TSA Strikes Again

I subscribe to the free edition of This Is True. This week's mailing has follow-up on the story of a teacher who was arrested for carrying a book mark through airport security:

I HAVE A PHOTO of the "dangerous" bookmark that the TSA confiscated from the hapless bookworm. http://www.thisistrue.com/ztbookmark.html has the story and photo, and as always you're welcome to circulate that URL at will. A few of the Premium readers saw the photo and declared that the item is not a bookmark but rather a "book weight". OK, fine; I went with the description in the newspaper article I sourced from. Several cops mentioned that it resembles a "sap", which is a weapon. OK, fine; my point is that if it's a potentially dangerous everyday item, take it away. To actually arrest a schoolmarm (as they did) and threaten her with a $10,000 fine (as they did) is what I'm terming ridiculous "zero tolerance" mentality. The first time I flew after 9/11, the airport screeners broke off the 1.5" file from my fingernail clippers before letting me board, as if that tiny bit of metal on a swivel would allow me to take over a jetliner. But they didn't haul me off in handcuffs. I was not arrested; they took it from me and sent me on my way. They couldn't do this for a 52-year-old woman ...why?

FWIW, I've seen those book weights, and at the time I thought it would be a very effective sap. But then, lots of common, everyday objects can be used as weapons. If we follow this to its logical conclusion, passengers will have to fly naked, with their clothes and effects stuffed in a baggie in the luggage compartment.

Back in the 70s, MAD Magazine addressed the spate of hijacking incidents, and one suggestion was to have every passenger fly in a locked glass cubicle. (The cartoon showed the stewardess – this was before they all became "flight attendants" – stopping by and offering, "Coffee, tea, or oxygen?" The passenger's response was, "I have to go to the bathroom!")

I have no ridiculous stories to tell about my getting through airport security on my way here. Just a silly one: at my home airport I was pulled over for a thorough search because I "almost" made the metal detector beep. Uh... OK, but if I had enough metal on me to trigger a pat-down, then why didn't the detector beep? After we all got through, the guy behind me whispered, "You know what 'TSA' stands for, don't you? 'Thousands Standing Around'."

For more comments on TSA, check out Jerry Pournelle's website. He was blogging before blogging was cool.

Also, yes, I did hear the story about the woman boarding in Denver who was told by a screener, "I'm going to feel your breasts now." A TSA spokesman says such invasion is "a sign of the times". I have the details in my slush pile, so the story may appear in a future issue.

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