KJ's Journal (original) (raw)

2006.03.09 08.50
TSA can suck my nuts

So I am sure by posting this on the internet will increase my file at the FBI by a good couple of pages and may even get me audited by the IRS but hey we have Free Speech in this country. Right? So anyway it's about time for a groundswell of people against the mother fucking TSA. For those of you not in the know, the TSA stands for Transportation Safety Administration. Basically what happened after 9/11 we all flipped the fuck out and had no idea what was going on. So instead of actually researching the problem to make valid and justified improvements to the system, we decided to let the government take over airport security. This might actually had been a good idea if they had hired qualified people and trained them to do their jobs. But once again, no - they just rehired all the old people currently doing the job at a higher wage with a better pension.

The best part about it now is that instead of being a two bit rent-a-cop who actually had an incentive to be nice to you the customer, now they are government jackasses who couldn't get fired for raping an 80 year old man in the town square. You can't appeal any of it, you have no rights and basically get constantly dicked. The following is a list of wonderfully smart thing the TSA has done over the past few years. Basically we are paying twice as much for the same service from bigger assholes.

The best is the 'catch all' that's supposed to make us safe. Apparently the TSA 'officers' have the authority to disallow anything on any flight that they deem unsafe. So even though you may be perfectly within your rights to have a phone in your posession they may confiscate it if they deem it unsafe. No appeal, no process - just an arbitrary ruling.

Shut down Portland Airport for 2+ hours for a routine piece of checked electronic equipment that was completely leagal. Their suggestion 'Please don't bring that again'! WTF - would it be better for you if we all traveled naked with no luggage, and just fed-ex'd our stuff to our destination and back again. Would that make your already DIFFICULT job just a little bit easier.

Confiscated a mans Volkswagen car key (the kind that springs open). They claimed it switchblade in nature. Nevermind that the actual dimensions of this key made it about 10x safer than an ordinary car key. To replace such a key is aproxamately $250. Again, you can't appeal.

Man carying expensive electronics, all legal, all caryon safe, just too fragile to check. The TSA felt that the components could be used to build a bomb and would not let him on the plane. Get that? A Bomb with no explosive material. Good one.

The real deal about the whole thing is the random over reacting to a 12 year old with nail clippers (which finally have been made legal again) and calling in the swat team. The only way to ensure that your process is inefective is to rely on random screening. the one thing they do.