Another Shining Moment for America’s Most Loved Gov’t Agency

Nomadic Lifestyle

Hating the TSA is sort of like a hobby for me. Their asinine policies and seemingly arbitrary enforcement of said policies would be funny as hell if they weren’t so inconveniencing to the traveling masses. Recently, one of their star performers, helped the agency hit a new low.

Seems TSA agent Pythias Brown (Pythias? must be one of Sarah Palin’s kids) has made a sport out of stealing camera and computer laden luggage and then selling it on eBay. The estimated value of his haul is somewhere around $200,000 worth of stolen goods with the big one that apparently got him caught being a camera valued at nearly $50,000

ABC News is running this article on the incident.

update:
Meanwhile, while this asshole was stealing your luggage and probably sniffing your panties – the security of the nation’s air transportation network is left in the hands of the guy who cleans the bathroom. Jeffrey Goldberg writes in “The Atlantic” how he went through security on counterfeited boarding passes with more than 3oz of an unspecified liquid. Good job TSA, glad to know I’m being protected from water fights aboard an aircraft.

An excerpt from an interview with Kip Hawley, Administrator of the TSA, when asked about the massive holes in airport security, specifically the thousands of service workers who enter secure areas without so much as taking off their shoes or passing through a metal detector:

“Social networks,” he answered. “It’s a very tuned-in workforce. You’re never alone when you’re on or around a plane. ‘What is that guy spending all that time in the cockpit for?’ All airport employees know what normal is.” Hawley did say that TSA employees conduct random ID checks and magnetometer screenings, but he did not say how frequently.

Having once worked for an airline I can tell you this is complete bullshit. I was working part-time, being paid starvation wages. The only thing I wanted out of the deal was free airfare here and there. I worked in an extremely understaffed and over-tasked department, I was actually expected to take the time to look under each seat for weapons or whatever, but you can bet that I was only there to put in my time – nothing more. Being the security screener of last resort wasn’t in my job description and I was never trained or instructed in how to identify weapons or other potential threats. I often worked alone. Now, I’m a law-abiding, freedom loving citizen of the U.S. – but how did “they” know that?

From the same article – referencing the “3oz rule” and its exceptions (saline solution, personal lubricants, etc)

“What’s allowed?” I asked. “Saline solution, or bottles labeled saline solution?”

“Bottles labeled saline solution. They won’t check what’s in it, trust me.”

And probably my favorite phrase from that whole article: “Security Theater” – which is exactly what the screening process is.

Will @ October 18, 2008