Sorry, but your hypothesis and the whole thread is just entirely subjective. You're talking about the impression of the TSA 2k1-3, 2k4-6 and then now? Find some hard and fast data and then make a post. A lot of people here will always say the TSA is worse now than ever as it is their hobby to do so. Gropings when this first started?

New screening processes that get a lot of media attention due to September 11 are going to get a LOT of press. Any complaints are going to be very visible in the media. Does that mean there were more complaints then than now? Who knows? Were screeners doing anything different then vs. now or was it purely a reaction from people who had never had that level of screening before?

We're seeing increased lines now? Are we not also now seeing increased travel? Have you done any statistical analysis to show that there are increased lines? Have you been able to isolate that these lines are due to a change in the screening process and not an increase in passengers? That's pretty much the premise of your whole argument. If you don't have any of this, the thread is really pointless conjecture.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but the liquids ban was in place in 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092500275.html
That means not only have you not proved that lines are longer, but the "whole liquids fiasco" really isn't a 2007 onwards thing. In many ways, it was worse in 2006.

I don't see how the uniform that someone wears while checking my ID hurts my travel process. The ID checking is not a rate taking step and thus has 0 bearing in my weekly travel. Neither do I really care about what the TSA has on their website. I'm not forced to read it, so how is that invasive? Also, ONE woman has an issue going through a metal detector ONCE wearing large pieces of metal jewelery and it's the TSA being invasive? They had her take them out. They didn't make her undress and walk around the terminal. I'm not sure how this has any bearing on me or my travel week.

In summary, you haven't proven that travel or lines are worse now than they were previously. Your correlation of this unproven idea to causation by the TSA only makes the thread worse. Of the terrible things you see the TSA doing now, some were around before, some have no bearing on travel times and another is a completely isolated incident that in reality is the travelers own fault.

I have flown right after 9/11 and have flown heavily since 2003. The biggest change in air travel is definitely how busy the routes are. The planes I fly on are filled whereas before there was a lot more room. TSA didn't before and doesn't now have a strong bearing on my week. I habitually leave my house 1 hr 15 mins - 1 hr 30 mins before my flight.