the old thepete.com blog

More on the Morons at TSA and our Government re: full-body scanning and pat-downs/feel-ups.

After I posted about a woman who had both labia touched during a so-called “pat-down” by a TSA operative, I saw a post on lifehacker.com that went into more depth (and included the above pic—I love how the blond TSA guy looks a little flush at the prospect of doing a cavity search on that boy). Anyway, so it’s an interesting post (read it) and it directly addresses whether or not you can refuse to be security-checked:

Can You Refuse These New Measures?

The short answer is no. Once you get to security there’s no turning back. You’re in for some serious consequences if you refuse to participate:

[A]nyone who refuses to complete the screening process will be denied access to airport secure areas and could be subject to civil penalties, the administration said, citing a federal appeals court ruling in support of the rule. The ruling, from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, says that “requiring that a potential passenger be allowed to revoke consent to an ongoing airport security search makes little sense in a post-9/11 world. Such a rule would afford terrorists multiple opportunities to attempt to penetrate airport security by ‘electing not to fly’ on the cusp of detection until a vulnerable portal is found.

What to Do?

You can opt to sign the We Won’t Fly petition, try methods suggested on Shut Down the Airports, or support organizations like Flyer’s Rights if you feel these new security measures are too invasive and should be removed. On the other hand, if you travel infrequently these measures may not be that big of a deal.

GOTTA LOVE BIG GOVERNMENT!

Do you actually agree with these new TSA rules? Well, if so, ask yourself this:

What are the odds of you or anyone you know actually being killed by a terrorist?

The answer is zero. It doesn’t happen enough to really be able to work out the numbers. Statistically, Americans are never killed by terrorists while flying over American soil. There was ONE TIME when it happened.

What’s really sad is that the terrorists have won.

We don’t live in a free country anymore. If we did I wouldn’t have to have my nads fiddled with just to prove I’m not Osama bin ThePete.