TSA may be lighting fires of rebellion

When the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) body-searched a screaming, crying three-year-old child it exemplified in a dramatic fashion the unprecedented uproar new airport measures are generating throughout the world of air travel.
 

The child happened to be the daughter of a TV news reporter, who to the embarrassment of the TSA captured about 17 seconds of her ordeal. It all began after Mandy’s teddy bear was taken for screening. Then, when Mandy went through the metal detector, it beeped. So she had to be hand-searched.
 

“The American approach to flight security misses the point, thanks to an ‘everyone must suffer equally’ approach,” writes Ed Morrissey at Hot Air Blog.
 

And if we are going to search kids, maybe the TSA should train its employees on how to do it “without terrifying” them, added Newser.
 

“Americans are revolting against intrusive new airport screening procedures in record numbers — with more than 12,000 signing a petition launched by WND only three days ago and others flooding the Capitol, the White House and Homeland Security,” reported WND.com.
 

“Across the country, passengers are simmering over being forced to choose scans by full-body image detectors or probing pat-downs. Top federal security officials said that the procedures were safe and necessary sacrifices to ward off terrorism attacks,” reported the AP
 

But many commentators said the real issue is whether the TSA has a blank check for doing whatever they want to make flying “safer.” Many observers agreed with an Orlando Sentinel columnist who termed body scans as “the latest TSA window dressing.”
 

“It’s all window dressing to cloak our shortcomings when it comes to intelligence on the real threats,” wrote Beth Kassab, who was among others who noted that genuine safety rested on the type of intelligence gathering that often seems foreign to the TSA.
 

Added security measures have also irked pilots and flight attendants, who say they shouldn’t have to go through the same crowded security checkpoints as passengers.
 

The unions have urged their members to choose a private pat-down search instead of passing through a full-body scanner that uses radiation to reveal objects hidden under clothes.
 

Union leaders say they worry about the levels of radiation that the pilots would endure during repeated exposure to the scanners. Federal health officials have said the radiation levels from the machines are too low to cause harm — even for frequent trips through the scanners.
 

Union leaders are also frustrated that pilots must go through the same security procedures as passengers even though they have already passed background and security checks. Some pilots are even armed and trained to thwart terrorist attacks.
 

"We don’t think everyone should be treated like criminals," said Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Assn., the union representing American Airlines pilots.
 

"People are not rolling over on this issue," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He added:
 

"The magnitude and speed with which Americans have rejected the new invasive techniques of the Transportation Security Administration is reminiscent of the spontaneous birth of the tea party movement. The new activism in America is clearly not over with the election results earlier this month."
 

The new rules have helped launch a “We Won’t Fly” airline boycott effort. The group is encouraging people to not use air travel until the scanners are gone and the pat-down searches become more appropriate.
 

Its website, WeWontFly.com gets an average of 70,000 hits a day. They’re popular enough to have organized a National Opt Out of the Airport Scanners Day set for Nov. 24.
 

“Enough with the full-body scans,” writes commentator Christopher Elliott. ”The technology is unproven and may be ineffective and unsafe. It violates our privacy. We never asked for the machines, and we are not asking for them now.”
 

Under TSA rules, those who decline must submit to pat-down inspections that include checks of the inside thighs and buttocks.
 

The pat-downs take more time — about two minutes compared with a 30-second scan. Delays could multiply if many travelers opt for a pat-down or contest procedures.
 

Commentators say the TSA is spinning this issue, selectively releasing information that furthers its own cause, offering sound bites that seem to make sense but don’t.
 

“It is time for the agency to come clean and admit that it made a mistake. We shouldn’t have to travel like this,” concludes Elliott.
 

By David Wilkening