TSA At It Again

The security threat on St. Patrick's Day.

Never one to rest on their laurels, the TSA is out demonstrating their crackerjack safety protocols with the pat down and diaper search of a 95 year old leukemia patient.

On her way to Michigan to be with family during the final stages of her fight against the disease, the frail, elderly woman was picked out for special additional screening. The woman's daughter, Jean Weber, related the episode:

“It’s something I couldn’t imagine happening on American soil,” Weber said Friday. “Here is my mother, 95 years old, 105 pounds, barely able to stand, and then this.”

Sari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami, said

“The TSA works with passengers to resolve any security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner”

Fair enough, but in the future I insist you submit yourself to a simulacast pat down while making your heartfelt statements to the press, just to communicate to the public your deep, shared sense of commitment to the pat down program.

Weber’s mother entered the airport’s security checkpoint in a wheelchair because she was not stable enough to walk through, Weber said.

Wheelchairs trigger certain protocols, including pat-downs and possible swabbing for explosives, Koshetz said.

“During any part of the process, if there is an alarm, then we have to resolve that alarm,” she said.

Alarms should be going off all right, but they should be the ones in your head that warn you when you are doing something indefensibly asinine. You are clearly working with a protocol that places no value on human judgment, that holds the unsupportable view that searching every conceivable person will not degrade the effectiveness of your searches, and are working with a bunch of dolts who are no more likely to make the nation safe by their pathetically pointless searches then they are to generate a workable Grand Unified Theory of Physics.

Weber said her mother was first pulled aside into a glass-partitioned area and patted down. Then she was taken to another room to protect her privacy during a more extensive search. Weber sat outside the room during the search. Security personnel then came out and told her they would need her mother to remove her Depends diaper because it was soiled and was impeding their search. Weber wheeled her mother into a bathroom, removed her diaper and returned. Her mother did not have another clean diaper with her, Weber said.

Pity. I suppose this still falls under the category of respectful and sensitive?

“I don’t understand why they have to put them through that kind of procedure” she said.

No one can understand it. It is one of those imponderables of the TSA.

Koshetz said the procedures are the same for everyone to ensure national security.

Ah yes, to ensure national security. We had to remove the depends and left her to travel on the plane without one... in the interests of national security.

“TSA cannot exempt any group from screening because we know from intelligence that there are terrorists out there that would then exploit that vulnerability” she said.

"We know from intelligence" is simply a non-sequitur when speaking of the TSA.

“I’m not one to make waves, but dadgummit, this is wrong. People need to know. Next time it could be you.”

I'm sure she is not one to make waves. She was simply overwhelmed by the dogged stupidity of the TSA. Well, damn straight.


Update June 27th

Mark Steyn comments on the inner workings of the TSA:

"Big Government – more-more-more money-no-object government — will by definition be profoundly stupid government."

Exactly. Read the whole thing here.

TSA Singles Out Developmentally Disabled Man For Further Scrutiny

Drew Mandy

What?! More clownish antics from the rumpus room of national security? Yes, I'm afraid so.

The latest to make the headlines was TSA's handling of Drew Mandy, a 29 year old developmentally disabled citizen on his way with his family to visit Disneyland.

"I realize they're trying to keep people safe, but come on, does he look like a terrorist?" said Dr. David Mandy.

No, Dr. Mandy, and of course they recognize that. But there's no sense in complicating matters. The TSA is not interested in terrorists, per se. They're not really interested in security. Their interest lies with security procedures and exerting their authority.

The family was going through security when two TSA agents singled Drew Mandy out for a special pat down. Drew is severely mentally disabled. He's 29, but his parents said he has the mental capacity of a two-year-old, which made the experience that followed at metro Detroit's McNamera Terminal that much harder to deal with.

"You have got to be kidding me. I honestly felt that those two agents did not know what they were doing," Mandy told us.

Well, that's a pretty safe bet...

Dr. Mandy claimed they asked Drew to place his feet on the yellow shoe line, something he didn't understand. They proceeded to pat his pants down, questioning the padding which was his adult diapers. When the agents asked Drew to take his hand and rub the front and back of his pants so they could swab it for explosives, his dad stepped in and tried to explain that Drew was mentally challenged.

"They said, 'Please, sir, we know what we're doing,'" Mandy said.

Wow.

The TSA agents saw Drew holding a six-inch plastic hammer.

Oh no...

"My son carries his ball and his hammer for security. He goes everywhere with (them)," said Mandy. The TSA, it seems, saw the toy as a weapon.

Of course they did.

Dr. Mandy explained:

"He took the hammer and he tapped the wall.

'See, it's hard. It could be used as a weapon,'"

So could your head, a**hole.

"So, Drew's also holding the ball, and I said, 'Well, how about the ball?' He (said), 'Oh, he can keep that.'

Oh, dear....

Dr. Mandy was told he would need to have the toy shipped if he wanted to keep it, a process which caused them to almost miss their plane, so he pitched it.

"It just killed me to have to throw it away because he's been carrying this like for 20 years," Mandy said.

Incredible.

We also spoke to a federal security director who said this incident is still under investigation, but as far as they can tell right now, better judgment was needed.

Yeah.

TSA Personnel Demonstrate Their Talents... Yet Again

Had enough of Anthony's Weiner? Absolutely?! Yeah, well, kudos to Andrew Breitbart and Stacy McCain.

Now back to more familiar territory: The folks over at the Transportation Security Administration have been their busy selves, this time abusing a bunch of elderly British citizens on a two and a half month cruise of the US, who made the mistake of making port in Los Angeles. There, they were put through scrutiny that made no sense what so ever, given their obvious age, citizenship and multiple prior port stops in the US. That's bad enough, but it gets worse:

"But when a handful of them questioned whether the lengthy security checks at the port were strictly necessary for a group of largely elderly travellers officials were not amused. Although they had already been given advance clearance for multiple entries to the country during their trip, all 2,000 passengers were made to go through full security checks in a process which took seven hours to complete. The fingerprints of both hands were taken as well as retina scans and a detailed check of the passport as well as questioning as to their background."

Brilliant. Thank god we have the retina scans on these elderly citizens of the realm.

"The passengers complained that they were “herded like animals” and made to stand for hours in temperatures up to 80F with no food or water or access to lavatories.

Well, the real mistake these intrepid travelers made was to question the sanity of the TSA'a practices in ear shot of the TSA. Having the temerity of mentioning that the TSA's methods make little sense is a tip off of likely terrorist association, and at this point the TSA was obliged to take these people down, and take them down hard. Nothing sets off one's public employees as making obvious comments on the idiocy of the decisions they make.

Some are said to have passed out in the heat while others were left confused and bewildered. When one lady asked in desperation whether she could use a bathroom, one immigration official is said to have replied: “Do it over the side, we won’t mind.”

You see? And you thought they were totally lacking in humor.

"The delays forced the liner to extend the stay in LA by a day, forcing it to cancel a later stop-off at Roatan, Honduras, scheduled for this week."

Yep, can't stop in Honduras because the twits at TSA got their panties in a wad, resulting in their kicking it up a notch to display the kind of crack screening that has made the TSA the scourge of al Qaeda. And why, pray tell, did all this occur? Dr. John Randall, a retired dentist on board the cruise offered his observations:

"A couple of passengers got a bit stroppy about having to go through all the rigmarole again and these petulant officials decided to take revenge. They were just doing basic checks to begin with but after the argument we had to do full finger prints on left and right hands and all the biometric stuff. Then their computer system broke down but no one was bothered about helping us. A couple of people struggled to control their bladders and someone said they'd suffered a prolapsed disc.”

I love that, "got a bit stroppy" Well, these are the measures we need to keep our nation safe. And these are the same people Janet Napolitano wants unionized, so you can never fire them, never, never ever. I'm sure that will do wonders for their care and consideration.

“We are holiday makers, here to try and enjoy ourselves - we are not potential inmates of Guantalamo Bay, and should not be treated as such.”

You'd be amazed how many of these guys fit in a car.

Yes, they know that, but that is mere detail. We're talking security here.

A spokeswoman for the company stated:

“The US has a record for the most stringent and thorough security and entry requirements in the world, and they felt the need to enhance their security checks further, which they have the power to do.”

Certainly they have the power to do so, ma'am. The question is do they have the judgment. The short answer is...

No.

Obamiacs, TSA Get Down And Dirty

"Find a job you really love, and that will be the last day of work in your life.

In there usual statist fashion, the TSA has threatened the people of the state of Texas with eliminating all air flights in and out of the State of Texas to force the Texans to give up attempting to curb the dog in heat that the TSA has devolved into.

House Bill 1937 had passed the House unanimously 138-0, and was headed for a vote in the Texas state Senate before the federal government stepped in to undermine the legislation.

In a letter sent to Texas lawmakers, including to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Speaker Joe Straus, the House Clerk, and the Senate Secretary, U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy threatened to cripple the airline industry in the state if legislators did not back down.

“If HR 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute,” Murphy wrote. “Unless or until such a stay were granted, TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew. We urge that you consider the ramifications of this bill before casting your vote,” Murphy added.

Without their groping procedures the TSA could not ensure our safety? You mean, like they have in the past? Well, what about this, or this, or this, or this? Okay, maybe not that last one, but who can forget the panty bomber? Who can forget the shoe bomber? Every time TSA was out groping some granny they were leaving the safety of the flight up to the passengers and crew, who were left to wrestle some guy to the floor while he shouted "Allah Akbar." All the while the Homeland Security chief assured us the "system" was working. Well, failure of a bomb to explode does not constitute a system working. That's hardly a valuable guarantee they're handing out.

The Texans did not go quietly into the night. Apparently there was an extended and fiery debate on the floor of the Texas senate before Senate sponsor Dan Patrick pulled the bill.

The abuse of power that these clowns are so damn comfortable with makes me sick. Our federal government under Obama increasingly behaves with total disregard for the United States Constitution, and the constraints therein that our nation was founded upon.

TSA Doubles Down

"Now turn your head and cough"

After the latest TSA embarressment, one would think the brain trust at the TSA would look for a low profile. But no, despite embarrassment after embarrassent, the TSA is telling the Texas legislature to bugger off.

In defending their baby pat downs and genital searches, the TSA apparatchiks are all about blogging a bunch of nonsense, misconstruing the supremacy clause of the US Constitution:

"What's our take on the Texas House of Representatives voting to ban the current TSA pat-down? Well, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article. VI. Clause 2) prevents states from regulating the federal government."

We usually do not think of the Obamiacs running to the Constitution to clarify what their behavior should be. For an administration that routinely flouts the law of the land, it is a strange sight indeed, but if it seems useful, there is no place they would not go. In this case, however, they may be a tad over their heads.

Article VI, Clause 2 states: "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

The Texans had had enough, and late Thursday passed a bill that would make it a criminal offense for public servants to inappropriately touch travelers during airport security pat-downs. The TSA pat-down procedures are simply policies created by the TSA. They are not mentioned in the United States Consitution, nor are they a part of a federal statute. Unless the TSA can cite a federal statute codifyng their baby pat-downs and genital gropes, the TSA's search policy is not adequate to override a state law barring them.

The Texans specifically outlawed the TSA or anyone else from conducting a search to touch “the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person," also prohibiting searches “that would be offensive to a reasonable person.”

Well, the Texans are in trouble right there, because all this seems reasonable to Big Sis, and she and her security ship of fools are not backing down.

TSA Still Befuddled

  This, you don't want to see.

The Transportation and Safety Authority, which Janet Napolitano wants to unionize, is still institutionally befuddled as to what exactly constitutes a threat.

Case in point, Rageh Almurisi, a young Yemeni man on a flight from Chicago to San Francisco, who was allowed to board despite having no keys, no luggage, $47 cash, two curious posted checks totaling $13,000, and a trove of expired and current state IDs from New York and California. It turns out Mr. Almurisi did have relatives in California, but his travel plans were curiously unbeknownst to them.

People on the plane described Almurisi as sweaty and fidgety. Not so the Federal authorities, who were not the least bit embarrassed by not picking him out before he boarded the plane. "The system worked" is the usual way Napolitano describes hijacking attempts that are thwarted by the frantic actions of the targeted passengers and flight crew. Without breaking their stride, government officials offered they had "not as yet" discovered a motive.

Yemen, a nation at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, has been a focus of U.S. officials because one of the most active branches of al-Qaida operates in the remote part of the country.

A cousin of the suspect described him as an educated, easygoing person who had arrived in Northern California a year-and-a-half ago from Yemen in search of better opportunities.

In search of better opportunities... to do what?

Almoraissi said he could not imagine what may have caused his cousin to act as authorities allege he did on the plane, but said he was certain Almurisi was not a terrorist.

Well, there you go.

He said his cousin did not show an interest in politics and was not intensely religious. "He might have seriously mistaken the cockpit for the bathroom," Almoraissi said. "He's only been on three planes in his whole life."

The AP, they'll believe anything and just write it down... the goofs. Mistaking the cockpit where the pilots sit in the very front of the airplane for the bathrooms that are always off the hall. Simple mistake any happy go lucky Yemeni might make.

Almurisi went toward the cockpit door 30 minutes before the flight from Chicago was supposed to land on Sunday night, San Francisco airport police Sgt. Michael Rodriguez said. Almurisi was yelling unintelligibly as he brushed past a flight attendant.

After interviewing the passengers and gathering their facts, our government authorities characterize what he said as unintelligible? What, do you suppose, was Mr. Almurisi muttering "unintelligibly"?

  You don't want to see this either.

She said a woman in a row across from her who speaks Arabic translated that Almurisi said "God is Great!" in Arabic.

Wai, 27, also remembered on Monday that the wife of one of the men who took Almurisi down later said Almurisi was yelling "Allahu Akbar."

Well, maybe he really had to go? I mean, come on, people!

Meanwhile, TSA agents can be found frisking those they get a dander up over, as likely as not to be your grandmother, who anyone with any sense at all would know does not need excess scrutiny.

Recently TSA employees were seen happily frisking a baby while the child's mother held her in her arms. What the hell is wrong with these people?

All in a days work.

Incredible.

al-Soofi Flies The Coup

The Dutch have released the two Yemeni men who were recently found to be traveling light. Yes, Ahmed Mohammad Nasser al Soofi who boarded a flight in Birmingham, then in Chicago transferred his bags to a flight to Washington DC while he himself took a flight to Amsterdam, is off on his own to make his way back to Yemen, where he can report back the relative comfort with which he was able travel. And what did we find in the DC bound luggage of Mr. al-Soofi?

"Screeners discovered he was carrying $7,000 in cash. ABC said a check of his baggage found it contained a cell phone taped to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, three phones taped together, several watches taped together, a box cutter, and three large knives."

The government has downplayed the event, saying it was apparently a mistake, and that the two men just happened to be on the same flight together, but did not in fact know each other. This appeared to be in conflict with what passengers observed on the flight to Amsterdam.

"Witnesses on the plane say al Soofi and al Murisi sat next to each other on the plane, in seats 24 H and J. Witnesses say they were laughing and carrying on as if they knew each other – and sources here in Detroit confirm that they are in fact friends."

Mr. al Soofi's attorney, Wouter Hendrickx, has said he was on his way to Yemen to visit his family when he was detained.

"He says 'I have no connections to terrorist activities whatsoever"

So there you go.

"However, a U.S. law enforcement official said Tuesday that following FBI inquiries neither man is likely to be charged in America."

Just a typical international flight.

And so ends the al-Soofi episode. Nothing to see here. There is no terrorist threat. Move along. And I hope you all feel safer, knowing that taking your shoes and belt off, being patted down and run through scanners indiscriminately is doing its job to keep you safe.

Nice work, TSA.

Religion of Peace Caught Again Looking For Another Shot At Mass Murder

U.S. authorities requested Dutch police arrest two men, Ahmed Mohammad Nasser al Soofi and traveling partner Hezem al Murisi, who had traveled from Chicago to Amsterdam in what has been termed an apparent dry run.

"Airport security screeners in Birmingham, Alabama first stopped al Soofi and referred him to additional screening because of what officials said was his "bulky clothing."

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

In addition, officials said, al Soofi was found to be carrying $7,000 in cash, and a check of his luggage found a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle, three cell phones taped together, several watches taped together, a box cutter and three large knives.

I wonder if it was one of those Cordoba House, Presidential Seal box cutters?




Those are the really nice ones, which you can only get through our friends at Cordoba House.


Would this all be a part of what Imam Feisal Abdul Raul calls his muslim cross-cultural dialogue?

Worrisome? Come, come. We have to be broad minded. It turns out that though the TSA found the baggage contents to be curious, it was not so much so that they felt they should detain him:

"Officials said there was no indication of explosives and he and his luggage were cleared for the flight from Birmingham to Chicago O'Hare."

Just as an aside, if the TSA finds stuff like this on a flight that I am booked on, let one of them take my seat and I'll take the next flight out.

Once in Chicago, officials say they learned al Soofi checked his luggage on a flight to Washington's Dulles airport for connections on flights to Dubai and then Yemen, even though he did not board the flight himself. Instead, al Soofi was joined by the second man, Al Murisi, and boarded the United flight from Chicago to Amsterdam.

Now that might rouse the suspisions of even our TSA screeners.

What do you think, were Ahmed Mohammad and Hezem thinking about a little of this?


When Customs and Border officials learned al Soofi was not on the flight from Dulles to Dubai, the plane was ordered to return to the gate so his luggage could be removed. Officials said additional screening found no evidence of explosives.

Well, I'm sure Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind that great islamic outreach effort The Ground Zero Victory Super-Mosque (GZVSM), will find that this is just another example of rampant American intolerance and hatred against the disciples of Islam.

UPDATE 8/31/10

Newsweek has weighed in in their usual penetrating fashion:

"They were both arrested apparently because they were booked on the same flight at about the same time."

This after earlier noting:

"A statement by Dutch authorities confirmed key details, describing the suspicious items this way: “Mobile phones were found taped, one phone was taped to a plastic bottle. These phones were seized in the US [and] stayed there.” The statement said, “Luggage of the flight to Amsterdam was searched, but nothing suspicious was found.”

So, we are getting ready to say that these men were simply misunderstood. They were just travelers who had lsot there way. Listen, who doesn't travel with seven thousand dollars cash on them? And I don't know about you, but when I travel international, I often bring along four cell phones. I like to tape three of them together, to make them easier to find later. The fourth I will tape to my Peptobismal. That way, if I can't find it in my bag, I just dial that number and go to where I here the ring. Oh, and I like to bring along a few clocks, and tape them together. You can loose clocks so easily when you travel internationally!

The Newsweek crowd is a dangerous bunch to be trusting the news to.