NONfinis

"Despite its TSA-approved fold-out laptop sleeve, Luddite security personnel still insisted my tech had to be removed from the bag, but you can’t legislate against that."

http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/15/irl-timbuk2-commute-messenger-fujifilm-ef-x20-flash/

In regards to a TSA-approved Messenger Bag. Not a surprise, really, considering the uselessness and confusion of the TSA.

One time, in an attempt to be proactive and efficient, I went up to a TSA agent and specifically asked if a yogurt cup I had would be allowed through security. His snide smirk and ‘what-do-you-think, quit-wasting-my-time-while-I-stand-here-and-chat-with-other-TSA-people really spoke highly of their attitudes and concerns regarding those flying. If I’m trying to get information, so as to be a better-informed flier, don’t be an asshat.

For those who want to start shrinking the size of so-called Big Government, I say start with the TSA. 

wilwheaton:

In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport.

The iPad was one of ten purposely left behind at TSA checkpoints at major airports with a history of theft by government screeners, as part of an ABC News investigation into the TSA’s ongoing problem with theft from passengers.

“In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings”

Paraphrasing a Redditor: the TSA isn’t about keeping us safe, it’s about keeping us compliant. It isn’t surprising to me that people who work for TSA will abuse the authority they’re given; it’s surprising to me that this doesn’t happen more frequently.

And, remember, the TSA has a failure rate of 70% when it’s tested with guns and knives.

That’s a 70% failure rate to do its job, hundreds of documented incidents of theft, and intense invasions of your personal privacy every single time you have to fly somewhere. And Congress wants to put these clowns in train and bus stations, too.

Fuck. That.

I really, really would not want to deal with the mostly-ineffectual TSA every time I wanted to ride a bus or train. Dealing with them at the airport is already a pain.

Not all of them are bad, but that’s also not good enough when you’re talking about the balance of security and citizen’s rights.