The new TSA pat down

A friend of mine, who worked until recently at the TSA, tells me that there was no thought about the costs and benefits from these pat downs. Look at this youtube video from 1:35 to about 2:25 for a news clip that looks legitimate, though the rest seems much more iffy. The notion that security agents will actually be touching people's skin in certain places will actually make it difficult for me to fly.

When are we going to use profiling? What is next full body cavity searches? Why don't the Israelis do this?



Here is an article and a video of the TSA going after a 3 year old girl. The video has been removed from the SF Chronicle website.
You might think a 3-year-old would whiz through security. A child is non-threatening, wears slip-on shoes, and carries little luggage.

You might think a 3-year-old would whiz through security. A child is non-threatening, wears slip-on shoes, and carries little luggage.

Read more: Not the case for Mandy Simon who was passing through security with her dad at the airport in Chattanooga, Tenn.

A TSA employee gave Mandy the pat down and she started screaming and kicking her legs. Her dad, Steve, happens to be a TV reporter and caught 17 seconds of the ordeal on his cell phone (watch below).

Why was Mandy searched in the first place? She started crying when she was asked to put her teddy bear through the X-ray machine. This made it difficult for her to walk calmly through the metal detector and she set the machine off twice, which meant she "must be hand-searched. . . .

Update







UPDATE 2

Now the TSA is going after the guy who recorded his search. Apparently they have opened an investigation of him. Despite rereading the article, I am not sure what the fine is for exactly. Is it just because of the fact that he didn't go through with the search? They seem to say that you will be denied being able to fly if you refuse the search. Is the fine just for refusing to have a search done?

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.

Tyner recorded the half-hour long encounter on his cell phone and later posted it to his personal blog, along with an extensive account of the incident. The blog went viral, attracting hundreds of thousands of readers and thousands of comments.

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.

TSA agents had told Tyner on Saturday that he could be fined up to $10,000.

“That’s the old fine,” Aguilar said. “It has been increased.”

Tyner’s stand tapped into an undercurrent of resentment toward the TSA and how security checks are conducted at the nation’s airports. Those commenting about Tyner’s experience at SignOnSanDiego.com told their own stories of personal humiliations and invasive body searches.

TSA chief John Pistole was grilled about Tyner’s case Monday on CNN.

“The bottom line is, if somebody doesn’t go through proper security screening, they’re not going to go on the flight,” Pistole said. . . .