Save A Doctor Visit And Your Co-Pay: Get Your Pap Smear From The TSA Next Time You Fly
There's a WaPo story by Petula Dvorak about a disgusting search -- really, sexual assault under government cover -- by TSA thugs:
Evelyn Harris, a 65-year-old retiree who lives in Crofton, Md., was flying to San Diego this year when she went through an experience that a court might consider a sexual assault.She passed through the airport scanner at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport one day in January and was pulled aside for a pat-down that was just one step removed from being a Pap smear.
"I started to ask if I had done something wrong or if this was 'random,' but before I could get a second word out, the TSA agent yelled at me," Harris told me. "She grabbed my throat hard, causing me to choke and cough. She yelled at me for coughing. She then put her hands inside my bra and panties and groped my private parts with the front, not the back, of her gloved hand. Afterward, I worried that I may have been infected if she had groped someone else without changing gloves. Her attitude was so threatening and hostile, that I was afraid to look at her face and name plate."
This was supposedly triggered by a panty liner.
Excuse me, but I'm of the belief that if there's no probable cause -- no reason to believe that you, specifically, are preparing to blow something up for Allah -- government workers have no business fingering your genitals.
Also, the notion that the TSA provides security is ludicrous. It's a jobs program for all those mall workers getting let go and a cash funneling program for people who lobby for or make equipment, uniforms, and badges for America's Most Useless. And I guess it either fools Americans or just doesn't cut through their apathy enough for anybody to get all that excited about it. I tried to get people to stand up -- and failed.
As for what the TSA is providing at airports, yes, these are the people with a 95% failure rate who are going to prevent -- well, prevent you and your dignity from boarding the plane intact.
Here's a photo of the woman who was sexually violated by the TSA thug:
A few comments from the WaPo from people who get it:
Robert Hollis Weber
One of the saddest aspects of post-911 fear-mongering is the chorus of people who excused government invasions into personal privacy by saying things like "well, it's a small price to pay to keep everyone safe." We've seen the cost of the TSA's invasive screening time and time again, but not once has the agency even come close to identifying (let alone stopping) a terrorist.
Case in point: despite elaborate (and expensive) ID-checking requirements, in 2010 the would-be Times Square bomber sailed through a TSA checkpoint at JFK. He was arrested--moments before departure--only when the airline sent its final manifest to Customs and Boarder Patrol. TSA screeners were blissfully ignorant of the arrest, feeling-up 13-year-olds and grandmothers elsewhere in the terminals while real security agencies did their job.
For 2017 the proposed TSA budget is $7.6 billion for 55,600 poorly trained members of a force dedicated primarily to making sure that little Timmy doesn't carry a juice box onto domestic flight out of Boise.
My colleague at TSA News Blog also left a comment at the WaPo:
Lisa Simeone
Where have you people been?? This abuse has been going on for 7 years. We've been documenting it at TSA News. And taking no end of blankety-blank from know-nothing Americans who are quite content to bend over and spread 'em whenever Uncle Sam tells them to.
The TSA is an out-of-control, criminal agency that abuses people with impunity. But evidently that's fine with people, who are willing to subject themselves -- and their children -- to being robbed, harassed, and assaulted. "Just get me to my flight on time!"
Three weeks of a boycott would bring the airlines to their knees. Then things would change. But people aren't willing to undergo even the smallest sacrifice to bring this insanity to an end. I haven't flown in or from this country since 2010. It's taken a huge personal and professional toll on my life. But I'll be damned if I allow myself to be abused by a uniformed thug so that simpering, credulous Americans can pretend to "feel" safe.
Another:
vacohee
Anybody who doubts the power of ideology should read this article. We have permitted the TSA to have created this monstrous--and not to mention expensive--invasion of our persons so that we--in the person of the government operating on our behalf--can do something about terrorism without violating the ideological trope proscribing "profiling."
Take a look at the lovely Mrs. Harris. Does she look like a terrorist? What prior terrorist fits her mold? That's right. The principal indicators or predictors of a propensity to terrorism--age, gender, ethnicity, religion--would categorically exclude her. If you did a data-based Bayes Net analysis of her personally, her probability of involvement in terrorism would be very close to zero.
But the ideological trope of egalitarianism trumps even life itself. It certainly has trumped our own personal dignity and privacy. Richard Dawkins developed the concept of "meme" modeled on the concept of the gene. Just as genes can mutate into something as lethal as a cancer cell a cultural meme--like egalitarianism--can, in specific historical situations, become lethal. Egalitarianism works--as a cultural meme--much better when the people in a population are relatively similar to one another. Diversity has its costs.
It's time to start profiling, El Al style:
https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=w5vgWJWiIpXU-APS7p7ACQ&gws_rd=ssl#q=israeli+airport+security+procedures&*
Moving ahead on that may require (1) another Trump nominee to the Supreme Court, and (2) more Republican senators elected in 2018 so that there's enough of a majority to avoid the need to appease the RINOs.
Lastango at April 1, 2017 11:51 PM
From that picture, it looks like Markie Post is dating Peter O'Toole. Not that there's anything wrong with that, except that he's been dead for four years.
Flying out tomorrow, will whine about the TSA after landing. And before.
Crid at April 2, 2017 12:14 AM
Hilarious, Crid.
Hoping your balls remain unsqueezed by uniformed men at the airport.
Amy Alkon at April 2, 2017 6:59 AM
It's a funding program for the union. Yes, TSA workers are now unionized. Under the original GW Bush proposal, they were able to be unionized, but the union had no collective bargaining rights.
Under Obama, that restriction was lifted and the AFGE now collectively bargains pay, work rules, uniform and grooming standards (tie tacks, shorts in the summer, etc.), and other issues. It is estimated the $14-$16 that TSA employees fork over out of each paycheck is worth a net $16 million to the AFGE annually. The TSA must also provide office space for union representatives, at taxpayer expense.
In 2012, the AFGE funneled about $1 million to Democratic candidates (3% of the union's campaign spending went to Republican candidates) and spent $2 million on lobbying the government.
Meanwhile, the TSA has had to fire hundreds of employees for passenger theft and has cost the country an estimated $57 billion - all while not catching a single terrorist.
And the invasive "pornographic" X-Ray machines the TSA uses? Those were implemented following a massive lobbying campaign by companies that make the machines. The European Union refuses to utilize those machines due to the health problemss they are said to cause.
In an effort to make the TSA seem to be a more legitimate law enforcement agency, a training program was established at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia, where the FBI, ATF, NCIS, DSA, DEA, and other legitimate agencies hold training.
According to the Washington Times, "This is how Washington works. Instead of focusing on what needs to be done to improve safety, we have a jobs program designed to re-elect Democrats and enrich lobbyists.”
And now there is talk of arming TSA officers.
Happy traveling, America.
Conan the Grammarian at April 2, 2017 7:48 AM
Unfortunately that's impractical at US airports. One major US airport handles more flights and passengers than do all the airports in Israel combined.
According to the LA Times, "But to adopt most or all of Ben Gurion’s security measures at a facility like Los Angeles International Airport likely would mean higher ticket prices to pay for extra screening measures and longer wait times for more intense questioning by security agents, aviation experts say."
The staffing costs for the highly trained personnel (training beyond just a pat-down class) would be staggering.
Asking Israel's security questions and judging the responses requires judgement, savvy, and an ability to solve real-world problems, things we don't teach in American schools today. Our college students require a cuddle room for a random un-PC comment. What do you think they'll need when confronted by a bomb-carrying terrorist? Or even a pocket knife carrying crank?
Conan the Grammarian at April 2, 2017 7:58 AM
And now there is talk of arming TSA officers.
Oh, goodie. Now the terrorists don't even need to bring their own guns, they can just pick them up at the airport.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 2, 2017 8:27 AM
Fuck the TSA. Fuck the TSA. Fuck the TSA. Fuck the TSA. Oh Dear Lord, I just hate these people so much... I swear to God, I do.
Fortunately, I made it through without a rage incident. It was close, but I powered through.
And I'm pleased to say that this airport has a bar. And I'm grateful for it, at 8:43 on a Sunday morning.
I was raised in a Christian, church-going home. Duzzenmaddder.
God DAMN, people.
Crid at April 2, 2017 8:43 AM
And why must other Americans --my fellow travelers this morning-- be so *physically* unattractive?
...As well as politically and interpersonally subservient, I mean. What's up with that?
Crid at April 2, 2017 9:13 AM
Yeah. You've got trained and experienced US Marshalls, Border (not Boarder) Patrol agents, and DSS officers losing their guns or leaving them in their cars to be stolen. I can't wait for the repurposed mall food court workers to get firearms at the airport.
Conan the Grammarian at April 2, 2017 9:59 AM
You can't convince me that the experience described by Ms Harris wasn't a sexual assault, and wasn't intended to be.
There are plenty of people who will seek out a job like that specifically because of the opportunities it provides to indulge their deviant proclivities. I bet TSA is a perv magnet.
Ken R at April 2, 2017 10:21 AM
Another point from that LA Times article:
At Ben Gurion, armed security agents patrol the airport property and terminals with the authority to stop and question any passenger and demand to see identification and other documents. The security agents are typically former members of the Israeli military who have been known to ask travelers to show hotel receipts or even open their email accounts to prove they are who they say they are.
I don't want that any more than I want my bishop squeezed.
Kevin at April 2, 2017 3:38 PM
Next up: TSA wants to know if you're a good God-fearing Christian.
Well, not yet.
But try not to get THIS nurse if you're in the UK.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 2, 2017 6:19 PM
About arming TSA personnel... I've run into a similar issue once before.
The public pitch for staffers carrying firearms centered around public safety and security.
That was total BS. The real reason for the proposal was that the staffers were in a public sector labor union, and taking firearms training & carrying a firearm would move them up in pay. Behind the scenes, all the push for the proposal was coming from the union and its political/media allies.
Lastango at April 3, 2017 12:24 AM
Move them up in pay and in prestige, making them equal to law enforcement officers.
The requirements for becoming a TSA "officer" are high school diploma or GED and 2 years experience in security work or as an x-ray technician. That's it. The requirements for becoming a police officer in most cities include 2 years of college-level studies and in some cases, a 4-year college degree.
The TSA wants to be considered a law enforcement agency. In the promotional and recruiting videos, the "officers" talk of protecting the traveling public, of stopping dangerous people, of saving lives. The TSA is selling the job as a law enforcement and public safety job. But the "officers" get paid at the level of clerks at the local grocery store. They want more money, both to pay the union more and to support their claim to importance in the law enforcement hierarchy.
The average city police department can demonstrate when and where its officers have stopped crimes and saved lives. The TSA has yet to show that it can stop a single belligerent trying to board a plane armed. It has a 90+% failure rate on stress tests and has done nothing the public recognizes as a useful service, instead pissing off the traveling public more than helping it. Arming them isn't going to change that.
Conan the Grammarian at April 4, 2017 12:08 PM
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