This is an amazing quote from the TSA and we know it is BS.

You have to take your shoes off, don't you? Is it mandatory to remove your shoes at airport security checkpoints? The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) insists it's not — but many travelers disagree. "Travelers are not required to remove their shoes at security checkpoints," TSA spokesman told Keith L. Alexander, Business Class columnist for The Washington Post (free registration). Even the agency's Web site says: "You are NOT REQUIRED to remove your shoes before you enter the walk-through metal detector," though another portion of the TSA site advises travelers "you may save yourself several minutes if you remove your shoes." One frequent traveler tells Alexander that even though she always wears the same type of shoes — black casual flats — she is still ordered to remove them at some, but not all, airports. "[Chicago] O'Hare and Atlanta seem to be the toughest," Washington-based computer consultant Tonya Fuller said. Despite that claim, the TSA's Clark says: "The notion that this system is random is incorrect. It's a standard procedure we implement across all airports."