RatherBeOnATrain

BoingBoing has posted a Cory Doctrow entry, with photo, describing the confiscation of a cupcake:

BoingBoing:
TSA confiscates cupcake, calls frosting a "gel"
By Cory Doctorow at 11:44 am Thursday, Dec 22

Reading the cupcake's label - "Traditional southern style red velvet cake with Madagascar Bourbon vanilla cream cheese buttercream frosting" - is making me hungry too...

NoMoreFlying

Thank goodness I can start my holiday season knowing I am safe from a red velvet cupcake. /sarcasm

Tom M.

Will this incident make Bob's "TSA Week in Review" or will it get it's own blog post.

TSO's all over America will be standing up a little straighter and walking with a bit more pride when they learn of this event. This proof that all the money, all the training and all the hard work is worth it.

The only downside for the TSA is that this person wasn't identified by a BDO. That must be because there are simply not enough BDO's out there....

Letitride3c

Can't find the proper, descriptive & colorful word(s) to use to describe this, period - while I'm watching them LAX clowns singing "off duty" in their theatrical uniform to "cheer" on - Ho, Ho, Ho.

Another reminder of one of the many, many reasons to fly and see how our tax dollars are wasted.

It could get worst and it's could come one day, that, at the train/rail/bus terminal checkpoint or bike/walk path, a random TSA team could seize one's peanut butter & jam sandwich for the kids, and, proudly announced that "do you wanna pass thru here" this morning - this story is symbolic and a tiny reflection of the news of anger & frustration many of us has come to terms with, listening to Bloomberg news in the car.

And, of course, the sheeps would just go along .... oh, those are the "rules" Yeah, I'm safe(r) not flying and at peace too.

studentff

TSA employee at LAS and any other TSA employee involved in this incident should be deeply ashamed of themselves. What a disgusting power-trip during the Christmas season.

I hope they have kids, and I hope the kids find out what they did. I wish that Bah Humbug protesters would show up and picket their houses on Christmas Eve. I hope that Santa brings his family nothing but coal.

I'm no clergyman and no saint, but I pretty much guarantee that the answer to What Would Jesus Do is not to confiscate a cupcake.

This incident manages to epitomize the problem with TSA amazingly well in spite of not being nearly as serious as the strip searches of elderly passengers, abuse of the disabled, etc. As I've said before, the only answer is to disband this agency, fire *everyone*, criminally prosecute the senior management, bar the rest of the management from public service for life with no public pensions, and only re-hire the front line screeners after extensive retraining in the Constitution and compassion.

Shame on TSA employee. Shame shame.

Edit: name of this TSA employee widely available on the internet. Ill-conceived FT TOS that protect abusive TSO's won't save them from public shame. Please use google to find the name.

saulblum

Completely inappropriate remark, as Logan Airport security (nor Portland, Dulles and Newark) did nothing out-of-protocol that morning.

It really brings home how TSOs truly know just one phrase: "9/11".

A great retort would have been, "Right, and you'd still be working at the pizza place".

I would have reported the TSO for joking about 9/11/01 and about security. If passengers are not allowed to make lighthearted comments about security, why are TSOs?

yknot

This will probably make the TSA "good catch" list

coachrowsey

Mats

Mr. TSO clearly didn't react appropriately. He should have "called a code," and alerted law enforcement and the bomb squad. A cupcake is such an obvious guise for an improvised incendiary device. I, for one, am grateful for his vigilance.

Another way to look at this situation: the passenger misinterpreted the "3-1-1" rule: "Three cupcakes for the screener, one for the contract boarding card inspector, and one for the passenger." This applies to all form of pastry.

Given the size of the TSA personnel at SEA-TAC this morning, cupcake consumption is clearly a critical part of their security responsibilities.

RatherBeOnATrain

The article says that the cupcake was confiscated on the return leg of a trip that originated in Boston. Consequently, I believe that the LAS TSO was suggesting that the TSOs at BOS should have confiscated the cupcake on the outbound flight. (The LAS TSO's statement shows that he has never been to Boston. If he had been there, he would know that BOS TSOs satisfy their hunger by citing the "gel" rule to confiscate soft biscotti! )

In short, I do not believe the TSO was commenting about the performance of the pre-TSA security guards on 9/11/01.

saulblum

Perhaps then it reflects on my bias towards the TSA pointing to 9/11/01 at every opportunity it can, since my first reaction was that it was a snide observation that if Logan security had "down its job", 9/11/01 would have never happened and there'd be none of these restrictions.

studentff

It's made the local TV news in Boston (where the passenger is from):

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...42/detail.html

This close to Christmas, this is a fantastic story for educating people about TSA. It would be a wonderful Christmas gift if this story would get some legs.

saulblum

Some nice PR for the manufacturer too.

Letitride3c

And, with a 1% expected drop in air travel over this "busy" holiday period, they "need" to be busy & look "productive" - whatever it take .... singing off-duty & having the infrequent sheeps flying voluntary "surrendering" their "prohibited" items.

Cupcake is fine by itself, minus the frosting ....

Errrr, could they produce a variant as "TSA certified" .... thus, safe to fly. I'm sure the airside vendors would stock them as it "is" good as a seasonal sales item."

cardiomd

If I had access to the material I would have wolfed down all of the tops of the cakes. Mmmmm, frosting!

Or, if they were going to "confiscate" them I'd spit on all of them first.