What am I missing here? The MMW machines don't have the ionizing radiation issues that backscatter does, so why aren't they just installing those, heading off the "health issues" part at the pass and then addressing the privacy issues w/ the cartoon image?

I mean, I understand there will be opposition to the imaging technology among some people regardless of what they do--I merely speaking to the idea of how could the TSA implement a plan that would still get most opponents to come around? For me, it would take:

1) MMW only
2) Stop the "Freeze! Put your hands up!" criminality routine
3) Use the cartoon image (sorry the true term/acronym is escaping me at the moment)
4) Reduce the false positives or at a minimum, after a false positive, only have a patdown/quick frisk of the suspect area be completed vs a grope.

They do that, I think that would be fairly reasonable (although not ideal--I understand an ideal of just x-raying the bags and walking through the WTMD is never coming back).