Did you hear about the new ideas bouncing around TSA regarding who is to be searched and what items can/can't be taken on a plane?

The TSA memo proposes to minimize the number of passengers who must be patted down at checkpoints. It also recommends that certain categories of passengers be exempt from airport security screening, such as members of Congress, airline pilots, Cabinet members, state governors, federal judges, high-ranking military officers and people with top-secret security clearances.

The proposal also would allow ice picks, throwing stars and bows and arrows on flights. Allowing those items was suggested after a risk evaluation was conducted about which items posed the most danger.

If approved, only passengers who set off walk-through metal detectors or are flagged by a computer screening system will have to remove their shoes at security checkpoints. The proposal also would give security screeners the discretion to ask certain passengers "presenting reasonably suspicious behavior or threat characteristics" to remove their shoes.

The proposal also would give screeners discretion in determining whether to pat down passengers. For example, screeners would not have to pat down "those persons whose outermost garments closely conform to the natural contour of the body."

Now some of this is just common sense. Miss Hottie in her spandex outfit is not likely to be carrying anything that you cannot already see -- why pat her down, other than for a cheap thrill? On the other hand, Betty bint Burqa might need to be that pat down (or better yet, a full cavity search) to make sure she is not carying anything dangerous.

On the other hand, I don't see why it is a good idea to let folks carry throwing stars and ice picks in the cabin. And I would really like that crossbow to stowed away with the checked luggage, thank you very much. But yeah, let on the nail clippers, knitting needles, and 1 1/2 inch swiss army knives that fit on a keychain.

And as for exempting "members of Congress, airline pilots, Cabinet members, state governors, federal judges, high-ranking military officers and people with top-secret security clearances", I take extreme exception to the proposal. Sure, let the military folks on without a serious search, but I want all those politicians and judges to be subjected to the highest level of security procedures not reserved for Islamists wearing suicide belts and waving machine guns. After all, if they are going to make these laws and regulations that inconvenience the common citizen, they should be subjected to the full measure of these requirements EVERY SINGLE TIME they get on a plane to ensure that they are aware of the burden us common folks face.

Posted by: Greg at 03:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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