Originally Posted by FallenPlat

All kidding aside, I'm still truly shocked at how the TSA lets lets the "suspects" choose which one of them gets to avoid the search. That can't possibly enhance security under any conceivable set of circumstances whatsoever. And, yes, the above comments on the book are all consistent with what the agent told me: it was a thick mass that didn't show up well on the machine and so had to be visually checked to confirm that it really was a book -- in a clear plastic bag, which the screener never even opened.