Do you work at a fairly large, busy airport like a FLL, MIA, TPA, etc or one of the smaller airports?, what is your idea or definition of "many tsa people"

I have friends who are airline employees, they work in EWR, ATL, MSP, ORD all very busy airports with many flights a day, and their positions require them to have frequent contact with TSA every day of the week, from the screeners all the way up to the TSA director for the airport and some of the higher ups in D.C.

EVERYONE of them I have talked to over the last several weeks would disagree with your statement "90 percent are not idiots", and say the large majority, ESP the screeners are idiots.

Yes, as you point out its the "DC idiots that make the rules", but in many cases the screeners dont have to "endorse" the rules, they must "interpet" them, and in this area, I believe, the screeners are idiots.

Two prime examples of idiot screeners lack of common sense in interpeting rules,

1. A screener in LAX who forcibly took away a 10yr old childs G.I Joe doll because G.I. Joe had a small, plastic toy pistol and the screener said "replicas of weapons are not allowed" . The GI Joe figure measured about 7inches tall, the "replica weapon" was molded into the dolls hands.

2. This one I experienced myself at IAH about 6months ago, go thru security, screener said I need to inspect your carryon, inspects carryon, finds nothing, and then berates me in a very loud, rude way because of what??...my 1 quart bag that contained my toothpaste, shaving cream was not zipped up all the way, yea I sure felt safer knowing he was on the job .

I have many other examples I would be glad to share, either experienced myself, witnessed or related to me by coworkers, or airline employee friends.

As for the part of your post that states "they make more money than most airline employees", "have better vacation", I presume that would be any airline employee with less than 10yrs of seniority, i.e, gate agents, ramp agents, ticket counter agts, baggage agts.

Most of the airline employee friends I know hold one of the positions noted above, have seniority ranging from 14yrs to 38yrs, they work for DL, WN, CO, AS, and they all have a much higher salary and vacation time than any screener they deal with has. I dont know about the health care or retirement part of your post.

One thing I certainly agree with you on is, I too thought the new administration would have done more by now as it relates to getting rid of the some of the garbage that we know as TSA. I am very disapointed that they have not.

My apoligies for getting slightly off the topic of the op.