Originally Posted by
WillCAD
I agree with you, except that the article didn't make it clear whether the TSOs in question did, in fact, remove it from the traveler's possession and refuse to return it, or if they simply forced him to dispose of it before allowing him to transit the checkpoint. The only indication in either direction is the title of the blog entry, TSA confiscates cupcake, calls frosting a "gel". In the body of the entry, no mention is ever made of any TSA actually removing the cupcake from the traveler's possession or refusing to return it.
I completely agree with your definition of confiscation, I simply don't think the blog entry is clear about whether this was a confiscation or a forced disposal.
Don't misunderstand me - I find forced disposal of harmless items at the personal discretion of a TSO who thinks something might be like something that's on the prohibited list, to be asinine in the extreme, and only slightly less egregious than an outright confiscation (which, technically, is theft under color of authority when it happens, since TSA has no legal authority to confiscate prohibited items). I just like to be perfectly clear on which action is taken and which term to use, because using the wrong term pokes all sorts of holes in one's arguments and loses points with those who are still on the fence about any issue.
Originally Posted by NY Post
The cupcake was seized plain and simple.