TSA Opens Investigation on John Tyner

Robert J. Hawkins, reporting for The San Diego Union-Tribune:

The Transportation Security Administration has opened an investigation targeting John Tyner, the Oceanside man who left Lindbergh Field under duress on Saturday morning after refusing to undertake a full body scan. […]

Michael J. Aguilar, chief of the TSA office in San Diego, called a news conference at the airport Monday afternoon to announce the probe. He said the investigation could lead to prosecution and civil penalties of up to $11,000.

How tone-deaf are these idiots? If they harass Tyner, he’s not going to lack for public support. Of course, as John Cole points out, this isn’t so much about harassing Tyner as it is about sending a message to the public: “Don’t submit to the police state, and we’ll come after you.”

Fly With Dignity

Fly With Dignity - A great site from the Reddit Community

Video of TSA Screener Accosting 3 Year Old Child at Security Checkpoint

Despicable.

Bill of Rights Security Edition

The U.S. Bill of Rights printed on a metallic card, with the Fourth Amendment — which specifies our right to be secure “against unreasonable searches and seizures” — highlighted. Penn and Teller sell these at their theater in Las Vegas.

How Israel Handles Airport Security

Far better security, far less hassle.

I recently heard the Israel vs USA versions of airport security succinctly summed up this way: “In the US, they search for weapons. In Israel, they search for terrorists.”

‘Don’t Touch My Junk’

Software engineer John Tyner’s account of refusing an X-Ray scan at the San Diego airport on Saturday. He recorded much of the incident on his cell phone. At the 8:30 mark of the first video, a TSA agent tells him: “Upon buying your ticket, you gave up a lot of your rights.”

After being escorted — by TSA — out of the airport for refusing to allow his genitals to be groped, he was then threatened by a TSA supervisor with a lawsuit and $10,000 fine for having left the screening area.

Unions Advise Pilots to Avoid Full-Body Scans

Brian Kalish, reporting for Nextgov:

Two pilot unions urged members in the last week to avoid security screening by the full body scanners being deployed at airports across the country. They are concerned about the amount of radiation the advanced imaging technology machines emit and the cumulative effects on pilots.

The Lobbyists Behind the TSA’s New Naked Body Scanners

Timothy Carney:

Many experts and critics suspect that the full-body “naked scanners” recently deployed at U.S. airports do little to make us more secure, and a lot to make us angry, embarrassed and late. For instance, the scanners can’t see through skin, and so weapons or explosives can be hidden safely in body cavities.

But this is government we’re talking about. A program or product doesn’t need to be effective, it only needs to have a good lobby. And the naked-scanner lobby is small but well-connected.