Isn't TSA all one big agency?

GG

One big agency with local rules....

Yeah, I've gotten that sort of nonsense once. LAS, I thought my shoes fit the profile of those that needed to go through the x-ray. I was stopped and told I didn't need to remove them. A few weeks later, the return flight, SFO, I don't remove them because of what I was told at LAS.

When this upsets them I explain that LAS specifically said they didn't need to be removed, would they please make up their mind? "We aren't Las Vegas".

Nice to see the TSA offering employment to some mentally retarded/challenged/differently-abled and otherwise unemployable winners in Chicago.

Complete lunacy. Confiscate the guy's stuff because they don't like the bag. A bag the TSA gave the guy. Unbelievable.

No; utterly believable and not even surprising .

Bart can certainly speak for and defend himself, but I think this is a bit low. Years ago I chose to leave a federal job rather than put up with the violations of law that were going on (I had no way to fight against what they were doing even if I had the desire to do so). Bart can at least fight against the stupidity (and it seems that he does so). While there is nothing wrong with criticizing the stupidity of Chertoff, Hawley, et.al., not everyone who works in the TSA or DHS supports the stupidity of the current management. I don't blame my nephew (currently a combat medic in Iraq) for the mess that we are in over there. I don't blame Bart for the stupidity of his bosses (unless he loses his mind in his new TSA training and is absorbed into the collective )

Golly, Georgia Rebel. Gawrsh, GeoGirl...

I agree, it may BE a bit low. But probably not in the way you think. See, although Bart lampoons many of TSA's most asinine policies of stupidity, he will be the first to uphold every single one of them.

Every single day.

Every single time.

To HIS (or ANY TSO's) letter of the law, not yours. Guess which one counts in the holding pens.

See, that means judge, jury and executioner, whether or not you choose to "stand up" to it, Geo. Eventually you must bend over for the TSO in order to get out of the holding pen.

I won't do that. Stupid or not, I'll be the exemplar of what I think intelligent paxs AND 'intelligent' TSA employees SHOULD be doing, en masse:

staying the hell away from American airports and their obligatory lines of TSA Public Embarrassment.

Bart refers to his own enforcement of the TSA Pax Dance as "Bart's World", and while his may be less smarmy than some OTHER screeners' 'world's, the individual and LAWFUL TSA worker's demand of "my way or NO way" is still the very definition of abrogation of rights and entitlements you are due as an American citizen, innocent-until-proven-guilty patriot, and child of All We Hold Dear In Georgia, 'Cuz GeorgiaRebel.

IMHO, comparing your nephew's Walk the Walk gallantry with the TSA Public Grandma Big Feelers is an insult to our military and to your nephew's own integrity.

In the spirit of a "Fish called Wanda", saying that would be an insult to "some mentally retarded/challenged/differently-abled and otherwise unemployable".

I wish TSA would hire them, they'd have more common sense and more than likely be more polite.

-Stephen

This isn't a good analogy. Your nephew cannot legally walk away from his military commitment -- and a medic is clearly "doing good" wherever he may be. But Bart can leave the TSA any time he chooses. He prefers to stay for some legitimate reasons, and I for one am thankful that not every TSA employee is a complete moron or bully, but still...if I were in Bart's shoes, I would certainly walk away from such a dysfunctional agency. Frankly, I would be embarrassed to be associated with it. And, incidentally, I was a Federal employee for almost a decade and take great pride in my accomplishments during that time. I am not a Fed-basher by any means.

Bruce

Indeed, things won't get better until all the competent people quit!

At one time in my life I would have agreed with that sentiment. Experience has taught me that when a vacuum exists, it must be filled. If there is a lack of competent people, it will be filled with incompetents. This is part of the reason we have idiots like Hawley in charge of areas where they have no experience or competency. There are no competent people who are serving (or willing to serve) in a public capacity. If all the competent people quit, things will only get worse. If you want real change, we must change our government back to a Constitutional Republic. This requires competent people to stand up and lead a revolution (not necessarily the shooting kind).

I only made the analogy on one point: You can't blame a participant/employee/soldier for the problems of poor management. Bart did not make Kip Hawley an idiot.

I can't speak for Bart's reasons for staying and won't try to.

I too left federal employment many years ago and took pride in what I did, but not in what my government did during that time period.

Had all non-medication liquids (well, almost, see below) confiscated at ORD today because I used a gallon size bag rather than quart size. Granted, my bad for not adhering to the rule, but c'mon... I've traveled with that particular bag at least 4 times in the past month and no other airport has objected to it so far. Also, the contents would EASILY have fit in a quart bag. Why can't they just have a "sizer" bag to check that you're not over quantity, throw your items in, and if they fit, let you go? For that matter, why can't they just have a supply of correct bags on hand, rather than confiscating everything that comes through in a bag that's not quite to spec?

What do they do with those gigantic bins full of toiletries, anyway? Take them home for personal use? What a nice racket...

Also, there was really only one item I wanted to keep. Why couldn't they let me keep that one item (which, since it was less than 3oz, was obviously also less than the quart total maximum)?

And lastly, if they're such expert enforcers of the rule, why did they leave a container of hair gel in with the medications I was allowed to keep? Are we really supposed to take this agency seriously?

Me: "OK, I made a mistake by having the wrong size bag. But the contents are within the quantity regulation. So can you help me solve this?"
So-called supervisor: "I AM helping you by allowing you to board your flight."

Hooray for intimidation tactics.

On my last few trips through lga and las, tsa had a "free" supply of 1 quart zip bags for pax who needed them--why can't all airports do the same thing? Going through long lines and other indignities is bad enough, why should TSA make the whole process a nightmare?

Because they can?