Ah, the good old days, when the TSA was "only" forcing women to drink their own breast milk and making children cry by stealing their toys.
Those were the days, weren't they?
Nowadays, they've decided to up the ante. There are already numerous stories this week about the new wave of "backscatter" full-body scanners, so I won't bore you with the backstory. John Tyner's instantly-viral video has already reached legendary proportions about the problem.
But I would like to add two more related stories that broke today about your choices when flying.
As it happens, my wife and I have a 4-year old son, and we're planning on our first-ever family vacation soon. As far as I can tell, we currently have 3 options:
OPTION A: CHOOSE THE SCANNERS AND SUBJECT OUR SON TO PARTICIPATING IN CHILD PORN.
One Hundred Naked Citizens: One Hundred Leaked Body Scans
At the heart of the controversy over "body scanners" is a promise: The images of our naked bodies will never be public. U.S. Marshals in a Florida Federal courthouse saved 35,000 images on their scanner. These are those images.
A Gizmodo investigation has revealed 100 of the photographs saved by the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., obtained by a FOIA request after it was recently revealed that U.S. Marshals operating the machine in the Orlando, Florida courthouse had improperly-perhaps illegally-saved images of the scans of public servants and private citizens.
Oh, yeah, and after we sue the TSA for spreading child porn, we can use the settlement money to pay for his CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENTS:
(CBS) Should John Tyner - the airline passenger shown resisting a security pat-down in the now-infamous "Don't touch my junk" video - be worried about more than touchy-feely security guards?
A small, but growing, group of scientists is now saying that low levels of radiation emitted by airport body scanners might be the bigger concern - not our naked junk.
OPTION B: CHOOSE THE FULL-BODY SEARCH AND LET A STRANGER GROPE AND TERRORIZE HIM:
Video of TSA Screener Accosting 3 Year Old Child at Security Checkpoint
Quite honestly, I thought the reporter in this story whose daughter was tormented was far calmer and more accepting of the situation than he should have been. Yes, it was a few days later, he'd had time to digest the experience and he was trying to be as professional as possible for the news story, but I'd still be furious. You DON'T DO THAT to a 3-year old (or a 4-year old, in our case). You just don't.
OPTION C: DON'T FLY. DRIVE.
I'm thinking that we'll be choosing option c.
UPDATE: TSA OPENS INVESTIGATION OF JOHN TYNER
The Transportation Security Administration has opened an investigation targeting John Tyner, the Oceanside man who left Lindbergh Field under duress on Saturday morning after refusing to undertake a full body scan.
Meanwhile, the battle has now begun in earnest:
FLY WITH DIGNITY
STOP THE TSA. PROTECT OUR RIGHTS.
We are an organization seeking advocacy and recognition of the TSA’s and DHS’s actions against our privacy and right to refuse unwarranted search.