Suppressing my immoderate responses to this is difficult, but I’ll try.

Federal unions are different from state unions. All the crap that’s blamed on state unions for being money pits, doing too good a job of negotiating, etc., etc. are bound up in the fact that state public unions can often (though not always) strike. That gives them the power to push for things that might not be in the public interest. Bad situations have developed.

*Federal* employee unions CANNOT strike. Some folks would say that a union that can’t strike isn’t even a union. I say that federal unions, neutered though they may be, are a good mechanism for preventing the return of any sort of spoils system and a good brake on general government douchbaggery. Their relative weakness led to the resolution of potential excess pensions, for example, over a quarter-century ago when the Civil Service Retirement System was replaced with the Federal Employee Retirement System.

Now, I agree that it’s arguable that the TSA should exist at all. That’s another argument.

But if they exist, they should be able to unionize.

Anyone who says “A union for set Y of FEDERAL employees is a bad idea because of all the crap that set Z of STATE employees caused when they formed a union” is so far off in red-herring land that I fear they can never find their way back.

Please don’t do that. It’s downright painful to watch.

I’ll come right out and say it: the TSA should have no labor rights at all. Mostly because it shouldn’t exist, but also because . They’ve been an entirely reactionary force, which does no good whatsoever when the likelihood of an American dying in a terrorist attack is already less than that of being struck by lightning. Taking that into consideration, their only value is as security theater, which most people on teh interwebz think is abhorrent.

You have no right to travel by commercial air liner, or bus. or on a road that is not monitored by cameras (think toll roads).

Wow. This is my same response.

This is why nothing ever gets fixed. Everything is reduced to a political football.

I guess in the end, I’m asking what gives them the right to do this stuff that if a police officer did it, it would be illegal or if I were to do it I would be beaten and thrown in jail.

You go on the same shrill rant-fest every time this subject comes up. Take the rest of the day off.

If the TSA does not do any of the above then the law would have no practical impact.

I don’t usually respond to flaming, but I feel this issue is actually important. This will be my last response here.

The comment you called childish was actually sarcasm and irony at the idea of TSA shutting down airports. Those concepts might be a bit over your head. The act of threatening to shut down airports seems like the childish thing to me.

My stance has nothing to do specifically with inappropriate touching, but with security theater in general. I believe in Benjamin Franklin’s quote:
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
I suppose you would also support Congress voting to extend the secret authorities granted by the Patriot Act for another four years today.

But here’s a serious question. I’m very curious, although I probably won’t bother to come back and read your response, so it’s mostly rhetorical. Do you really believe that anti-TSA sentiment is a right-wing agenda? I remember only a few years ago when being against the Patriot Act and TSA under the Bush administration made you a left-wing liberal. Wow, talk about the modern day Ministry of Truth in action.

I think the bill is well intentioned but not quite thought out. We need to act on the federal level to assert our constitutional rights and end the useless imposition that is the TSA.

Makes sense to me. They f**k us every April 15th. Now they want anal.

I will accept help from the Texas legislature on this one. I’ll accept help from Sarah Palin.

Nice wording, by the way! The Lege’s list begins with the correct organ.

TSA doesn’t do anything useful to keep flights safe. You know what keeps flights safe now, more vigilant passengers who will never again be passive sheep on a plane. Someone gets up to something funny on a plane and it’s an instant dog pile.

nobody deserves to have their government ruined

You’re too late, it’s already ruined. And apathetic people DO deserve it. Sorry, that’s life. Complain to Jeebus.

I seem to recall there was some sort of war fought over this kind of Federal bullying of the States. Back in the 1800s, I think it was…

That’s a bit cocky, no? I mean, “make the passengers and crew feel safer”, maybe…

TSA aside, I like to see the bit about “conflict directly with federal law” trotted out a early often, when state legislatures act like 8th graders.

Look, Texas, and the south in general, does a lot of stupid things, we can all agree on that.
But, why are you people cheering so much for the expansion of the TSA???

Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it.
Now when I take the Amtrak upstate, I can’t take my pot with me, because the TSA is there.
And I have to worry about what might be in my bag.

It’s a major hassle to have “my papers” ready just to board the bus — and while the TSA has only set up shop at a few bus and train terminals, they’ve made it clear that they intend to expand.
So, thanks again, you jerks, for supporting that.