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The Spectacle Blog
File it under “Odd Ways to Start One’s Week.”
I have it on good authority that Senator Rand Paul has been detained by TSA agents at the Nashville International Airport. It appears that a glitch in the full body scanner set off all the bells and whistles, and Paul was not allowed to re-enter for a second scan. Immediately thereafter, a crack squad of savvy, motivated TSA agents insisted on administering a full body pat down which Paul refused. It appears he is about to be escorted out of the airport.
Sen. Paul was on his way back to the District to speak at today’s March for Life — an annual demonstration/protest to mark the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Back in September, the Kentucky senator made waves when he called TSA Chief John Pistole “clueless” at a Homeland Security and Gov. Affairs committee hearing. He went on to accuse the agency of needlessly detaining and searching the young and elderly.
Say what you will about his dad’s foreign policy, but I’m pretty confident Sen. Paul doesn’t present a clear and present danger to his fellow flyers a board a flight to work at the Senate. This whole incident will undoubtedly serve as yet another reminder of how silly and invasive a lot of this “security” really is.
View all comments (53) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Reid Smith
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/01/23/sen-paul-detained-by-tsa
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Jon| 1.23.12 @ 11:04AM
Just last week, the full-body scanner said I had "something" in both back pockets, which were of course completely empty. Didn't stop the double-cheek grab, of course. The TSA was an embarrassment before they had the scanners; now it's...I dunno, an embarrassment WITH scanners? It's early.
Jack in Wi.| 1.23.12 @ 3:35PM
The morons here are perfectly all right with the abolishment of the 4th Amendment, as well as the 5th, 6th, and 8th. Is it any wonder that the Constitution has been shredded by the Republicans and the Democrats? The war to reclaim this country has started and we can see most of the boobs on this web site, would stand with the tyrants.
Quartermaster| 1.23.12 @ 6:19PM
Nah. TSA's shenanigans isn't silly, it's absolutely useless. They are accomplishing nothing but cutting paychecks for people that do useless "work." TSA is a shame to Bush and the Republicans that signed off on that nonsense.
George S| 1.23.12 @ 11:06AM
We all know how silly it is; it's irrelevant though. Fact is the TSA today is time wise equivalent to the first ten rows of a flight being non-smoking. Within ten years, bus terminals, train stations and highway toll booths will be the TSA's jurisdiction as well. We ain't seen nothing yet -- unless that agency is yanked.
Pete| 1.23.12 @ 11:17AM
Accident? Doubt it. More like intimidation ploy.
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 4:31PM
must be some nefarious Bohemian Grove plot....muwahahahahaha
martin j smith| 1.23.12 @ 11:19AM
Paul is getting first hand treatment by the Obama administration. Problem is in foreign policy and national security he is Obama. So
martin j smith| 1.23.12 @ 11:19AM
Paul is getting first hand treatment by the Obama administration. Problem is in foreign policy and national security he is Obama. So
martin j smith| 1.23.12 @ 11:19AM
computer is wacko today--So I laugh Ha Ha.
Dave| 1.23.12 @ 11:21AM
+1 for the Jerry Seinfeld joke reference.
Reid Smith| 1.23.12 @ 12:02PM
Glad someone got it.
martin j smith| 1.23.12 @ 11:22AM
sorry about confusing Rand and Ron but they are the same --apples and trees. etc
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 2:15PM
the tinfoil hat didn't fall far from the roll
fmm| 1.23.12 @ 11:22AM
One thing in the TSA favor here is that they did not defer to Paul because he is a senator. Normally that title takes precedent over having to succumb to being treated like the proletariat.
Quartermaster| 1.23.12 @ 6:21PM
They were the same with Teddy Kennedy too. It's irrelevant as what they are doing is less than useless.
Military man| 1.23.12 @ 11:27AM
This current form of the TSA needs to go. It's like mall cops working as a CIA agents, it just doesn't work.
Quartermaster| 1.23.12 @ 6:21PM
+1000
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 11:38AM
Man, a lot of you guys and the writer are pretty scared someone at the TSA might see how small your cack is.
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 2:16PM
this fascinates you in your little closet, huh?????
JmsA| 1.23.12 @ 2:21PM
Does pp999 have anything to do with the senate democrats not passing a budget in 999 days?
Kyle| 1.23.12 @ 11:41AM
"Sen. Paul doesn't present a clear and present danger to his fellow flyers"
But he apparently does pose a threat to women who want to retain control of their reproductive rights.
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 11:43AM
I love how Reid Smith thinks Paul doesn't present clear and present danger because he has white skin.
L. Ross| 1.23.12 @ 11:52AM
I believe there is no reference to skin tone in the article. By the way, with the increasing melting of races in the U.S., what does black or hispanic mean anyway? I have a lifting partner who identifies as black, but my wife always thought he was hispanic. I worked side by side with a man who is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico for years, yet I always assumed he was Italian, because his name ended with a vowel. Took me a decade before I realized there was a perfectly good reason for his excellent Spanish.
Pete| 1.23.12 @ 1:04PM
And my wife has an hispanic name but is Filipino and she was by her Chinese father who was raised by a Hawaiian woman. And we have a president who is African American though neither of his parents were African American. One was African and one was American. And he disses his white mother by calling himself black.
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 1:38PM
How long was your wife a hooker before you mail ordered her to the states?
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 2:14PM
i'm guessing the closest YOU'VE ever come to a 'wife' was when you peeped on your dad's wife while she changed clothes...best memory of your entire 5 years of middle school, wasn't it?
Pete| 1.23.12 @ 3:15PM
Completely uncalled for by a racist bigot and misogynist. Must be a Democrat as only they live in the gutter.
Dai Alanye | 1.23.12 @ 3:47PM
Warren Harding, our first black President (you can look it up) would probably slap pp999's silly face.
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 11:56AM
well, L.Ross, the Reid Smith Theory is that if the skin is anything other than snow white you'd be best served to stay away. He doesn't talk to people unless they have papers to prove their ancestors were on the Mayflower.
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 12:05PM
Reid Smith hasn't been this enraged since they let a negro in first class on one of his flights.
L. Ross| 1.23.12 @ 12:08PM
I hate to take the TSA's side. I find them abusive, intrusive, and knuckle headed. I have personally experienced multiple times when they singled out military members for pat downs while letting non-english speakers zoom past. I assume it is because the military members will follow directions without raising a fuss while they may not even be able to issue instructions to the non-english speakers. However, I for one feel safer with military on the planes than without them.
Another problem with TSA is that they are reactive, not pro-active. Why the crotch-grabbing? Because they weren't doing that, so that is where the last bomb was hidden. Why the shoes off? Same thing. Body cavities (and we all know what I am talking about) can hold a surprising volume of material. Short of an astonishingly intrusive body cavity search which would be the end of air travel, we can never be safe. Not to mention the danger of glass or ceramic knives.
The Israelis have a technique known as behavior profiling. They watch closely for nervous passengers, and interview every passenger for their flights. So far, it has proven to be very effective, even catching passengers with bombs they didn't know they had (someone else packed them into their bags). Somehow, I don't think the TSA hires people of the insight and caliber required for worthwhile behavior profiling. I shudder to think of going into a small interview room with one of our TSA clowns to explain why I bought a one way ticket two days prior to Washington D.C. Much of the traveling I do for the military sets off all the alarms we have set up for potential terrorists. This is a very tough nut to crack, and there are no easy solutions.
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 12:13PM
People that served in the military are usually the most dangerous. When I was a kid a Vietnam vet came into my town and killed a cop, took down a helicopter, and blew up a gas station. It was pretty scary.
Warrior | 1.23.12 @ 12:22PM
What's your next post: When you were a kid an robot from the future transported back through time in order to kill the resistance leader before he was born?
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 12:25PM
Um, time travel isn't possible. Though I'm sure if Ron Paul promised it if he were elected the righter than right wing nutjobs would believe him.
Pete| 1.23.12 @ 1:05PM
Another 12 year old volunteering for Soros I see.
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 4:38PM
soros pays in cheetos; attracts the 'iCarly' crowd EVERY time
L. Ross| 1.23.12 @ 1:06PM
pp999:
The funny thing is, I've always found race-obsessed, mind reading, lick-spittle know nothings to be the most dangerous airline passengers, as well as the most dangerous people in general, after your typical muslim zealot. I guess it is something we will just have to disagree on.
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 1:25PM
what attracted you to the military more, the killing of all the brown people you want or the taxpayer funded gay sex parties in the barracks?
Pete| 1.23.12 @ 1:30PM
Unfortunately thanks to Obama those are now possible.
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 2:17PM
possible? mandatory is more like it
L. Ross| 1.23.12 @ 1:52PM
pp999
Sorry, nothing that exciting. Just boring things like patriotism, the chance to see the world, defend the greatest nation and civilization in the history of the world, the chance to fly jets.
I have no problem with brown people, by the way. I lived in Moreno Valley, which was eschued by many people as being a "Mexican slum", and have moved to a nearly all black neighborhood in Maryland, in both instances to keep my commute to a minimum.
Sorry, pp999, but the real military is not as twisted an perverse as you imagine. It does say a lot about you, however.
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 1:58PM
"Sorry, nothing that exciting. Just boring things like patriotism, the chance to see the world, defend the greatest nation and civilization in the history of the world, the chance to fly jets."
lolgay
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 2:12PM
time travel is not only possible; it is inevitable. one is ALWAYS traveling thru time
it's just a one-way street
Pete| 1.23.12 @ 1:07PM
And I saw a couple Muslims fly jets into towers and kill 3000 people.
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 2:10PM
nice myth, but not accurate-people that served in the military are less likely to resort to violence; but are far more proficient when they do so. it's just like usually the nerdy little twerp who swings his arms like a windmill in a hurricane during a playground fight, and gets knocked flat by one well-thrown punch from the kid who actually knows what he's doing
pp999| 1.23.12 @ 2:22PM
People in the military are good in groups or when armed against an inferior opponent. I've been in fights with like 5 marines and haven't lost yet.
Pete| 1.23.12 @ 3:16PM
Video games do not count.
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 4:34PM
and then you woke up...check the uniforms...if they are wearing little berets and sashes, they're GIRL SCOUTS...and it wouldn't take 5 to whip your candy @$$
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 4:36PM
i'm sorry, i seem to have "mis-spoken"...when i wrote 'nerdy litte twerp', i MEANT to write 'nerdy little twerp like that girlyboi pp999'
DollIsMine| 1.23.12 @ 1:16PM
Where do I sign up for these invasive body cavity searches?
L. Ross| 1.23.12 @ 1:53PM
Just wait until some muslim pulls a bomb out of his ass. The body cavity searches will begin immediately.
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 1:51PM
hopefully, this won't trigger the Ronulans into rigging their compounds with explosives...
spike59| 1.23.12 @ 2:19PM
imagine al those bags of cheetos exploding at once out of a thousand "mommy's basements" all ove the country!