How to condition your child to live in a police state

What other reason could there be for including this in a children's book?

The page in question is from the book Olivia Goes to Venice, by Ian Falconer. It currently has many more negative ratings than positive. Here are a few 1-star review excerpts:

Bronzino
Truly appalling that a children's book includes an illustration of TSA-like goons searching a "child" for weapons. Even more appalling is that Olivia "is pleased" by this search. Children should not be raised on fear nor should they be taught to believe illegal search and seizure is normal and proper.

Ranger_Fan73
No redeeming qualities about this book. Skip for your toddler. The getting searched at the airport sent shivers down my spine.

M. L. Browne
Falconer's gone mad. Either that, or totalitarian.

bcc mee
After seeing video footage of a young girl being groped by TSA agents, I am appalled that this book would see fit to include the main character "pleased" at being inspected for weapons. What kind of message is this? We seem to have one generation that is not aware of our civil liberties and now we're raising another generation that will never know the freedoms we once had.

Matt and Andy's Mom
I guess the only way to reach little children with government agendas is to get them before they are old enough to think for themselves, telling them that the proper response is to be pleased.

TSA agent accidentally pepper-sprays himself and 5 others

I readily admit that it's difficult for me to disguise my utter disdain for one of the most vile, perverted, useless, and incompetent government agencies in existence. You can imagine, then, how hard it would be for me to pass up the opportunity to call attention to this TSA story from The New York Post:

A bumbling TSA agent "playing around" with a pepper-spray container at Kennedy Airport fired the caustic liquid at five fellow screeners yesterday, sending all six to the hospital, a source told The Post.

The agent, Chris Yves Dabel, discovered the device at the Terminal 2 security checkpoint and tried to determine if it was real, a source told The Post.

He told Port Authority cops that he "found the canister on the floor and thought it was a laser pointer."

"They were playing around with it," said one Kennedy Airport official.

The screener sprayed five other TSA agents around him, sending all six to Jamaica Hospital and halting security checks at Kennedy for at least 15 minutes, police said.

Just another shining example of how the TSA keeps us safe.

A video primer on how to opt out of a DHS checkpoint

Like TSA "security" screenings at airports, highway checkpoints manned by agents of the Department of Homeland Security have less to do with keeping people safe than with conditioning people to submit without question. Fortunately, a few brave individuals show us that we are under no legal obligation to comply:


The comment from the DHS agent at the 9:45 mark sums up the government's attitude: "The normal person would allow us to run checks on their identification." In other words, if you have a problem with a government agent stopping and detaining you without probable cause, you aren't normal.

The fact that these agents eventually back off proves that they know full well they lack the authority to force people to comply. I hope more people follow the examples seen here.

We'll always remember 9/11...thanks to the TSA

(from White Noise)

The deadly facts about water

There is a good reason why your friendly neighborhood TSA thug...er, agent won't allow water through security. Are you aware of the many dangers of dihydrogen monoxide?"

(via Now That's Nifty)

If "TSA customer service" isn't an oxymoron, I don't know what is

This isn't a political blog, but sometimes my virulent hatred for a particular government bureaucracy seeps through. Case in point: the Transportation Security Administration. I cannot think of a better example of all that is wrong with government and central planning.

Given that the TSA has made theft, humiliation, and sexual assault a routine part of airline travel, you can imagine my amusement when I ran across the following on the TSA web site:

TSA strives to provide the highest level of security while ensuring that all passengers are treated with dignity and respect. To that end, TSA launched TSA Cares, a new helpline number designed to assist travelers with disabilities and medical conditions.

Travelers may call TSA Cares toll free at 1-855-787-2227 prior to traveling with questions about screening policies, procedures and what to expect at the security checkpoint. TSA Cares will serve as an additional, dedicated resource specifically for passengers with disabilities, medical conditions or other circumstances or their loved ones who want to prepare for the screening process prior to flying.

The hours of operation for the TSA Cares helpline are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. EST and weekends and Holidays 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST. Travelers who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to contact TSA Cares or can e-mail TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov.

All travelers can contact TSA using Talk To TSA, a web-based tool that allows passengers to reach out to an airport Customer Service Manager directly, and the TSA Contact Center, 1-866-289-9673 and TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov, where travelers can ask questions, provide suggestions and file complaints.

How It Works

• When a passenger with a disability or medical condition calls TSA Cares, a representative will provide assistance, either with information about screening that is relevant to the passenger's specific disability or medical condition, or the passenger may be referred to disability experts at TSA.
  
• TSA recommends that passengers call approximately 72 hours ahead of travel so that TSA Cares has the opportunity to coordinate checkpoint support with a TSA Customer Service Manager located at the airport when necessary.
  
• Every person and item must be screened before entering the secure area of an airport and the manner in which the screening is conducted will depend on the passenger's abilities and any specific equipment brought to the security checkpoint.
  
• All travelers may ask to speak to a TSA supervisor if questions about screening procedures arise while at the security checkpoint.

For more information, click here to read TSA's press release on TSA Cares.

Sure, the TSA can be a pain in the backside (literally), but at least it cares.

God Bless the TSA

Since we'll all be reminded of that insipid song today, I thought it would be appropriate to dust off this post from 2010...

GOD BLESS THE TSA
(To the tune of "God Bless the USA," by Lee Greenwood)

If tomorrow all my rights were gone,
I've had for all my life,
And I had to fly again
with my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars
to be in the USA,
'Cause the flag that stood for freedom
stands for something else today.

And I'm proud to be an American,
where I'm safe instead of free.
And I know the government has lied,
but they know what's best for me.

And I'd gladly strip down in front of you,
'cause there is no better way
To assure us all it's safe to fly,
God bless the TSA!

Taking off in Minnesota,
touching down in Tennessee,
It's only possible because of
heightened security.

Being patted down in Houston,
groped and scanned in L.A.
Well there's fear in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say...

That I'm proud to be an American,
where I'm safe instead of free.
And I know the government has lied,
but they know what's best for me.

And I'd gladly strip down in front of you,
'cause there is no better way
To assure us all it's safe to fly,
God bless the TSA!

And I'm proud to be an American,
where I'm safe instead of free.
And I know the government has lied,
but they know what's best for me.

And I'd gladly strip down in front of you,
'cause there is no better way
To assure us all it's safe to fly,
God bless the TSA!

Copyright © 2010 by Lee R. Shelton IV

TSA collects over $400,000 in loose change from travelers

From NBC San Diego:

Turns out those airport security checkpoints aren't just for your safety, they are also a source of funds for the Transportation Security Administration.

Travelers left behind $409,085.56 in loose change in 2010. Not only did they ditch their pennies, dimes and quarters at the checkpoints, but they also left behind foreign currency.

Nico Melendez, spokesperson for TSA, said when people go through security checkpoints they typically leave behind the change from their pockets in the plastic bins.

"TSA puts (the leftover money) in a jar at security checkpoint, at the end of each shift they take it, count it, put it in an envelope and send it to the finance office," he said.

The lesson for all you kiddies out there: crime does pay.

A cheap, hassle-free alternative to commercial airline travel?

You don't think you can afford to fly off on vacation on a private plane? Think again. Smart Flights, a new company based in Smyrna, Tennessee, now brings the style and comfort of privately chartered flights to the average airline passenger.

"We're essentially using social networking to fill vacant seats on private aircraft that go all over the place every day, often with nobody on board," explains CEO and co-founder Jay Deragon. "A company or group might charter a jet to take them to California, but then that plane flies back empty. With Social Flights, people can buy individual seats on the return trip, giving the charter company revenue it wouldn't have had."

The company began a local beta test of their services back in February and plans to begin offering flights throughout the U.S. next month. 12,500 people have already registered for the service at SocialFlights.com, and 91 private charter companies have signed on to offer their empty seats to Social Flights customers.

The costs are lower than one would expect. For example, a one-way ticket from Destin, Florida (less than 50 miles from Pensacola), to Nashville, Tennessee, would cost around $200. Private charter flights aren't limited to the major metropolitan airports, which means passengers could also save money on parking and car rental.

The real savings, however, comes in the form of hassle-free travel. Booking a flight on a private plane helps you avoid the normal inconveniences of commercial airline travel, such as plane changes, five-hour layovers, lost luggage, long security lines, irradiating porno scanners, and frisky TSA agents. In short, Social Flights is seeking to bring back the joy and comfort of flying.

I don't expect this to revolutionize the airline industry, but introducing another element of competition is the best thing that could happen.

Cost of airport security to U.S. economy: $85 billion, 900,000 jobs

From e-Travel Blackboard:

After a decade of enhanced aviation security post 9/11, U.S. Travel Association president Roger Dow is set to testify in a Senate Committee Hearing on 2 November, claiming current security procedures are hampering travel and U.S. economy growth.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, the US economy is missing out on $85 billion in consumer spending and 900,000 jobs because American travelers are avoiding flying due to the "hassles of air travel".

"A 2010 study...found that American travelers would take an additional two to three flights per year if the hassles in security screening were eliminated," the U.S. Travel Association said.

Freedom isn't free, but apparently neither is tyranny.