Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that it's impossible to go through any checkpoint WITHOUT hearing the TSA staffers having the same conversation amongst themselves: "So what time are you getting off work?" "Well, my shift ends at...".

Yep, it's a government job...all about getting through another day and collecting that paycheck. Sigh, America's first line of defnese....

I hear the same stuff as you. Don't forget the discussion about break time. It's hard to hear this, though, over the screaming -- at nobody in particular -- about the removal of shoes, laptops, liquids, etc.

It sometimes seems as if passengers are there as an afterthought.

Yeah, forgot about the "So when's your break time?" part of it as well.

As to your comment about passengers being an afterthought, given that it's all Kabuki Theatre anyway, I don't mind being an afterthought, but from the standpoint of "America's first line of defense", the much-touted alleged training on observing passenger behavior, the much-touted training on engaging passengers in "pleasant conversation" with the objective of gauging behavior, etc etc etc, the focus on break time and quittin' time and not on the passengers they're there to screen is pathetic.

TSA employees are there to do as little as possible so that some other people will pay them with money they've coercively collected from Americans.

Just one more example of how Americans are much worse off because of their government.

The other day I got on a parking garage shuttle on my way to LAX with two screeners discussing a new (or an apparently new) TSA rule requiring that all vacation/leave requests be filed by screeners early in the year. One screener wouldn't stop complaining about it even though the other told him that many private industry employees have to do the same thing. The whiner said "it's just ridiculous" and that the rule didn't make any sense.

Finally, after several minutes of this whining, I looked at the screener and said "Ridiculous? Just like the liquid insanity? Sounds to me like you've got a problem following rules." The other passengers loudly agreed with me. That shut him up for the rest of the ride.

Yup...you all hit it. Went through CVG last week and saw one screaming at a passenger over a little tube of anti-bac...like it was the highlight of his shining career at the TSA. Meanwhile, the chick watching the screen of the X-ray was more consumed talking about her boyfriend to the other workers...I could have passed a chainsaw through and she probably wouldn't have picked it up.

Americans would actually be better off if the TSA employees truly admitted that they are there just to collect a check. If, for example, they all (as opposed to just some of them) went to sleep and let everyone pass through unchecked, the passengers would at least know they needed to look for other ways to be protected. They would look for the airlines providing true security, they would be more aware of truly suspicious behavior around them, etc.

As it is now, and as government so often does in so many areas of our lives, passengers are lulled into believing they are being protected when the TSA has done nothing but make them more endangered. And the passengers who haven't been fooled have had their ability to do anything about the situation (i.e. most importantly, shift their dollars to a place or service where they are more secure) greatly restricted.

A couple of my favorite TSA moments:

1) Two obese black chicks in ATL laughing at the x-ray monitor showing a dildo in one passenger's luggage.

2) The obese black chick in JFK completely asleep in her chair while on the job.

Oh well... all governments come to an end at some point. Ours had a good run while it lasted. Better get ready to duck though... because the payback ours has coming is going to be pretty ugly I'm afraid. And unfortunately the people tearing it down won't differentiate between the idiots that did it and those of us that were forced to pay them.

This morning - as it took 25 minutes to wend through T2 security at SAT, longest I've seen since Feb 1 - the passenger behind me remarked that he came through with his belt on, and that was great. I looked at him and said "but they're still not very competant (as our plastic bins were crashing flexing up and nearly crashing off the line). He said that they're doing their best, and that's good enough, so they should get a break.

I did note that he had a large GSA emblem on his bag....

Why do you have to point out their size and ethnicity it didn't add anything to your point.

I though most TSA conversations went like this.

I like Nachos....nachos rule....

Shut up Beavis

I agree about the ethnicity point.

The size thing I do feel is pertinent since TSAers frequently point out they have the most on-the-job injuries in all of government. And I have long maintained there should be a fitness standard given all the physical requirements on the job.

How about the female part, or does that not offend your PC sensitivity?

Went out security in Chicago during a layover and coming back in the gentleman at the x-ray machine was busy complaining (about his schedule) to the lady on the x-ray machine in the next lane. Normally i don't really care what the screeners are talking about, but this conversation had this guy standing at a point where he couldn't even see the screen and he was yelling. I asked the supervisor for a complaint form and he wanted to know what the problem was. I told him, he called his supervisor (how many supervisors are there?) and they apologised profusely thanking me for reporting the incident. As I walked away I saw them call the offender over and they seemed to be talking sternly to him.

Probably not a typical situation but I was quite pleased to see that they were proactive. But hey, maybe that was Kabuki also...

I posted a response on another thread about a young TSA screener at Buffalo Niagara checking my bag and getting mouthy with me. When I questioned what the lady at the xray had seen, seeing how she didn't stop talking the entire time my bag went through, he got all defensive. "Sir, are you good at your job? Sir, do you talk at your job?"

I told him hell yes I'm good at my job, and hell yes I talk at my job--but my job doesn't affect the safety of hundreds of people every hour. I asked for a supervisor and he shut up and went to the women in question. I could see them listening to him and giving me menacing glances.

Just wait until they get their union! Write your congressional rep or senator now!