I spend a lot of time in Sweden, but there are letters and words in Swedish that I am more or less incapable of pronouncing properly in Swedish; and pronouncing them in American English can cover a range of possibilities. The TSA should really get out of the name and ID checking business.

Yes they should. Believe me that I am on my next trip going to have "fun".

That amazes you? It's a rather standard human characteristic. I'm now doubly amazed at how some people manage to get by in life - you must be in constant awe!

Really? That's your opinion? I hadn't noticed - maybe you could repeat it another thousand or so times for me? My opinion that you're being ridiculous doesn't violate your right to continue to hold that opinion, so what's the big deal?

Don't get me wrong, I do agree that a lot of it is silly - such as them insisting they say their name. It serves no purpose at all (much like when I have to tick a box confirming I'm not a terrorist on immigration forms - if I was a terrorist am I really going to tick the box?).

I'm just generally bemused at the sheer passion some people on here have over it - particularly the mundane aspects (getting angry over a strip search, or even just any type of physical contact, I can fully understand, getting angry because someone asked you to say your name - not at all). While of course it's their life and there is nothing wrong with them doing so if it's what they want to do, one or two members on here appear to have some sort of neurosis over it. Calling an EMERGENCY police line because a TSA agent temporarily held your documents (despite it being illegal) is inexcusable in my book. If you want to call the police then fine, but I refuse to accept that it is so serious it warrants calling 911 - regardless of them seeming to humour the OP and respond.

Maybe instead of name-calling you could explain to the rest of us why you have a different view of the situation? Why do you like the idea of having to get approval from the government before traveling on an airplane? Seriously. I'd like to understand your thinking.

Bruce

This was not asked of me, but I will answer.

We do have to get approval of the government before we can travel on airplanes. If we are on the "No Fly List" approval we will not be given approval until we can prove that we don't deserve to be there. If you object to this, I can well understand it.

We also have to go through a checkpoint before we can get on a plane. I can accept the need for this while, at the same time, objecting to overly intrusive searches without a solid reason for a particular one.

As far as having to say my name is concerned, I consider it a very tiny waste of effort but cannot agree that it violates my 4th Amendment rights, is an onerous burden, or invades my privacy. The checker, after all, has my name on the BP I am handing him so it gives him no new information about me.

There are many silly, but small, things we have to face in life. There is stop sign near my home at the intersection of two rural roads. When you get to it, you can see for at least a kilometer in each direction and there is very rarely a car coming. This stop sign should be a "Yield" sign but if I do not stop, I can get a ticket.

I am not going to make a major deal out of this.

Likewise, it is annoying that while I can make a right turn on red in most parts of the US in most other countries doing so, while perfectly safe, may result in my paying a big fine. I am also not going to go overboard in my complaints about this.

Do you want to know what really bothers me? The United States government has determined that as of January 1 of this year I cannot spend more than 35 days per year in the nation of my birth.

Yes, even though when I travel to the US I have full travel health insurance, and the government is not risking having to pay a penny for me, my insurance was issued by a German company and thus is not an ObamaCare approved policy.

As an American living abroad, I am excused from ObamaCare unless I spend more than 35 days in the U.S. Even, however, if I wanted to buy an ObamaCare policy I cannot -- as I do not have a U.S. domicile.

So, yes, this does bother me. It has been a few decades since I spent over 35 consecutive days in the U.S. but there have been a number of years when I was there for over 35 total days. I do consider this an undue burden and an invasion of my Constitutional rights, but I have to laugh at the idea that being asked to say my name in anyway compares to this.

They set-up this mutli-billion $ (sub) agency TSA, they have to make the "average" flyer feel safe(r) (and that tax payer money is not being wasted:D), by doing some of the "stuff" discussed in this thread--otherwise Congress would reduce their funding.
My DL has my full last name but only my first and middle name's initials...my bp has my full first name, mi, and full last name. Only at JFK have they asked to see anything (credit card, reduced rate metro card, etc.) which has my full name is OK.:confused:

I hear you, Dov, but why should the government ask us to do useless things? And, surely, saying our names out loud when they are holding our IDs in their little hands is about as useless as you can get. The government is supposed to be our servant, not our master. Why can't we say, "This is stupid, and I'm not going to do stupid things"?

Bruce

I don't think that you and I are in the slightest disagreement that this is a silly requirement and should be abolished. My objection to much of what has been posted here is that is not a major enough issue to warrant the OP's actions.

If Hamlet were alive today, he would not include saying his name among the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortunate" that he bemoaned. Indeed, I think that the Bard would have included this in one of his comedies, not his tragedies.

I suppose so. Can't argue with that.

Bruce

Do you stop for it? I mean, do you stop in the true meaning of stop, and not a "California" stop or a rolling stop? I live in Scandinavia, and stop is stop. Dead stop, not rolling at .05 mph, but dead stop. When traveling back home in Minnesota, I have yet to see someone make a dead (European) style stop. Even the police roll through the stop signs. My point is if you're not stopping for it, then you're protesting it in your own small way, just as the people here who are protesting the stupidity of the "name game" in their own small way (except maybe the OP).

Sorry I snipped the rest of what you wrote, since I want to concentrate on this. As far as I can tell, you certainly can spend more than 35 days in the U.S. You have two choices:

Part A means that if you are an Expat who is a resident of the country in which you reside and pay taxes in that country, then you're exempt from Obamacare. Go ahead and travel freely in the U.S.

Part B means that if Part A doesn't apply, then you can't be in the U.S. for more than 35 days in any calendar year without paying for Obamacare or paying for the penalty. You may not want to travel freely, but you can.

I don't see the problem here. But I would love it if a new thread was started on this to discuss this issue.

The two parts you cited refer to income earned abroad, not whether you have to file, pay tax on investments, or buy health insurance.

I have lived with both of these since 1979 and have no problem with them. They do not, however, exclude me from ObamaCare requirements if I spend more than 35 days per year in the States.

I have discussed this before on Omni, where it truly belongs, and would not have mentioned it on TS&S (where it does not belong) except as an example of government interference which is serious enough to get me angry.

Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying and am willing to take it up in "Omni," whatever that is.

But quickly, it seems to me that if you are paying taxes abroad as a resident and Expat of Germany, then doesn't the first instance apply to you? You are spending an entire taxable year there, aren't you? Who cares how many days you travel in the U.S?

Please direct me to your Omni thread, please. I am very curious to read more about this, because I am possibly in the same situation as you.

The big deal is that you're trying to make decisions for me. When someone who has no clue as to what they're talking about tries to do that, I generally tell them to MTOB. Maybe there's a couple of other letters in the acronym too.

You should feel fortunate in that I took the time to tell you why you have no clue about what you're talking about. And that we're on a nice internet bulletin board so I could leave those other letters out.

1. I am neither a resident nor an ex-pat of Germany. I simply get my travel health insurance through a company in that country.

2. I am an American citizen who lives in Israel and the U.S. government, as of Jan 1, insists that all citizens who spend more than 35 days per year in the States be covered by an ObamaCare approved plan. However, if you do not have a U.S. residence, you cannot get a plan and thus if you are in the States for 36 days (even broken down to week-long visits) you are subject to a fine.