TSA - Grope or an X-ray?

Several months ago, the TSA announced that it would start publishing radiation test results of airport passenger and luggage screening x-ray equipment in an attempt to allay fears of exposure to high amounts of radiation.

Thus, begins their feeble attempt....
Once they initiated this procedure for ALL the x-ray stats, they really should have taken the time to brief and/or train the personnel on the information that they wanted gathered and how to do it.  The end result was that the TSA stated that they uncovered "anomalies" in some of the reports that included miscalculations and missing data.  Which, as is typical with government bureaucracy, no one knew what the hell they were doing.

I'll spare you all the scientific jargon associated with millirems and ions, but suffice it to say that Rapiscan, the manufacturer of the AIT or Advanced Imaging Technology, insists that there are fail safes in place that would prevent excessive exposure to radiation and that the machines would shut down long before it reaches a critical level.  (Yea, right, and there's that swamp land in Maine I want to sell....)

For those of you still reticent about being screened by the AIT, you can ask for a private groping session with a person of the same sex, to search you by hand.  It has been well documented that the TSA has been trying to conveniently hide that fact because they prefer to do it the easy way.  It was, and probably still is a point of contention from agents who develop a more than aggressive attitude about having to do it when passengers exercise that right. Deal with it!  If you feel you've received an unnecessary attitude, make a complaint later.

In this particular case  this female passenger screamed like a baby when a female TSA agent searched her by hand.  She acted more like a 4 year old brat having a temper tantrum.  Her son is filming the whole event, but I was bored with the video about half way through.  I just wanted to show you how NOT to act when you're being groped.  After all, your primary objective is to get on that plane. Some people are claiming that these folks were actors and that it was all staged.  One thing's for sure, if she were my Mother, it's a safe bet I would never travel with her again!

As for the AIT or full body scanner, the TSA would like us to believe that every time someone steps in to their scanner, it is viewed by an agent who is in a different location and cannot visually identify the person being scanned.  The agent inside this protective booth is not allowed to have a camera or phone while on duty.  Once the image of your naked body has been viewed, it is then deleted and is supposedly not archived any where.  As everyone, including the terrorists already know, the AIT cannot detect any kind of explosive device under your skin.  This is where I think bomb sniffing dogs should also be considered.  That idea is now being hotly debated with the cost effectiveness versus reliability being the argument.

Fast forward to Friday, July 15, when the Court of Appeals gave the TSA a proverbial slap on the hand  for not following the required procedure of public input and normal comment periods or "notice and comment rule making," when they installed and then initiated this body x-ray device and did so all with the blessing of DHS.

A great many web sites and blogs have been posting since Friday that the court has effectively shut down the naked scanners. However, the court also held that in the interest of public safety, it cannot all happen at once.  So if you're traveling, don't be surprised if they're still using the full body scanners. But remember, no person can be forced to endure the AIT so be prepared to enjoy the pleasure of a serious grope.

As for the 4th amendment claim that it violates a person's right to be free from an unlawful search and seizure-  The court held that "screening passengers in an airport is an 'administrative search' because the primary goal is not to determine whether any passenger has committed a crime but rather to protect the public from a terrorist attack."  Therefore, it is not unreasonable.

So here we are....at a crossroads.  You want to be groped or x-rayed? To fly or not to fly.