I have been lurking in these forums for some time now and the topic of this thread is one that I feel strongly about.

So strongly that it is one of the few times I am struggling to find the right wording for this reply.

I have very strong opinions on the TSA.

AngryDan, I bear no animosity toward you personally, but I do harbor a great deal of anger, frustration and resentment towards your employer. It is an organinzation imho, that serves no useful purpose other than to give us the false feeling that somehow we are safe and TSA is protecting us.

A lot of my anger and resentment is directed toward the screeners and their incredible lack of common sense so many of them seem to display in attempting to do their jobs and interpeting the security rules that are CLEARLY displayed on the TSA website.

Yes, John Q Public can and often is not a nice person and can be very offensive and rude too, but TSA screeners in my many travels seem to top the rude and offensive scale much more often and to a greater degree.

Gate screening is not done in other countries that I have traveled to, including some that have a reputation as having some of the strictest security anywhere worldwide, so why does TSA continue to hassle the flying public like this?

My answer is that TSA does not have very much confidence in their own people and the ability they have to carry out their duties.

As I said earlier, I bear no harsh feelings toward you personally (unless you are one of the rude and incompetent TSA employees I have had to deal with) but your employer is one I would rank near the top of places and things I can honestly say I HATE

Because of your employer and their hassle filled, useless, window dressing security, some road warriors I know (including myself) no longer fly unless we have no choice, if I can drive there in less than a day, I do, and save myself from having to deal with TSA people.

End of ranting^