http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1238602

“Hitting the airlines in the pocketbook” will have absolutely no affect on the TSA, who gets paid no matter what, from the FDA, but the airlines will take it out on the flight attendants, pilots, and other personnel they DO have power over. TAKE THIS TO YOUR STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, that will have a much bigger affect than hurting the airlines, which are huge corporations and will just push on their hurts to the little guys who are already not getting paid what they deserve since massive pay cuts in the early 2000s. THINK!

We usually fly, but we took the City of New Orleans from Chicago to NOLA and back.

Con: It took 24 hours. And that stretch of track in Mississippi was just crazy warped. And I wished they would’ve stopped blowing that horn at night because I was trying to sleep.

Pro: No TSA. We could bring fluids on the train, including flasks of gin and bourbon which we were allowed to consume. Sitting in the sightseer car at night in a Illinois thunderstorm, drinking and watching the lightning. The food, surprisingly good, and dinners free with our sleeper. Spending $90 for a sleeper for two, and the tickets were still cheaper than a plane. Seeing Chicago, Memphis, swamps, bayous roll by. It was the most relaxing long-distance trip I’ve ever been on. Google up some Amtrak, people.

Full disclosure: This is not meant to be in any way and endorsement, passive or otherwise, of naked scanners and groping. I definitely plan to avoid air travel as much as possible until this crap gets dialed back, if it ever does. But I’m stuck for now. If I could travel this Thanksgiving without flying or making my elderly parents very sad by not flying, I’d definitely do it.

Make a scene? Great, daddy is in the TSA isolation area, with the six year olds and mommy alone on the flight?

Not so good.

Rights and Vindication 2 years after the fact in a court, are all well in good, but the emotional pain and damage are now. That influences the choices. I’m worried we’re on the road to a horrible conjunction of 1984 and Nueromancer, but I’m not sure what the way out is, or if there’s a way out.

I despair.

just sayin’…

This administration needs to get this policy changed. What’s next, anal probes?

Like any other government agency, the TSA will only get bigger, more powerful and more expensive. It’s kind of like Eric Cartman’s trapper keeper in that respect.

That is to say, before going through the pat down, pop some viagra and go through with a raging, mega-huge boner?

Methinks that would be hilarious.

-Option 1. I opt out. I get molested in public prior to my honeymoon. This then raises the question in my wife as to what happened and why did I opt out. She has a terrible body image and would under no circumstance want anyone other than me seeing her naked (such as the backscatter). On the other hand, she, in equal fashion, would not want anyone other than me touching her like that. What a wonderful start to our honeymoon. Shes already nervous about traveling as shes never been out of the country.

-Option 2. Roll over. Get irradiated. Do what the TSA wants me to do and not question. My wife goes through and has a naked photo taken of her that we have no idea what will happen to. Chances are its just one of millions that might… eventually get deleted. But who knows? Walk through trying to keep that fact from my wife who would go through a nervous panic at the thought.

This is the shit this puts travelers through.

TSA. Attempting to ruin your vacation before it even starts!

It seems that there is a huge misconception that the TSA is operated by the airlines. The TSA is the federal government, not a branch of Delta or JetBlue.

Doctors, incl Nobel Laureate, letter request #TSA cease using & independent eval of full body scanners http://n.pr/bKGCKx #wontfly #OptOut

Scientific health reasons why people should Opt-Out of going through unproven full body scanners http://bit.ly/ci3M7m #wontfly #TSA #OptOut

The radiation from these machines is focused all on the skin, and the technology has the potential to break DNA strands within cells in the skin, potentially causing or making more suseptible to skin cancer. Young and elderly as esp. at risk. The pilots know all of this, that’s why they are leading the boycott, and rightly so. These machines were never properly evaluated.

On a side note, if I were chaotic good I would sign up to be a TSA agent and literally molest as many women as I could at these checkpoints until the law got changed. Only so many accounts of “excessive groping” will be tolerated by the agency and the people, especially if it happens to their wives and grandmothers.

I had an epiphany on a way to fight the sexually assaultive policies. It involves creating viral videos of the assaults.

When you air travel with others, split into two parties. The first party/person goes through security with a video capable digital camera five or teen minutes before the second party/person. This party/person does nothing to draw attention to themselves.

Once out of the security zone, recon and select an area that gives a good view of the grope-zone. This may not be possible in all airports, but it should be in many. Set up the camera to record vid, and < <>>. This will let you shoot the vid without drawing attention to yourself. Be ready to roll vid when your party comes through.

The “target” party should object and disrupt the scan/grope as loudly and belligerently as you feel comfortable with. You know if you are willing to be arrested or not, it is up to you. Get the local police involved as quickly as possible. Demand arrest of TSA for sexual assault. Take names and badge numbers. Be particularly adamant if your “target” person is your juvenile son or daughter. Let the police know that you are protecting your child from sexual assault and that NO ONE has permission to touch them. Also be clear that they will freely go through the metal detector (not the body scanner) and willingly be wanded.

Let the scenario play out to your comfort level. If you get good vid, let it go viral on YouTube, or release it to Fox and any news outlet that will take it.

I know that much of my response is irrational, but tell that to my hindbrain :-)

I also know that the rational part of me is glad that my irrational side makes the airlines’ deplorable treatment of their customers (basically) a moot point for me.

It is something of an amusement to me to see how the reaction to the TSA’s dehumanizing scanners has run, considering that the airlines have been dehumanizing their customers for years, how they’ve been herding them like cattle, subjecting them to hours-long delays on the tarmac, eliminating basic services like meals.

For those of you who are thinking, well, s&@t, if the airline companies just knew how unhappy we are with all these scanners, things’d sure change then, I have but one word.

LULZ.

Oh, and to Bat Guano, that train things sounds f&@%ing awesome.