I would further add that, at least it is my impression, that the number of Kettle's commenting on those articles have been increasingly negative towards the TSA & it's security theater, especially over the past year.

So, no general, I don't believe it's just a very small sample of the traveling public that are complaining. It may have been a small sample that has been the most vocal, & for the longest, but as more & more of the general public have come in contact w/the TSA directly (don't forget, the TSA has been trying their darndest to branch out into things like light rail, the Superbowl, & even political events-do a search, there are threads about all of these things right here in this Forum; the light rail even includes video of them in 'action' in PHX!) they are realizing how much of a farce the TSA is & are starting to speak out, even if just in response to articles on-line.

You beat me to it, but I’ve noticed that as well. The “Its okay if it makes us safer” style comments have essentially dried up. With the TSA moving into rail travel, stupid programs like LASP, and things that have nothing to do to with transportation such as BDOs at the Super Bowl, more and more people will get a taste of what the TSA is all about.

I should have also added that even w/in the articles themselves, it's now becoming rare to find a Kettle spouting the 'anything to keep us safe' nonesense, case in point being Thomas Frank's article last week on the gate screening (there's a thread around here somewhere on that w/a link to the article; too early or I'd search for it).

Let's be honest. Most Congressfolk and Senators (other than because of their own air travel) don't give a flying F**k about the "flying public" and the modest percentage of even that minority who find the TSA inconvenient/unjustifiable.

It's the voters at home who sit at the kill switch for Congressional careers, not the "flying public" or the even far smaller group that fly with any frequency.

All it takes to insure a majority of 435 Congressional votes for the TSA is one more replay of the video from 9/11 on the national TV networks. The TSA is one of those inevitable by-products of an iconic event. For a comparison, it took newsreel images of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bomb detonations and the scenes from the deck of MISSOURI to erase from Americans' eyes and psyche those clumsy film recreations of Pearl Harbor. Short of ObL and numerous henchmen strung up in some public square, a la Benito and Clara in Milan, the TSA may be with us always.

The big clue....How many Congress members or Senators are on record, on paper or tape, calling for the dismantling or even major changes to the TSA? Count'em!

And yet, your powerful invectives, often directed AT FTers and their powerlessness against TSA mark you as a strange arbiter of acquiescence. Do you REALLY think it's time to lower our heads and plod on with the Arbeit Macht Frei attitude simply because TSA is some kind of an iron-clad "inevitability?" Methinks I sense despair seeping in around the edges of the erstwhile bombasts.

I suspect that both you and I have too finely tuned our individual irony meters.

I've no problem with legitimate complaints over the TSA or its activities. I do find that the repetitive "bombast" from many here is simply tiresome twaddle, and I relish poking fun at them, their anchor chains stretched to taught that the vibration causes droplets of moisture to effervesce into fine spray. I suspect that were we to take a survey (and gain truthful answers) that probably less than 5% of the loudest complainants have ever bothered to officially complain to a legislator. ....But then, maybe they realize the contents of the response letters.

The fact does remain that few (if any) current or near term prospective Congress members (and only a rarity among potential presidents) would go so far as to alter the TSA's policies, much less vote to dismantle its structure.

TMOliver,
I agree, legislators are not likely to care or notice... unless we continue to speak our minds.

Something is obviously very wrong: we're taking whole-body x-rays of people, then patting them down again to make sure they didn't acquire contraband after that. But we're not screening cargo or airport employees.

As I've thought more about it, I don't agree with "letting go," but I certainly understand that argument. I would like to see 20/20 or 60 Minutes take a look at TSA expenditures, the public humiliation issue, and the absence of evidence or research to support their activities.

TV news--however tabloid--might rally the Kettles and influence policymakers.

For many people, their only routine interactions with the Federal government are the IRS, the TSA, and CBP. If legislators want to garner support, it is in their best interest to protect the public opinion surrounding the agencies with the greatest "customer contact."

When I've talked about my TSA frustrations with friends and neighbors, they are all very much in agreement that the TSA is over the top, they do not like being treated like criminals, and share a sense of humiliation. But they just roll their eyes and try not to think about it. I'd prefer that we try to change it. Interestingly, these opinions transcend political allegiances; my conservative and liberal friends all agree that it's a waste of time and money.

I'm not well-connected in the media or politics, but maybe other FlyerTalkers are.

Therein lies the rub, AND a possible glimmer. TSA turned me INTO a "Kettle" 4 years ago. They are creating a small but vocal group of intellectuals who damn well won't suffer their wandings, gropings and upcoming sweatometers for sincerity residue both pre and post swabbing. This criminal violation of you and me America has just got to stop Somewhere.

I agree with Dr. TMOliver to the point that most won't protest or file complaints. I can and did and will continue to do so until BOREDOM becomes inuring, or until somebody actually HEARS me. Sometimes thin security and/or ticket lines can be a message, but as long as the lines lengthen and the strip-searching is tolerable, there is no message and the insipid chimera will not go away.

So, keep lining up, if you think expediency is akin to wisdom...

Airport security always was expensive. There were screeners, xray equipment, etc, before and they were all expensive too. The security now really isn't much different than security was before 9/11. The only difference I can think of in my actual go through of security is pulling out my freedom baggie and taking off my shoes. Given that both are readily accessible, it doesn't slow me down at all.

Do you seriously think that people in other countries are saying to themselves that they don't want to come to the US because they have to take off their shoes or actually check a bag?? They have to do similar things in their own countries. You should more be focusing on the customs/immigration barriers to entry for tourists than the TSA.

The airlines are struggles are due to their industry not being profitable in the long run, high costs of fuel, equipment, personnel and there being too many companies in the industry. I don't recall reading any recent article where a CEO of an airline was speaking about TSA instead of fuel and recession.

Your biggest concern in a travel job is the TSA? Seriously, it takes me a good 5 minutes to get through security on the way out and way back. My flights are usually 2.5 hours each. I have to live in a hotel and spend hours driving in a rental car. Not to mention that I have to find food, internet, deal with company travel policies and try to somehow fit in time for a workout each day. The implication that the TSA has on my working week is absolutely minimal. The TSA can maybe cause me a 5 minute delay if they decide to do a secondary search on me. That's it. Hertz not having a car available, Hertz giving me a crappy car, $20 hotel buffets, my flight being late, being stuck on the tarmac, weather, forgetting something at home, wanting to be home with friends/relatives, my hotel room not being nice, etc, etc, all are far more of an issue for me than the TSA.

Traveling for work, quite frankly, sucks, but it's the nature of the beast for many jobs. The TSA has almost no ability to ruin my week. Working 16 hours a day, eating unhealthy food and having no work/life balance are far, far, far worse than anything the TSA can do.

I would seriously spend a lot more time considering the potential company's travel policy than the TSA. It's rather easy to find 3oz travel sized toiletries. Having to book the cheapest flight even if it's a 3 hop and staying in a Motel 6 are your bigger concerns.

Sorry you're disappointed in your Senator. I haven't written one, but perhaps they made note of the issue and sent a generic response. You might have gotten just that no matter what you wrote about.

Sigh. I rest my case.

Last year close to $7 billion was spent by the TSA. How much was spent on airport security in 2001?


Actually, I do hear from family and friends in Europe how they spend their vacation euros in places other than the States to avoid the TSA/CBP nonsense.


I’m sorry to hear you hate travelling.

Perhaps you can have the person who first brought up the cost issue get busy with that. I see little difference in security now and before 9/11. I doubt that the costs are excessively different.

Your people don't want to come here because of TSA/CBP or do you really mean CBP? What they go through with TSA is more or less the same as what they go through at home, so how possibly could that be a deterrence to them visiting. You might have a valid point about CBP, but you really don't with the TSA.

Why would you be sorry that I hate traveling for work?

Why? For someone who likens himself as an intellectual, you really don't do a good job of getting your point across. Have fun with your protest and let me know when the boredom has become too much for you.

The above from boingboing.com

from andrewlih.com

American Hotel and Lodging Association

Actually, as has been documented here pretty thoroughly in the past, the Shoe Carnival & War on Water are limited to flights to/from/within the US.

I agree that the hysteria that has taken over the country during the past nearly 8 years w/re: to immigration has made it equally discouraging for foreign visitors trying to come to this country, but add the 2 together, &, again, as has been documented in other threads, the overall number of visitors to the US has plunged.

And no, I don't 'feel' the least bit safer because of it. I am sad & ashamed that this is what my country has turned into.

I've never been to NZ, but I have been to Australia. I found the customs there more or less the same as that in USA, Canada and places in Europe. Of course, in Australia, you do have the extra baggage search for extra items. Oddly, I didn't see a customs agent offering to carry my bags for me. They were too busy doing their jobs. I'm not sure exactly what the point is in your paste of boingboing or entirely how it is relevant to the debate.

In terms of the other article that you pasted since you seem unable to come up with your own opinions, the person who wrote it is really not representing the truth.

The liquids ban is in place in China as well.

http://www.airchina.com.au/en/manage...on/liquid.html

Whoever wrote that article really should give up blogging. The liquids ban isn't the barrier for people visiting the US. It's more the immigration issue and that isn't the responsibility of the TSA.

Nice try though. Next time, why not write your own opinions instead of pasting those of others.