Travelers opt for autos over air
As airport hassles mount, AAA expects 94% to drive this Thanksgiving
November 18, 2010
By Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune reporter

Amid growing public uproar over invasive airport security procedures and assorted fees tacked onto the price of airline tickets, this Thanksgiving will see the largest share of automobile drivers versus air travelers of any holiday in the past decade, travel experts said.

Next week, 94 percent of Thanksgiving travelers nationally are expected to drive — up from 86 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2000, according surveys conducted by AAA.

The air-travel share is projected at 3.8 percent this Thanksgiving, the lowest figure in a decade. Air travel accounted for 13 percent of Thanksgiving travel in 2000, AAA said.

A new peer-reviewed scientific study says the backscatter full-body imaging X-ray machines being used by the federal Transportation Security Administration could be fooled by terrorists who simply would mold explosives to conform to their bodies.

I am left to wonder whether my own passive acceptance of these evolving search procedures has contributed to a potentially fatal dichotomy: what we allow TSA screeners to do in order to maximize efficiency and enhance our perception of safety, or what we really need them to do in order to preserve our rights and dignity and enhance our actual safety.

We have asked TSA to find the tools terrorists use and prevent both from boarding a passenger plane. We have unintentionally created an agency that now seeks efficiency and compliance more than any weapon or explosive.

While returning my computer and shoes to their proper places, I watched the screening line at BWI. I thought about the haphazard events surrounding the security screening process. As I watched the screening officers, I wondered what information drives their decisions. Left only to my observations, I concluded that their decisions were entirely random, and likely based upon three criteria: passenger load, staffing, and whim.

I was left to conclude that I am not screened because I look like a terrorist. I am routinely screened because I look like someone who will readily comply. I decided then that my next invitation to enjoy additional screening would be met with more inquiry.

With the economy slowly rebounding, 2011 was shaping up to be the best year for travel since the recession began. Prices were expected to rise only slightly, and people were making plans to take a long-postponed vacation.

But now that the Transportation Security Administration has introduced full-body scanners at many American airports, and subjected those who opt out of the machines to an "enhanced" pat-down, the 2011 outlook has changed, say travelers.

Four years ago in these cyber pages, I coined Lott's Law of Diminishing Returns on (Islamic) Terrorism. For some reason, I noticed, a pattern had emerged in Western nations following September 11, 2001. Jihadist terror networks would get one really big bang for their buck, followed by a series of screwups and failures. This was true in the U.S. (9/11), the UK London Metro), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Bali).

Moreover, I speculated why that was the case. I argued the world political situation had changed so that Islamo-terrorism now sets a six-part process in train:

“I truly feel that it is morally and ethically wrong to do it,” the agent noted. “This does not make flying safer. It’s just taking away American citizens rights.”

And all the horror stories at other airports only make things worse.

“Everybody shudders when they hear that because they know that is not what we’re supposed to be doing,” the agent said.

Churchill remained in London during the Blitz. He was in a position to move to safer areas. He was in a position to pull rank. He refused. Every night during the bombings Churchill remained in London. As soon as the all clear sounded, he hit the streets in a very public fashion. He visited areas in London bombed out by the German Luftwaffe. He stayed in London in unpleasant and dangerous conditions. Londoners viewed Churchill as one of their own. They were inspired by him because he did not lead from the rear.

The United States Marine Corps also has a long history of leadership. Marine Corps officers are taught to put their enlisted troops first....Ever since 9/11, frequent fliers have put up with the TSA shenanigans because we want to cooperate with our government in the battle against terrorism. Sadly, airline passengers bear witness to TSA's bumbling and inconsistent application of what appear to be nonsensical airport security rules.

(snip)

If Winston Churchill were alive today, and if he thought this TSA stuff was that important, he'd be the first in line, along with his family, to publicly undergo the enhanced pat down and the back-scatter X-ray. He would do it to empower us, to show us that he is one of the people and to keep TSA honest. He would undergo both the back-scatter X-ray and the enhanced pat down each and every time he boarded his taxpayer-funded, private jet.

I call upon President Barack Obama his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, their daughters, and Vice President Joe Biden and his family, and all our elected officials to follow Winston Churchill's example.