it probably isn't unconstitutional, at least not on international flights
- There a CONSTITUTIONAL methods of security that are much more effective, such as behavioral "profiling" (hate that word – NOT advocating racial/ethnic profiling)
Pictures were already leaked... pedophiles aren't getting any image of my daughter. The point is it IS unconstitutional. Terrorists are going to get around security like they always have, this is just showing people we are supposed to be scared of the big bad TSA and the terrorists are laughing
The tobacco industry also insisted that inhaling burning tobacco fumes didn't cause lung cancer and we all know how that got proven utterly false. Do you want to be the one sprouting cancerous tumors like acne a decade or so later? Especially when we still have no cure for cancer? If you read the fine print carefully, you'll see that there is insufficient study to tell whether that additional radiation contributes to cancer or not.
I can't understand why you would have to bring food on a plane anyway. You mean to tell me there are not grocery stores so you could cook or purchase what you wanted to bring when you got to your destination? If all of this "illusion of safety" makes anyone mad enough, drive or take a train or boat. There are other modes of transportation other than planes.
I don't fly anymore because of this TSA bs. What makes me sad is that there are parents who don't care enough about their children's dignity or safety to let them get groped! "sorry honey he has a uniform, that means it's ok" shame on those parents.
Why the need to bring food on board? Personally, I would not be bringing dinner fixings for the holidays, for the same reason that I _do_ bring snacks: when I fly in the US, it's an all-day trip.
My next one will leave at 5am, involve changing planes three times and going through Customs, arrive in an American city in the early evening, where I stay overnight, and catch the last leg of the flight to another American city the following morning. That's presuming all goes well.
Gravy and the like would likely be spoiled by the time I arrive. Because of severe allergies, I can't really trust the food on the plane when such exists, and food courts are often worse. A disease similar to Diabetes prevents me from simply fasting for the duration. So, I pack snacks. They must be very compact, because of carry-on restrictions, going into the US from Canada; peanut-free so as not to put other passengers at risk (presumably shell-fish free, too, as fatal shell-fish allergies are roughly three times as common...); legal to take across the border; and edible in spite of my non-peanut-related allergies....and easy for the TSA guys to recognise. Hint: halva and marzipan are _not_ good choices, as both can vaguely resemble certain explosive materials. Fudge is probably also a bad idea.
As someone who still has flashbacks to a rape, I'm not looking forward to being patted down in what amounts to a partial custody search.
That said, in all the times I've flown in your beautiful country, the TSA agents and the other security agents before them had always been polite and respectful, with only one exception. That one exception was a bit gruff, but it was understandable. The person immediately ahead of me in line had been being stupid and a jerk, arguing loudly and rudely with the agent about why he should be allowed to take his knife on board. In 2002.
The security theatre is the fault of folks higher up, rather than the agents. "I'm just following orders" isn't a valid legal defence, but at the same time, to simply quit when the rules changed a month or so back is an awfully big jump in a time when jobs are hard to come by. I imagine that many agents would prefer to change jobs now, if they can.
What is the point of the current TSA pat-downs when terrorists can still carry weapons and bombs in their bodies cavities?
The TSA also does not use simple IR cameras to detect people with fevers who might be infected with smallpox or other pathogens. Such cameras were used throughout Asia during the SARS crises.
The security provided by the TSA is and illusion. If the TSA was actually serious, they would never have opposed arming pilots and would not be screening pilots today. Why would you check a pilot for weapons? Are you afraid the pilot might successfully defend the cockpit and prevent the next 9-11 attack
The TSA is a sick joke
Yes. The illusion of safety. People love looking at their naked Emperor and pretending the see fine clothing.