There are four boxes every American can potentially use: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box and the last I'll let you all figure out.

Umm ... given the presence of Spiff and goalie in our little sub-forum I'm gonna freely associate and guess, "Penalty?"



Okay, seriously ... how about, "Pine?"

Someone explain this. There are cameras covering virtually every square inch of shopping malls, office buildings, even gas stations and streets. I see them in airports all over. High definition, all kinds of detail covered. With the claimed importance of the security checkpoints, aren't there cameras at the checkpoints? If not, why not? If so, why can't this be reviewed. Why aren't the people manning the checkpoints required to be microphoned like cops, with even eye level cameras?

The other day I was flying with my son on a US domestic flight. He is clearly under 15 but still deserves to be treated as a person just like the rest of us. They ID checker asked me how old he was. I said, "Why don't you ask him?" After the second go-round of this they did ask him. Of course, they had his passport in hand when they asked so they could easily have checked themselves.

These abuses of power are disgusting. Some travelers have been literally traumatized by these encounters with TSA. It's disturbing to take someone like the lady in the story, who very possibly has never been in trouble with the law, and subject them to threats of arrest. I'm sure this will stick with her for awhile.

I think the last one is "ammo box".

Please don't tell me you have witnessed babies being poisoned with tap water. (nursery water does add fluoride though)


BTW, I like how the story is dramatized. I can't stop crying.

Ask anyone who has traveled with a toddler if they didn't have to follow the exact same rules.

Huh? In Maryland (and maybe DC & VA) fluoride is added to the tap water.

While an excellent idea, there has to be some consequence for bad behavior. Police agencies learned from numerous civil suits that they cannot afford to have rogue cops working for them. With TSA/DHS, there is very little a citizen can do with regard to seeking recourse for inappropriate treatment at the hands of a TSA screener. We are told repeatedly to "file a complaint" but can never be told the results, nor can we sue. Until the federal government is made to hold these screeners accountable for their actions, we are at their mercy.

And before TSA supporters chime in, I realize there are cases where screeners have been disciplined and even terminated. But we do not have access to the data to draw a conclusion that discipline is applied consistently, evenly or correctly. Every station appears to be an entity unto itself, operating under a broad set of guidelines.

That and the filtration are the only fundamental differences I know of with nusery water. Somebody else may know of something else.

Some place don't have flouridated water available. ie well water

I've seen a lot of new parents toting this stuff.

P.T. Barnum was right.

"Paging Sgt. Westbrook"
"Sgt. Sonya Westbrook to the checkpoint please".

It sure looks like it to me. The line about being "ordered to apologize" for spilling a little water is very suspect. Demanding an apology for anything is something TSA obviously has no power to do. Any TSA agent caught humiliating a passenger in this manner is seriously abusing their authority.

Now, I realize that TSA abuse of authortiy is something many here reasonably believe is a regular activitiy for TSA. Even if that's true, let's distinguish between abuses of authority that have at least a hint of a connection with TSA's responsibilities, and this supposed apology demand. There is no way TSA could even begin to defend ordering a passenger to apologize, which is why I doubt it happened.

I think that was the cop.

"Paging Sgt. Wes..." oh, never mind.

http://www.tsa.gov/approach/mythbusters

see the video of the incident for yourself.

I've not been able to verify this just yet, but have just gotten word that Monica Emmerson will be on MSNBC tomorrow, 12:30 p.m. Pacific.