Okay, maybe I'm a prude, but after watcing several months of people being groped, poked, prodded, and essentially fondled at airports - of course they do have the option of standing naked in front of a scanner - I will think twice before subjecting myself to air travel in the immediate future.
So I'm wondering if the national conciousness re religious sensitivity will win out?
Or the unmistakable stupdity that accompanies some of the rules and regs we are now subjected to?
So what do you think? Have you accepted this latest initiative of government authority as inevitable as we seem to do with most government initiatives? Or are you still bothered by it if you ever were?
How much are we willing to allow the terrorists to affect policy that affects all of us?
I had a pair of cuticle scissors I had fogotten about confiscated from my purse. If you have ever seen cuticle scissors, they do have a sharp point but the blade is about 1/4 inch. Somebody really would have to die from a thousand cuts in order to use such as a lethal weapon. Immediately ahead of me was a gentleman with a cane that would have made a much more effective weapon.
Here is an e-mail I've received from a couple of people that may or may not be authentic. If it is, it is just one more evidence of adding absurdity to absurdity.
So I'm wondering if the national conciousness re religious sensitivity will win out?
AGONY AT THE AIRPORT
TSA procedures offend followers of many faiths
By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 23, 2010
As Erum Ikramullah prepared to head to Reagan National Airport on Thursday for a flight, she mulled over two distasteful choices: the body scanner or the pat-down?
Ever since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a trip to the airport has been fraught for Muslims, who sometimes feel they are being profiled as potential terrorists because of their religion. The addition of full-body scanners, which many say violate Islam's requirements of modesty, has increased the discomfort.
Muslims aren't alone in their antipathy toward the new security measures. Followers of other religions, including Sikhs and some Orthodox Jews and evangelical Christians, also say the scanners and pat-downs make them uncomfortable or breach the tenets of their faiths.
TSA procedures offend followers of many faiths
Or the unmistakable stupdity that accompanies some of the rules and regs we are now subjected to?
So what do you think? Have you accepted this latest initiative of government authority as inevitable as we seem to do with most government initiatives? Or are you still bothered by it if you ever were?
How much are we willing to allow the terrorists to affect policy that affects all of us?
I had a pair of cuticle scissors I had fogotten about confiscated from my purse. If you have ever seen cuticle scissors, they do have a sharp point but the blade is about 1/4 inch. Somebody really would have to die from a thousand cuts in order to use such as a lethal weapon. Immediately ahead of me was a gentleman with a cane that would have made a much more effective weapon.
Here is an e-mail I've received from a couple of people that may or may not be authentic. If it is, it is just one more evidence of adding absurdity to absurdity.
As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following:
When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards.
Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That's where the stupid started.
First, everyone was forced to get off the plane-even though the plane wasn't refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine.
It's probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren't loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.
The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it re-inspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to re-inspect our Cargo-just to inspect us again:
Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, re-inspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever.
So we lined up to go through security AGAIN. This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.
So we're in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they're going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:
TSA Guy: You can't take those on the plane.
Soldier: What? I've had them since we left country.
TSA Guy: You're not supposed to have them.
Soldier: Why?
TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.
Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a
weapon and I'm allowed to take it on.
TSA Guy: Yeah but you can't use it to take over the plane. You don't have bullets.
Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?
TSA Guy: [awkward silence]
Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the hell out of here. I'll buy you a new set.
Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security] To top it off, the TSA demanded we all be swabbed for "explosive residue" detection. Everyone failed, [go figure, we just came home from a war zone], because we tested positive for "Gun Powder Residue". Who the hell is hiring these people?
This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns-but nothing that could have been used as a weapon. Can someone please tell me What the hell happened to OUR country while we were gone?
Sgt. Mad Dog Tracy