What I don't understand is why the TSA doesn't provide padded containers for our very expensive and delicate equipment. We are forced to take our laptops out of their padded cases which were designed to handle bumps and drops. The screeners don't seem to treat the laptops as the fragile and costly items that they are.

My laptop's backlight bulb was broken last year after it was treated callously by the TSA at the BWI checkpoint. I lost use of the machine for two weeks while I sent it to be repaired. I'm sure others have similar stories.

Why can't we just have some soft foam for the plastic dish trays that we must put our electronic equipment into? Sometimes I am successful in putting my jacket or sweater underneath the laptop to cushion it on its bumpy ride, but often the screeners catch it and I get a scolding.