Just tell the guy your name is on the boarding pass (or identity document). That's what I'd likely do if they played this game in Canada. Don't engage in childish games by giving false names, etc. That's all I'm saying. Don't compare the TSA with Hitler. You lose all credibility.

You are my hero.

^

The power grab of the DHS is how it starts. Please don't lose sight of that because history is bound to repeat itself.

Every government has a list of some sort to keep track of people who are problematic. Your local police station likely has one. The FBI has had one for years. On one hand, I don't think that the absence of a watch list would have made any difference to the Holocaust, and on the other hand, I think it's ridiculous to say that the TSA should not maintain a list of people who deserve extra scrutiny.

A list based on what?

Someone who is arrestable on sight should be on the FBI and police lists and subject to law enforcement, not the TSA. Otherwise the criterion seems to be "suspicious activity" which is a subjective and arbitrary determination. And contrary to the 5th Amendment, viz. ...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law....

If individual airlines wish to bar people from availing themselves of their service due to past behavior, that's a civil matter; nothing to do with the government and certainly not the TSA.

The important point is that it simply does not work. No actual threat has been intercepted by the list. Ever. A number of suspected and even confirmed (Times Square bomber) terrorists have sailed through. If the screening is 100% effective then it really doesn't matter who is on the plane. If it's not 100% effective then fix it; which is the rub - it can't be done. A speculative, farcical list would just be a canard were it not an erosion of essential liberty.

As a loyal subject of the Queen, and without the Bill of Rights, that's what would be expected and required of you.

From my 6th grade English class:

Name spelled: Ghoti

Name pronounced: Fish

???

"Gh" as in laugh, "o" as in women, "ti" as station

There's a reason you never see Coach K on a commercial flight. ;)

+1 for the LW2 reference.

I dunno, I think you might be to blame for this one. There's a large TSO population that barely speaks English. I can't imagine how you could expect them to speak French or German. ;)

Mike

How should Finnish curling-world champion and MP, Mr Uuspaavalniemi pronounce his name to be let through? Or ex-Prime Minister Mrs Jäätteenmäki, whom even the BBC News called "Mrs Unpronounciable"?

Been through ATL lately? They barely grunt, let alone speak.

Or any number of Sri Lankans (see Jennifer Abeygoonewardana) or others from the Indian subcontinent.

Oh wait, they're "dusky" so they'll get the extra screening anyway :( .

If you have the Google Translate phone app, try putting in some names and "translating" to various languages, and then have the app read the name in the chosen language.

Imagine that: there's more than one way to pronounce a given subset of 26 letters!

I know it, but obviously you should know how to pronounce those names in Texan or New Yorkian, depending on your departure airport.

If you take into account, that it is the English alphabet that has only 26 letters, whereas others have more (and I'm talking about languages using the Latin script) the prospects are mind-bogling. Think about all those àáâãäåæçèéêëìíîïðñòóôõöøùúûüýāăąćĉċčđēĕėęěĝğ 's facing a TSO :D

All this to get to a security checkpoint.

There, corrected that for you.

^