[identity profile] devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] talkpolitics
2002: An 86 yr. old veteran is held for 45 minutes by several TSA employees while they contemplate "whut is this potenshully dangerous object in his pocket?" - requiring that he remove his belt, hat, and shoes multiple times for the inquiring minds. It turned out to be a Congressional Medal of Honor.
http://www.snopes.com/military/medal.asp

Granted, that incident took place long before the quality, common sense, and level of courtesy TSA employees exhibit today:

2010: TSA pats down a screaming toddler
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=77140

Well damn, AT LEAST we can discard worries about health issues over the x-ray scans:

"If you think of the entire population of, shall we say a billion people per year going through these scanners, it's very likely that some number of those will develop cancer from the radiation from these scanners," said David Brenner (Director of the Center of Radiological Research, Columbia University, professor of radiation biophysics)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/12/body.scanning.radiation/index.html?hpt=T2

To be fair and balanced, Dr. Alexander Garza, the assistant secretary for health affairs and CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER FOR TSA, said he travels often with his wife and three boys and has no fear about putting his family through the airport scanners.

"The risk is so low it's ALMOST negligible," he said.

---

I trust my government to tell the truth. In the 1960s, I was told there was no danger from Agent Orange. Take pictures of my fabulous body; pat me down.

But answer me this, omnipotent protectors: in view of the Madrid railway bombings, why don't we have these scanners at all the AMTRAC stations?
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(no subject)

Date: 17/11/10 15:34 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ninboydean.livejournal.com
All these verified passenger programs are is a government welfare program for private firms. The TSA could just as easily perform these checks but they subcontract them out so someone can make 1 or 2 hundred bucks a years to pass information between parties.

Free enterprise to the rescue, indeed!

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