Glad we could provide some entertainment for you.

Sadly, I've been down this road with coworkers before. Some seem to get it, some, well... don't.

As to the bit about finding the "Right Way to do the Wrong Thing," I believe I've been asked to address that before, but I am certainly not opposed to discussing it again. (Assuming you or anyone else actually wants to hear it.)

Oh, no, spotnik. My Form Letter of Apology from the TSA Echelons is my Touchstone of Oxymoron. They hustle to stumble all over themselves as an agency to apologize for something they never admit to, then invite me back with open arms and implied assurances that it will never happen again. ?!?!?

How in heaven's name ya gonna top that? It speaks worlds in just a few paragraphs. How can "discussion" with such an agency or its minions clarify the inscrutable to its victims?

You deserver better, too, spotnik, unless you also have lost sight of what used to be Our Country, 'Tis of Thee...

No, no, no. Spotnik isn't nearly qualified to have assessed the behavior in STL. See, Ronny is a security professional. That means he is much more qualified to tell us what happened. The thing is, those spotters, they just aren't on the Front Lines, like he is. They have that cushy job that makes them walk around and interact with people, while he is free to focus on getting America to conform with that vision of utopia passed down from Kippy to Nappy.

Someday, if we are all lucky, we can all be like him and leave our silly notions of Constitutional Law at the sliding entry doors. And if we don't, we can always take some other mode of transportation.

Do I need to know? No. Do I care? Yes. I would love to hear that this particular copy of Jango Fett was fired.

Hell, I knew the moment that I read the first post here that I was not going to change people�s mind (some). Its easy to tell. I have been in this type of environment before, but that has never stopped me from opposing ignorance in public.

Even the invalid ones? To be honest, there are quite a few here who will NEVER be satisfied with ANYTHING the TSA or any other government agency does. There are just people like that out there, and many end up in forums just like this.

Well, I�d say that given the lack of knowledge many of the people display here I can see how one can some to that conclusion. There is a great deal that the TSA does that the general public just never see�s. Not that it is not happening, but it is happening in the background, away from public eye. What you see on the checkpoint is a significant part of what TSA does, the most visible portion, but is not anywhere near all of it.

As for the general belief here of what is or is not constitutional, I have seen more wisdom in that area on a kindergarten play ground.

His moustache??

Gee, have I ever apologized for the TSA? I cant seem to remember doing that. What I can remember is trying to do is educate the uneducateable.

Look closely, that�s not a stone.

Unfortunately that explanation is in error. The travelers I deal with are of all types. Some travel 1 time a year, some 1 time every 5 years, and some 3 times a week. They all forget a cell phone occasionally, keys, belt buckle, etc. The experienced traveled is just as apt to do this as the novice.

The problem I have is that the very next 4 people in line will make the exact same mistake that the first one did. They don�t pay attention, and then get upset with the TSO because they are also being pulled aside or delayed.

We could have signs putting out 3000 watts of visual energy and loudspeakers screaming at 150 decibels and people are still going to ignore it all. And then tell us that no one told them! Explain that if you can.

Sorry, not correct. That is only one aspect of the job of those on the screening checkpoint.

The actual constitution, or the unfounded concepts that those here believe to be their rights? There IS a significant difference.

So, you also are a TSO? THAT concerns me more than usual. If this is so then you have seen the very same things I have seen, experienced the same one after the other passenger who just cant get it together. They are indeed the exception to the rule, but you would have to admit that it is a very common exception.

What are these other aspects that you speak of?

TSORon, when you posted over at PV you usually had a bit of a time lag between posting and when the posts went active. Here that isn't the case and you continue digging a deeper and deeper hole for yourself. I don't know how much blogging you've done, but suspect that you're a relative newbie to how to interact with people on the web.

If you find the majority of us uneducatable then give it up as us being nothing but a lost cause. You won't bring us around to your viewpoint and we won't bring you around to our viewpoint (doing so would have your wind up quitting your cush government job with lots of benefits and senority). We do have valid complaints/comments/questions about TSA. You've lightly dismissed those complaints. People asked you questions and you either dance around the question or ignore it completely.

Of course he would. In his eyes, there are no valid complaints. Only comments and questions that are supportive of TSA or display a sheeplike mentality that stroke TSA's ego are valid to him.

And apparently, even those of his coworkers are clearly misguided. We just might be dealing with Kip here ...

Ouch!

Ah, the old "we prevent terrorists" attacks argument. What a tired, unproven cliche.

Ron, what prevents a repeat of the 9/11 attacks is not TSA - it is the change in airline policies post-9/11 that no longer forbids resisting a hijacking attempt, along with FAMs and armed pilots. Lax gate security was NOT the cause of 9/11, so you can quit patting yourself on the back any time now.

Do we need gate security? Of course. Do we need a bloated, expensive, inefficient, federalized group of wannabe cops making life at the airport miserable? No.

Let me tell you about your leadership, Ron. Last year, a group of actual aviation security experts from several federal agencies, working hard over a several month period, was supposed to deliver a report to an interagency policy committee that set forth the existing threats to aviation security ranked in order of necessity. But it was never delivered. Do you know why? I'll tell you. When TSA management read it, they rejected it in horror, because passenger movement airside was NOT the greatest threat facing aviation. The real experts determined that the greatest threat to air safety was under the wing - not at the security gate. For obvious reasons, Kippie and company couldn't have that, since it would have exposed the reality of the Kabuki theatre you all are a part of. So the study was suppressed.

Life can be stranger than fiction, can't it?

Such are the vagaries of human beings.

I am at a loss as to why you are in a profession that deals with the public if the nuances of human behavior are so disconcerting to you.

Wow! That's about as low as you can go. Even Kim Jong Il or Osama Bin Laden would be less of an insult. At least they don't lie about their hatred of America. Kippie has been lying through his teeth for years and his policies and actions are equivalent with using the Constitution as toilet paper.

Which Constitution, Spiff? The USA one you and I uphold, or the one the TSA uses at the airport? You know, that --- IMPLIED one...

I'd say a Virtual Constitution, but even that would be a stretch for TSA.