Interesting Tactic If True: TSA Worker Nametag Swapping
Commenter Tenzo wrote this on my entry, "Why Did I Have To Go To Pravda To Get My Op-Ed About TSA Rape Published?"

The TSA in Columbus Ohio now use fake nametags so that you can not report them. I was gropped by a 45 year old fat guy with a badge that said "Rose".

When I complained that his name was not on his uniform he told me they trade all the time.

I emailed him:

Thank you so much for your comment. Do they have just first names on their name tags there? Looking to substantiate this or complain about this.

He wrote me back:

I got the search from one guy. Next time I came back he had a name tag that said "ROSE". Now I know I would have noticed that before so I asked him why his ID said "Rose" . He said they switch them up all the time. It's conjecture on my part that they do this so you can't report them. But to me this is like a cop putting on a fake badge. Or me getting pulled over for speeding and handing them someone else's driver's license.

He also added:

I always refuse the radiation booth. (Wife is a doctor. In hospitals they check the x-ray machines daily by qualified people. TSA? No requirement to check it and no one qualified as it is. These have been out for years. They are not being used safely and TSA agents who requested to wear dose meters as required in hospitals were told they could not. In addition x-ray machine must have warnings on them. The TSA does not do this.)

How many here suspect that we'll be paying for the medical care of the TSA agents who get cancer?

As for the alleged nametag swapping, can those of you who are frequent flyers substantiate this?

Or, if nobody can, can those of you who are frequent flyers, who take the same airline, and go through the same TSA groping station, pay attention each time you go through and verify this? Please email me with any information.

I wonder if the TSA workers suddenly have had a change in nametags: First names only? No nametags? If you've been flying or are flying, please leave a comment about it on this post.

And as I did previously, I encourage you all to publicly name the name of the person who's groped you -- as I did in my original blog item on this, "Don't Give The TSA An Easy Time Of Violating Your Rights." Get a free blogspot blog to do it if you don't have a blog already.

The worker (they're not actual officers -- they're just dressed that way) who sexually violated me was Thedala Magee. And after she sexually violated me (violating my Fourth Amendment rights for pay), she got herself a lawyer to violate my free speech rights by demanding $500,000 from me, plus a written apology and a blog item take-down.

As my First Amendment lawyer Marc J. Randazza said about the demand for the written apology, "I sense that you'd rather chew glass."

Yep.

Just before 11:30 p.m. Pacific Time, I emailed TSA spokes-piece Nico Melendez, copying in the commenter's account above about the nametag swapping, and continuing with this:

Questions:

1. Are agents required to wear nametags with their first and last names?
2. Are agents permitted to swap nametags?
3. Does this go on?
4. He says this happened at the Columbus, Ohio airport. Will you investigate? Will someone investigate? (I'm hereby requesting a response about what you or others find.)

I await your reply. -Amy Alkon

I'll publish his reply when (and if) I get one.

Reply from Nico Melendez:

Hi Amy, I've asked our Ohio guy to look into this, so I'll let you know if I find anything out. It's important to point out, the name tags our officers wear have their last names, so it wouldn't be a surprise to me if Rose is the man's last name.

Nico

Nico Melendez, MPA
TSA Public Affairs Manager
California-Arizona-Hawaii

My reply to Melendez:

Thanks - I thought of that (that Rose might be a last name), but the passenger did say that the TSA worker (they're not really officers, are they?) told him they swap nametags all the time.

Are they all supposed to wear nametags while on the job?

-Amy Alkon

UPDATE: Melendez wrote back:

Officers wear name plates with their last name only. They're also required to wear their government ID and airport-issued identification, which both would have first and last name. Officers undergo uniform inspections at the start of each shift to ensure compliance with all uniform rules.