Here’s a taste from an interesting and informative article by James Bovard from my favorite morning reading at LewRockwell.com:
Federal Attitude Policy
TSA agents can slap fines on Americans based on "attitude," which TSA classifies as one of the "aggravating factors" in determining financial punishments. TSA has issued no guidance on the precise amount of obligatory groveling at airport checkpoints. People who question TSA commands are probably far more likely to be fined.
And, hey, put a lid on that smirk. You can be fined up to $10,000 if you get caught with it.
P.S. My favorite author, King of Smirkers, has written some good articles on the madness of the TSA. The man knows how to poke fun. And when to grovel. He’s smart like that.
There is no end to the absurdity – Kafka would dig it. Or at least write about it. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before two people sharing a private joke unrelated to the TSA will be shafted.
Americans are the most docile people I have ever seen.
Distracted by sports and the celebrity flavor of the month, Americans aren’t even aware of how many freedoms they are losing daily.
Arp, I don’t even risk a smile when I go thru the TSA line. I tell the boys “don’t talk” because they are always joking around. God forbid, a TSA employee should think they are laughing at them…
Yep, Scot, not a clue. And when you mention it, they love saying “I have nothing to hide.” Good thing. Hal pointed out yesterday that pretty soon you will have to go thru the TSA routine before entering any governmental building, school, clinic… Americans don’t want to be led. They want to be ruled. Just like, really, everyone else.
I tried focussing on my kids and ignoring the TSA peeps. And looking slightly befuddled.
Good plan! I think having little kids helps. Now that the boys are big suicide-bomber size, they could draw attention… fortunately, they are still goofy.
Great story!
After flying across the US from coast to coast numerous times in the past 3 years, plus flying overseas through some of the toughest airport security (Narita, Japan, for one), I can relate to this story. Last year, my family and I flew to Denver, Colorado for a family get-together–and as we were leaving, United Airlines cancelled *ALL THEIR FLIGHTS* due to a blizzard coming in and because their crew-members were overextended (in other words, they have laid off and “downsized” so much that they don’t have enough crew coverage for their flights that are overbooked anyway). I made the mistake of fussing and fuming a bit at the ticket counter… and although we were given tickets for an American Airlines flight (which got diverted to Dallas-Ft.Worth rather than our destination of Sacramento, CA), the ticket agent for United was in sort of a pissy mood as well…. when our tickets were printed, she added four “S’s” at the corner of our tickets. Which meant that we got pulled aside and were given the TSA “Special Treatment”… rather than the usual screenings. When we got to Dallas-Ft.Worth, we never left the airport boarding areas and when our flight to leave was announced, the ticketing folks at the boarding area saw those same four “S’s” and fussed with us for not going through security screening (we had never left the boarding area–so had no need to go through screening again). So, the moral of the story is… don’t even fuss or fume about airline incompetency or your other problems to ticket agents or the check-in agents at the airport — they can make your life miserable for the rest of the trip by putting little “indicators” on your tickets. Also, with airlines now charging extra per checked-in bag, you are better off FedEx’ing your bags to your destination hotel/quarters and only carrying a small carry-on–It’s cheaper, faster, and FedEx generally won’t lose your luggage and divert it to Singapore!
Good post you have here!
it’s like they really don’t want you to fly anymore… the royal They. FedEx, eh? Good idea.