Forget ID after 6/21: expect invasive ?s including political affiliation
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS and vicinity
Programs: Former UA 1P
Posts: 3,725
Forget ID after 6/21: expect invasive ?s including political affiliation
squatch posted this link in another thread, but IMO it is so important that it deserves one of its own.
http://consumerist.com/tag/tsa-id-po...ew-regulations
Somebody needs to challenge this in court. Now. Freedom is on life support and nearly bleeding out; it may already be too late.
Edit:
The original thread and ongoing discussion is here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=837416
The only reason I posted this thread was for the benefit of those readers who might be skimming topics without reading the threads.
http://consumerist.com/tag/tsa-id-po...ew-regulations
Finally satisfied that I didn't have ID, Laurie took my boarding pass and went away. She came back a few minutes later having photocopied it, and also had an affidavit that she requested I sign. It asked for my name and address, and stated in small print at the bottom that I did not have to fill it out, but if I didn't I couldn't fly. It also said that if I choose to fill it out and then provided false info, I would be in violation of federal law.
After filling out the affidavit, Laurie called a service to verify my address. The service needed me to then correctly answer three questions about myself, which Laurie relayed to me. The first was my date of birth, the second was a previous address (which I only got right on my second try), and the third was "You are registered to vote. Which political party have you registered with?" I got all three right, and only then did Laurie clear me to go through security.
Of course, I still had to submit to secondary screening, including a full-body pat-down and total luggage search. Brenda and Laurie stayed with me to make sure the process went as quickly as possible, and were again incredibly helpful and nice. They kept explaining over and over how necessary it was to "verify" who I was, and how times have changed, and how these new regulations must have been as a result of someone trying to get away with something, because there's always a reason for these thing but they don't always know what those reasons are.
After filling out the affidavit, Laurie called a service to verify my address. The service needed me to then correctly answer three questions about myself, which Laurie relayed to me. The first was my date of birth, the second was a previous address (which I only got right on my second try), and the third was "You are registered to vote. Which political party have you registered with?" I got all three right, and only then did Laurie clear me to go through security.
Of course, I still had to submit to secondary screening, including a full-body pat-down and total luggage search. Brenda and Laurie stayed with me to make sure the process went as quickly as possible, and were again incredibly helpful and nice. They kept explaining over and over how necessary it was to "verify" who I was, and how times have changed, and how these new regulations must have been as a result of someone trying to get away with something, because there's always a reason for these thing but they don't always know what those reasons are.
Edit:
The original thread and ongoing discussion is here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=837416
The only reason I posted this thread was for the benefit of those readers who might be skimming topics without reading the threads.
Last edited by studentff; Jun 23, 2008 at 1:17 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: ORD
Programs: CO PLT, HH DIA
Posts: 1,461
How does "Laurie" know the information that the "service" has is correct?
I got a copy of my credit records before applying for a home loan a couple of years ago and found the following gems:
1) They had two addresses that I had never lived at as former addresses, and one address they claimed was my residence that was actually my employer's address...in another time zone. Having said this, I **WISH** I had enough cash to have lived in the 100 block of East 42nd street in NYC. I imagine apartments with a view of Pershing Square rent for about five times what I make in a month!!
2) They had as an alias, "Paul Paul" which I have never used. However, they missed "Mrs. Dan Grabowski" which I used once in a college hazing ritual.
3) My date of birth was wrong
4) They had listed two credit cards I never held.
This begs the question where their "address service" is getting their data from.
As for political affiliation, that's just over the damn line. However, in the interest of continued comedy, may I humbly suggest "registered Mugwump"?
--PP
I got a copy of my credit records before applying for a home loan a couple of years ago and found the following gems:
1) They had two addresses that I had never lived at as former addresses, and one address they claimed was my residence that was actually my employer's address...in another time zone. Having said this, I **WISH** I had enough cash to have lived in the 100 block of East 42nd street in NYC. I imagine apartments with a view of Pershing Square rent for about five times what I make in a month!!
2) They had as an alias, "Paul Paul" which I have never used. However, they missed "Mrs. Dan Grabowski" which I used once in a college hazing ritual.
3) My date of birth was wrong
4) They had listed two credit cards I never held.
This begs the question where their "address service" is getting their data from.
As for political affiliation, that's just over the damn line. However, in the interest of continued comedy, may I humbly suggest "registered Mugwump"?
--PP
#4
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 861
New at the top of the blog
UPDATE: We're aware of reports that someone was asked their political affiliation to verify their identity and it is being looked into. Here's a response given to us by Kip Hawley: "It's unequivocally not our policy to use political, religious, or other sensitive personal topics as identity validation. If it happened, it was wrong and will not be repeated."
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: An NPR mind living in a Fox News world
Posts: 14,165
UPDATE: We're aware of reports that someone was asked their political affiliation to verify their identity and it is being looked into. Here's a response given to us by Kip Hawley: "It's unequivocally not our policy to use political, religious, or other sensitive personal topics as identity validation. If it happened, it was wrong and will not be repeated."
This is truly pathetic. Of course, it happened, Kip, you blithering idiot. Do the honorable thing. Cancel this obviously unconstitutional policy and then resign. Oh, I forgot...you're a Bush appointee.
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,037
UPDATE: We're aware of reports that someone was asked their political affiliation to verify their identity and it is being looked into. Here's a response given to us by Kip Hawley: "It's unequivocally not our policy to use political, religious, or other sensitive personal topics as identity validation. If it happened, it was wrong and will not be repeated."
#8
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 1,439
No. This story was posted to BoingBoing this morning, and then cross-referenced in the TSA blog post's comment thread (note: TSA's Blogger.com setup requires you to hit the post's main page before you can load that comment).
Last edited by pmocek; Jun 23, 2008 at 6:14 pm Reason: add link to orig post
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: jfk area
Programs: AA platinum; 2MM AA, Delta Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,291
ABCDEF GHIJKLMN (obviously not my real name) and two alternate last names
LMN and GHIJK.
#11
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: New York City/NY22
Programs: AA Platinum 2.3MM (Lifetime PLT)
Posts: 5,285
I have a similar problem. In New York you can declare a political party or you can check off the box I did which says something like "I do not choose to enroll in any political party." When someone here says he or is is "an independent," this is the only way to do it.
#13
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: ATL
Programs: DL, AA
Posts: 6,031
^
A lady's birthdate may be a sensitive personal topic. Somehow I don't think that will stop them from asking for it.