It is obvious to me at least that if Bush 43 were still in office, NPR's slant on the TSA story would have been very different. Now that The Chosen One's administration controls TSA, TSA gets a lot more leeway.

It's a real shame because IMO these civil liberties issues are not about Democrat vs Republican, they are about the people vs. overzealous power-tripping bureaucracies that whip up fear as a means of justifying otherwise unacceptable actions. I am willing to stand on this issue with people with whom I share little agreement on any fiscal, economic, or social issue, and I'm sure many others feel the same way.

To me, it wasn't really a pro-TSA article, but one that just reported what the government said would happen. If you look at the comments for the article, they are all negative.

My favorite part of the article was:
"Maybe they'll turn out to be great at it, but I wouldn't say they go so far as to inspire a lot of confidence," says Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee and a vocal critic of the TSA. Reynolds says behavior detection officers in the U.S. tend to be lower ranking and less educated than the Israelis, and may not be up to the task.

"It would be like deciding that you're suddenly going to do brain surgery in every minute clinic around the country," he says. "You can't just retrain those people who may be perfectly good at dealing with poison ivy and sinus infections to suddenly do brain surgery. I mean, it's just a different level."

or both?

So, no one has a story so far . . .

Posting from just beyond security.

Elite line took me right to the TDC, but there's several new podiums about 10ft past the Eite TDC. A two-striper mans each new podium (one man, one woman). woman in a business suit and a slovenly shirt-and-tied large gentleman rove between the questioning stations. The line is moving quickly, so I can't overhear too many conversations before I get past the first station. Basically all I can hear from the male BDO is him introducing himself with his full name and stating he'll be asking questions.

I get selected to see the woman interrogator. The process starts wth a full ID and BP check (this jus happened less than 20 seconds ago). She, in a pleasant enough demeanor, asks how I pronounce my last name. I answer qith my standard quip which usually gets a laugh (yep, t's really Tkey, but spelled nothing at all like that, so I like to make light of it in any scenario). The second question is what my destination is. She just read it, so I answer correctly. Next is the purpose of my trip. I know it's rude, but this is when I answer her question with a question. I ask if there's ay modified screening for answering. Perhaps a little flummoxed, she asks me to restate my question. I tell her that this new security feature has been in the news and I was wondering if, morespecifically, compliant pax could avoid the AIT, for example, for answering questions. She stated she had no idea as this is just a pilot progra and "they" don't tell her anything.

I had some follow-up questions prepared, but right then, the interrogation was over and I was sent on my way without any further words. I put my bags on the belt and executed a perfect SDOO. Total waste of time, less than five minutes.

What is your name?
What is your quest?
What is your favorite color?

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

African or European?

Both: A huge cluster f**k of circle jerks - we are talking about the TSA are we not??

I don't know...Aaaaaaagh

If only it were so simple...

My stock response is going to be a very firm "None of your business".

Deleted, smart a__ comment.

May I suggest the term daisy chain?

Puddin' tame.
That thar windmill!
Clear.

google the above questions.

Ahhh, haaa! Monty Python...It has been so long, I had forgotten! As I get older more and more blonde moments happen.