Now here's what really pisses me off. I agree with the protests, but I feel like I've been played by the organizers.

TSAstroturf: The Washington Lobbyists and Koch-Funded Libertarians Behind the TSA Scandal | The Nation

I don't know enough to critique this article, but the summary is that the protest was planned out ahead of time with the intent to get airports to opt-out of the Federal screenings, so that the private screening companies organizing the protests would be hired.

We had the shoe bomber. Now we have to take off our shoes.
We had the underwear bomber. Now we have crotch groping.

Wait until someone sticks a load of C4 up their ass.

you know what I find incredibly hypocritical about articles like this now? is that news articles like the brady campaign protest against guns in starbucks, or open carry walks, or anything else that some group of people find reprehensible is almost ALWAYS funded by a wealthy source. gun control groups are usually funded by the joyce foundation, in turn by george soros, but NOBODY seems to find them as 'astroturf' groups.

it's plain bullshit and just a way for people to blind themselves to the fact that the emporer has no clothes.

I believe and act not based on the words of others, but the actions that they truly take. I did my part of letting the TSA know I wasn't interested in the new scanners and the pat downs. I'll be traveling this weekend and I'll have first hand experience at the "molestation process," but so far from the twitters and facebook posts, it doesn't look like it was as invasive as the alarmist media made it out to be.

No one is talking about the passengers with trauma, molestation, ptsd, and how this will affect them. I had over this week a few Psychiatrist who were discussing how this can really harm and affect such people.

The same argument holds for the NRA.

Cynth: From what I've read, it seems they've scaled back the use of body scanners and toned down the process in the interest of PR. As I commented earlier, I consider this a tacit admission that these security measures are of little importance and therefore not worth the invasion of privacy they represent. Worse yet, with the miniscule attention span and general apathy of the American public, they'll just escalate the security measures more slowly to avoid scrutiny and we'll probably end up in a place even worse than we are now.

which is why i'm not a member. :orly:

I took my first flight ever two months ago. Left from a tiny airport and got a gentle pat-down after going through the scanning device. I can't tell, if it gave any signs (I didn't hear any noise or see any light) or did they just feel like picking me for inspection, I was too nervous already to take notice what happened around me and a bit embarrassed for having to even undress my belt in front of everyone.

I still had my boots with long zippers on and something I hadn't thought of in advance: the medal pieces in my bra, that could have caused the alarm - if there was any.

Like others say, the long queueing is enough to want you to get through fast.

I miss the old days of showing up 20 minutes before your flight with a wad of cash...

Personally I really couldn't care less about pat downs and body scanners if somebody wants to get paid to fondle my balls and look at pictures of my ass... I understand why it upsets some people but the invasiveness for some reason just doesn't bother me. I don't like it but I'm not going to get worked up because some security guard got his hands a little to close to my crotch during a clothed pat down. It is what it is.

Having said that the security procedures are getting ridiculous. What bothers me is there seems to be no real checks and balances in place rather we have an alarmist, knee jerk body that constantly changes the procedure every time something happens that they didn't foresee. It doesn't matter how invasive, time consuming, redundant or pointless the procedures are it just gives us a sense that we're fighting the good fight against terrorism. At some point we as a people need to be able to say enough is enough and just accept the risk and move on.

I have to wonder if we are just one major terrorist threat away from having to fly naked with no luggage.

Maybe going through dressing room, leaving all your belongings to travel in hold and wearing at least a hospital gown. At the other end hoping you get your own back.

Land of the free.

First we said terrorists will adapt, now we say this screening will stop them, and the fact that the small amount of PETN in the underwear bomber would most likely have been detected I still have yet to figure out why we should endure the radiation.

How about we spend this money on security for the freight, luggage?