Is it possible, however, that a majority (or at least a quorum) of TSA screeners don't buy into the patriotic rah rah their leaders regularly feed them either, and in fact are just like us: Folks who are doing what they do to get through the day and take care of their families, and this happens to be their job...but they just happen to have a job that so many of us frequent flyers abhor?

If that's the case, these demonstrations of civil disobedience may in fact be met by those front-line screeners with silent, unspoken nods of agreement, instead of "the carrying of the message to their superiors" that we seem to want to effect.

I'm all for wanting to make a difference and a change, but I'm not sure the front-liners are the right target. That's kind of like how so many of us hang up on telemarketers...yeah, it feels good, but the fact is that the poor slob on the other end of the phone is making minimum wage (or less, if the call originates in a prison) while it's the owners of their companies who are the REAL people we hate for having them make those calls to us.

A front-line TSA screener isn't going to risk his/her job standing up in a team meeting saying, "You know, I had a fair amount of people tell me Kip Hawley is an idiot today at my screening post...let's propose some changes." He/she is going to quietly get through the day and collect his/her federal wage and bennies to take care of his/her family. He/she will probably even sit at the dinner table that night and say, "Honey, you wouldn't believe the b***sh** that TSA leadership had us add to our list of nonsense today! And I can't believe that Ma and Pa Kettle actually think this is making us safer?!? So, how was your federal-benefit-funded trip to the doctor today, honey?"