I think this is just a new psychological tactic to get people with something to hide to reveal themselves. Personally, I've never had any problems with the TSA despite being a bearded Muslim male. They're always polite.

Customs, on the other hand...actually they're pretty good too. But only after 3 years, when my name was finally cleared off a list.

OMG! N965VJ... had to close my office door. Made a miserable day much brighter. Thanks!

Your ability to forgive is very admirable.

Isn't stationing TSO's at departure gates an implicit admission that their security measures at the moat aren't effective?

A logical person would see it that way. TSA's public answer, OTOH, is likely to involve the word "layers."

Edit: TSA's internal justification is likely to involve the words "job security."

Of course they are polite to you, if they give you any hassle you can claim they profiled you.

If you get SSSS every time you fly out of the US can you claim to be profiled? Is there any redress for non-US citizens?

I think I know why we are subjected to such security - my wife managed to fly to the US on a passport that was in fact cancelled in error by the UKPA a few years ago and now on leaving the US (every single time) we have the manual bag search, gate grope and explosives puffer.

I don't have any great issue with the searches except that they aren't random in any way. I worry that if anybody might be trying to smuggle something untoward aboard then all they need do is go through security as I do when attention will be diverted on a young(ish) white middle-class British couple with no aspirations to create airborne mayhem...

The one thing I will say is that the guys doing the searches tend to be fairly polite, unlike the cretins who check the documents on the way through... If America no longer wishes people to visit could they send an email or something (it's not you, it's me...) rather than try to irritate us into not travelling any more.

Having grown up during a fairly brutal and bitter terrorist campaign in a high-security environment in the UK and overseas I do have respect for the requirements to prevent problems (and lock the stable door long after the horse of course) but this just seems lazy and pointless and leaves a nagging doubt as to the likely efficacy of the measures in place.

You admit that there is a "reason" they check every time, so
that would not be a valid claim of profiling.

My suggestion is grow a beard and make your wife wear a burka.

Claim to whom ? What you can do is accuse the TSA drone to his/her face of discrimination and watch how they try to deny or wriggle out of it.

Remember this is all just a game of scoring "points". It's not about security.

Perhaps I'm overthinking this, but maybe they were so obvioous because they were doing covert surveillance on someone and were trying to see if they could scare up a reaction. Nahh, just giving unearned credit.

It'd be fair enough had the passport in question not been replaced a couple of years ago (at the expense of the UKPA - a clearer admission of guilt you will not find!).

I'm just bored of it. I'm no threat, of this I am sure, but the fella who doesn't get checked because yeat again I am may be.

Perhaps the beard/burka combo is worth trying next time for a laugh

From TSA manual 1002.456 subsection 2.3a:

Identifying Valuable Items.
A. Hand Signals.
1. Agents shall use selected signals (Section 1002.456) to identify passengers wearing Rolex watches, gold jewelry, diamonds, and other expensive items to allow agents in the screening process to perform a national security despoilment.

That's classified information you just revealed.

What is a "national security despoilment"? Sounds like TSAese for "theft." Since I assume it's not, what in the world is the significance of someone wearing a Rolex? Is the idea that terrorists don't? Or that they do? Or the people who are more well-off are able to afford a lawyer and might sue?

More TSA stupidity.

Umm.. satire sensor on the blink ?