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The Spectacle Blog
The Hill reports that TSA chief John Pistole offered to give enhanced pat-downs to senators at a hearing today. More precisely, he offered to have a TSA screener do the deed.
Today’s hearing, and Pistole’s salacious offer, were prompted by growing public outrage at TSA policies. Passengers are required to allow the TSA to take nude pictures of them; many people find this objectionable. Passengers who opt out must be patted down. New procedures require screeners are to touch passengers’ breasts, buttocks, and genitals. Some passengers have compared the enhanced pat-downs to sexual assault, and at least one woman has threatened a lawsuit.
National security is not the only reason TSA decided to implement new screening policies. The Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney recently reported that the CEO of Rapiscan, one of two companies that makes full-body imaging machines, is an Obama donor who accompanied the President on his recent trip to India. Carney also reports that President Bush’s former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, was paid by Rapiscan to promote its machines shortly after leaving office.
View all comments (38) | Leave a comment
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matthew s harrison| 11.17.10 @ 3:54PM
I think probably barney fwank was first in line for that-I would have loved to see his reaction to the offer!
MikeBee| 11.17.10 @ 5:01PM
Matt,
Yes! He's running up to the speaker's chair, panting out of breath the entire time, while yelling out, "Aw do it! Aw do it!
Jill| 11.17.10 @ 4:09PM
Isn't that funny! Matthew S Harrison makes a gay joke. Ha ha ha ha ha. You tool.
You're what the french would call a cochon, dear boy.
dac| 11.17.10 @ 4:58PM
Jill, socialist assbangers like Frank, and socialists generally, count on slaves like you to defend any perceived insult and ignore the larger problems--which are, in brief, that our Ruling Class is slowly and inexorably accustoming Americans to being treated as pigs and slaves. You may not mind that, but many of us do.
I wouldn't really care that Barney (Man Whore) Frank is a flaming queer, if he behaved as a normal citizen and were subject to the same asinine laws and rules that he writes for the rest of us. But you know that's not the case. So anything that anyone does to make him feel as uncomfortable as most of us feel under the whimsical thumb of statists like him...good work and keep it up.
Occam's Tool| 11.17.10 @ 7:11PM
Let's leave the non-kosher references out of it, shall we, Jill? We're talking about Barney Frank. And, speaking of what to do with bad guys and Jill:
Imagine an attack on America's energy industry by state sponsored terrorists. Then imagine a President who is a panderer to Islamists, and who takes himself more seriously than the Constitution. Then imagine a white knuckle ride that never lets up!
We know the second statement is true, and the third statement is a book describing the first, called Texas Said No!.
Texas Said No! grabs you by the throat by page 6, and then is LITERALLY unputdownable through the last page, where it ends all too soon. To tell any more would be to give away too much stuff, but if you liked The Last Centurion by John Ringo, you'll love this one, as it is very similar to Ringo's book, only stripped down without any padding, slamming through its talking points like the TCU defense on a roll. If you care about your country and the course it's taking, buy this book and put it next to America Alone on your shelf. It's that good, and that important.
It is published as an E-book. Check it out at www.texassaidno.com
Too Many Tims| 11.18.10 @ 12:56PM
"unputdownable "
Is that even a word?
Bruce| 11.18.10 @ 1:53PM
It will be shortly. We can make it so. Right there along with 'refudiate'. And all y'all need to learn to speak at least a little Texan while you're brushing up on your linguistic skills.
Brubaker| 11.18.10 @ 3:35PM
"Dear boy"? Do people actually say "dear boy"?
John Bright| 11.17.10 @ 4:28PM
Jill - thank you. Also note that Barney Frank is in the House. Pistole made his offer to the Senate.
If one is going to engage in puerile humor, at least be accurate.
MikeBee| 11.19.10 @ 9:42PM
JB,
That's what makes it so dxxn funny! Frank heard about the "opportunity" all the way over in the House, and immediately came running. That's why he was out of breath. You really need to develop a sense of humor, something sorely lacking in too many liberals today.
Doug| 11.17.10 @ 4:32PM
Does anyone know if Congressmen and Senators who travel by commercial airlines have to submit to these, uh hem, "pat-downs"?
JP| 11.17.10 @ 4:49PM
Nope, they do not. I remember in 2002, Teddy Kennedy was flying commercial from DC back to Boston, and the unfortunate TSA official had the nerve to tell him to empty his pockets and walk through the scanner. I can't say if the late Senator was sober or not. But he did through a fit. Think of the gall of that official making a Senator live by the rules he created for us in fly-over country.
Ran | 11.17.10 @ 4:44PM
Enhanced pat-downs? Naw. They're aggravated feel-ups. How many thousands of those "enhanced" digital images that are "not saved" are now published over the internet? The entire point of these gross violations is to drive people away from air travel... to save the planet, you know. This debacle isn't about security.
L. Ross| 11.17.10 @ 5:53PM
I recently had a good friend ask me if all these increased airport security measures were really just "much ado about nothing".
I replied that if we just ignore the non-trasportation efforts of muslims since September 11, like the Times Square bomber, the Fort Dix plot to kill American soldiers, the successful Fort Hood shooter, the millenium bomber who was caught at the Canadian border, the Lodi, CA al Queida recruit of about 2005, the SUV murderer in San Francisco, the murder at the synagogue in Seattle, the Washington D.C. sniper, even if we ignored all of these efforts, we would still have to admit that pre September 11, 2001 there was an al Queda plot to blow up 10 airliners over the Pacific simultaneously, the 4th of July shooting at the El Al counter in LA, a failed bombing attempt at Heathrow airport in Brittain, a subway bomber in Spain, a shoe bomber on an airplane, and just last year, a muslim tried to blow up a 747 over U.S. soil on Christmas day with a crotch bomb. Oh, I almost forgot the toner/bombs of just last month.
I appreciate how intrusive, humiliating, and plain unpleasant all these TSA measures are, but our enemy is resilient, creative, patient, and constantly probing for our weak points. I realize that no one reading this is a threat to our security, heck, almost no one who is checked is a threat to our security on a plane. However, we are trying to prevent the enemy from "winning the lottery", beating the odds, and killing a bunch of innocent people. Just something to think about.
Ran / Si Vis Pacem | 11.17.10 @ 6:59PM
No. Your argument assumes a false premise. These tactics are not about "security" given the fact that superior alternatives *exist* and are in place elsewhere - Israel, to be precise.
El-Al has a far better system of professional inquisitors and luggage inspection. It works. Has been for many years. NOT ONE DAMNED GROPE OF A LITTLE KID OR ONE FEEL-UP OF A NUN OR ONE NUDE IMAGE OF A SALESMAN EVER MADE IT ONTO THE WEB.
"Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano insists that anyone who has a problem with the state of affairs simply shouldn't fly." This administration is pretentiously trying to prevent the American people from "winning in the free market", beating the odds, and killing a bunch of "endangered species" like polar bears. Just something to think about.
Occam's Tool| 11.17.10 @ 7:18PM
Exactly. Why don't we copy from the best? The Israelis would be glad to teach us.
Occam's Tool| 11.17.10 @ 7:20PM
In addition to the Israeli solution outlined below, there's another:
Make THEM live in fear of sudden, unpredictable, over the top violence instead.
John| 11.17.10 @ 7:58PM
I don't think anyone who is objecting is arguing that we should abandon all security efforts, but do you really argue that this creates any benefit that is worth the cost? And if the argument is that any benefit, however little it might be, is worth it, then how do we respond to the fact that terrorists are now placing explosives in body cavities? Once everyone's used to their virtual strip search and federal fondle, do we step up for mandatory body cavity searches?
Or maybe we recognize that perfect safety is not attainable, accept a reasonable level of security screening (metal detectors and x-ray carry ons) and deal with the fact that we are at war.
Bruce| 11.18.10 @ 1:58PM
So why do they give women in hijabs a pass? And their politically correct methodology doesn't permit them to scrutinize the middle easterners as closely as everyone else. Would doing that and letting the three year old get a pass be the right thing? Obviously. We need to get rid of the inmates that are running the asylum.
beebop| 11.18.10 @ 7:11AM
I have to tell you, I find the feigned humiliation just a little too much to take. I don't give a rat's ass how many people see a digital image of my breasts and your "junk" -- except for size perhaps -- doesn't differ that much from the next guy's ... how is it that we have no tolerance for these "gross violations" but expect that our travel will be on time and safe? It's all about security. I would rather submit than ever, ever, ever see another 911 ...
Sam| 11.19.10 @ 10:00PM
The security measures don't work, moron.
Marko| 11.17.10 @ 4:58PM
Good idea on the pat down demo.
Even better, ask Napolitano and Pistole to pose for a "security" picture. Take the high resolution results (the inverted image with all the details - not the fuzzy image they present to the proles) and post it on large monitors behind their lectern.
We'll see how commited they are to their process then (though I really don't want to see either of them naked).
My take is that this is simply another progressive idea to dehumanize and control us. Liberty is their enemy (the enemy of all tyrannies actually). Travel is liberty, therefore, restrict travel.
Next up, restrict energy production and usage in order to save the world.! They aren't lying about saving the world. Being progressive they simply have a different definition of things. It allows them to say things without lying although they are saying something completely different to what citizens understand. When they say "save the world" or "sustainable development" what they mean is save the world and resources - for them, the elitist rulers.
The rest of us are just parasites using up their stuff and must be regulated and/or removed.
Jordan Brownley| 11.17.10 @ 5:20PM
Must I be the first one around here to announce that Lisa Murkowski has won! Only Sarah Palin and the nutcase Miller could help elect a write-in to the U.S. Senate. Congrats to Lisa!
Brash| 11.17.10 @ 5:31PM
So you applaud the election of a proven RINO, the beneficiary of her father's nepotism and pretty much a drain on the conservative cause? Begone with you.
Jordan Brownley| 11.17.10 @ 5:40PM
No, begone with Joe Miller. Or, maybe just lock him in a room ...
Sam| 11.19.10 @ 10:02PM
Murky's just another political whore. Maybe we should lock YOU in a room.
Elephant Inda Room| 11.17.10 @ 6:39PM
Just curious and maybe a little off-topic but are the "enhanced pat downs" more of the freedom we're fighting for in the Middle East? (Bwahahaha!)
Simple solution--don't fly.
Flint| 11.17.10 @ 7:37PM
Does anybody seriously believe that the "offered" pat downs are going to be remotely similar to what people put up with at the airport?
Why don't you have the Senator's staffs fly commercial through a couple of these airports and get patdowns - and then ask them what they think about it.
Or, better yet, have the Senators fly commercial, go through security, and get a pat down - without revealing who they are - then they can feel what everybody else is going through.
Maybe then their attitude would change.
Trey Save the Redneck | 11.17.10 @ 9:11PM
This TSA stuff is not only ridiculous but ineffective. Read my blog why we should start profiling. Profiling is not a bad thing if done professionally but the liberals have painted it as illegal which it is not.
Bob G.| 11.17.10 @ 11:55PM
"... we should start profiling..."
-------------------------
What I can't understand is how we allowed it to be stopped in the first place. By focusing on those who "fit a profile," we focus our resources. We increase our odds of finding the perps. NOT doing so squanders those resources and decreases our chances of finding the perps. We're looking for Muslims. Why are we wasting resources checking elderly couples? Housewives with children? Et al.
I understand that the far left seeks to undermine every last vestige of common sense in Western culture. But why do we allow it? Why are we so afraid to call their game?
walter| 11.28.10 @ 10:52AM
You watch. All these pat downs will produce no greater security when someone with "TERRORIST" tatooed on their forehead brings down a plane with C-4 hidden in their turban.
walter| 11.28.10 @ 10:54AM
Also, isn't there a military axiom that to defend everything is to defend nothing. It is the mistake that Hitler made when he tried to defend every last inch of Fortress Europe from the Allied invasion and helped make D-Day a success by not having a counter attack force in place.
DLB| 11.18.10 @ 6:28AM
Just fire all the Burger-King rejects and hire Hooter girls. She can put her hand in my pants as much as she wants; I'll be going commando.
Enright | 11.18.10 @ 10:18PM
Say no to these pat-downs. Join other Americans to pressure the TSA away from these tactics. www.EnhancedPatDowns.com
weddingdresses | 6.23.11 @ 5:44AM
Just fire all the Burger-King rejects and hire Hooter girls. She can put her hand in my pants as much as she wants; I'll be going commando.