kgkhoury

The TSA is really letting themselves wide open for some big lawsuits...

My 62-year old diabetic and crippled mother was making her way through security at the Anchorage airport when the TSA screener told her that he was going to confiscate her water-packed tuna (sealed in a can) and the sealed small tub of cream cheese she had to go with her bagel. When my mom asked to see a supervisor regarding this decision, the supe backed the screener and also said the following (which would have caused me to make a scene):

"I'll let you keep your insulin but you don't need the food to maintain your blood sugar."



They were, however, nice enough to let her keep the Sugar-Free Jello. Oh so helpful, that! Luckily she was on the short hop from Anchorage to Bethel and not the 5-hour flight back from Anchorage to SFO. Tell me... how would the FAs help my mother in flight if she had a sugar low? With pretzels??? I don't think so.

I think the thing that pisses me off the most about this is the presumption of the agent to tell my mom how to manage a disease. When did the requirements for TSA screeners go from a high school diploma to a medical degree???

I'm planning on complaining about this in writing to everyone I can think of.

studentff

Unfortunately it will probably take a boneheaded TSA decision like this one actually killing someone for it to get any serious negative press, let alone action taken. And even then, TSA will deny responsibility and try to blame it on the airlines or the passenger.

TSA does seem to have gone on a power tripping "medical kick" with their liquid ban. I've been quizzed about my "conditions" before being allowed to keep non-perscription medications below 4 oz. Unfortunately I answered before thinking; next time I'm calling for a supervisor or LEO and filing a complaint about TSA agents playing physician.

This agency is out of control.

bollar

You should -- It's absolutely unacceptable for the TSA to tell her how to manage her disease.

But as an aside, tuna and cream cheese? Both have negligible carbohydrates. If I went low, I'd definitely opt for the pretzels!

red456

Be sure to include the Alaska Board of Medical Examiners - let them know that this turd was practicing medicine without a license.

oldpenny16

Yes, do complain loud and long. Although your mother may not have made the best food choices, she knows what she can eat. The TSA has no business practicing medicine!

A flight to Bethel of all places! Ridiculous!

Call the newspaper in Anchorage and get a reporter on this. You may well save someone's life.

TierFlyer

I feel horrible for your mom and I hope you find someone to apologize.

I hope that I can find someone at the ACLU to apologize to my mother for her having to have a secondary screening while young men and non-US citizens sailed through security. Can't profile, gotta be 'fair.'

Cookie Jarvis

That is just awful.

My father takes a large amount of prescription medication each day (he's had a liver and a kidney transplant). Normally he keeps them in one of those plastic pill separators, but since this latest TSA stupidity, I advised him he might be better off bringing all 13 prescription bottles with him instead.

I advised him that if he EVER had a problem with TSA not understanding the necessity, to keep asking for a Supervisor, and if he didn't get any satisfaction from TSA, to ask for an airline reprsentative or the GSC, he is to be calm and polite, but he is not to take no for an answer no matter what. I am pretty confident in the case of medical necessities the airline representative or GSC would be the voice of reason.

GoingAway

This stupidity has to end but it's gone on for far too long already to ever roll back to where it should be .... for your mom - the next time, have her take the tuna in the packets instead of the can - not sure if they'll pick it up at all that way and since its not packed in liquid, they shouldn't have a problem. Then again, it shouldn't be a problem to begin with so who knows what stupidity might occur. The reason her stuff was likely looked at to begin with was the metal can (not sure what type of container was used for the cream cheese).

BTW - tuna and cream cheese? I truly hope there were crackers and other things just not mentioned here since that is, well, a very *yucky* combination.

Doppy

Nobody knows what's better for you than Fatherland Security.

I think the whole perscription/disease thing is pretty silly anyway. Any idiot can print out a fake perscription or doctor's note. If terrorists really want to get something through security, they could do the same. Does anyone actually believe this improves airport security?

I've been asked by screeners if I had a doctor's note to substantiate my claims before. My response is that I don't care to carry such a thing around, and in any case the TSA shouldn't put any faith in a piece of paper that can be faked in 30 seconds at kinkos.

Doppy

Of course, none of the people here who are always agitating for "profiling" seem to be able to come up with an effective and workable profile, so that's part of the problem.

And god forbid that governments treat people fairly

PatrickHenry1775

For starters, if passenger is a male age 16-45 from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, West Bank, Gaza Strip, or Syria, then extra screening. As pointed out on another thread, this site is about aviation security. People who have caused terrorist problems with aviation have uniformly been from or spent significant amounts of time in these places. American citizenship should have some advantages, especially with respect to privacy and freedom from intrusive searches without particularized suspicion of involvement in criminal activities or indicia/criteria that would satisfy the requirements of Terry v. Ohio.

Doppy

Your profile is underinclusive of countries and sexes. Even if it were not, is the goal to prevent the last attack by the previous attackers, or to prevent the next one by whomever the next set of attackers are?

What's your suggestion for how the TSA should keep track of where every traveler has visited, and how much time they've spent there?

PatrickHenry1775

The quick answer is that Islamic whacko terrorists have links to the countries I identified. Our intelligence agencies should be able to keep abreast of developing threats, so the class of people subject to extra screening can be adjusted accordingly. With computers and database technology, it should be possible to track where and how long travelers have been in suspect countries. This illustrates another reason why border security and identifying those entering our country is critical.

Doppy

This would be quite a feat. I can't imagine how the US is supposed to get a list of who has ever been to Afghanistan and how long they've been there. A computer could store this information in a database, sure, but I don't see how we'd get it in the first place.

And then we're going to have computer terminals at the airports that the ID checking contracters operate, swiping everyone's passport to see if they've been to Pakistan and how many times they've been there?

VideoPaul

Comment#1: Does this surprise ANYONE?
Comment#2: The TSA *WILL* end someone's life in the pursuit of "security".
Comment#3: The lawsuit will get dismissed in the name of "national security".
Comment#4: The letters will be responded to with a pedantic form letter lecturing you about the need for inconvenience to maintain security.

I believe the most productive route will be to go after them at the state level for practicing medicine without a license.

This is an atrocity against American Citizens. I can't believbe it's not a violation of the AMericans with Disabilities Act. Surely letting a person on an airplane with tunafish is a reasonable accommodation.

The TSA power trip will continue, kids, until people either stop getting re-elected over this, or until people get elected on a "TSA accountability" platform.

--PP