Asked my wife if she got patdowns on her just-ended European trip. She said she did. I asked was it the front or back of the hand. She said front. So this pat-with-palm thing isn't that novel. Doesn't seem to have bothered her either. Not like having her scissors trashed at CDG. Either she's getting numbed from her frequent trips or maybe it isn't as bad a deal as portrayed. She's not exactly a lover of authority, but she doesn't have issues with it, either.