why would someone put a 15k watch in their checked luggage anyway?!

1. You need to read the definition of sexual assault.

2. No one makes you fly. Take a bus or train if you don't like it. As long as the plane isn't hijacked or blown up they can feel my junk all they want.

3. How stupid do you have to be to put valuables or cash in your luggage. Isn't that what carry-ons are for?

With the way the TSA functions, insults travelers, and recapitulates fear, the Terrorists have won.

@Devil's Son... you know I bet you're one of those guys who likes it when another man feels up his junk regardless whether it's in the name of a false sense of security or not.

Definition for sexual assault:

a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to
knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or
threat;

Devil's Son,

What TSA agents do when they "pat down" travelers would get anybody else arrested for sexual assualt. Try doing it to someone standing on a street corner and see what happens.

Many people travel to locations where driving, buses and trains are not an option. Don't fly if you don't like it comments like yours are pure nonsense. Giving up our right to be protected from unreasonable searches is not the answer. FYI, the TSA let nearly a year go by after the undwear guy was arrested before they even began touching passenger sexual organs. My guess is they want to scare people into using the scanners; that's why they both began at the same time.

Finally, I don't put anything in checked bags unless I can afford to have it replaced if stolen. However, TSA agents are also fond of stealing things from passenger carryon bags and bins as they go through the security check points.

How about the violation of a person's rights? The police don't have the authority to stop you, while you are driving your car on PUBLIC roads, without suspiscion (sp) and GROPE you and your WIFE!!!

Why does the T SS A? If I look suspicious, then charge me with something, mirandize me and go to TOWN!!! otherwise leave me the H*ll alone!!!

Devil'sSon misses his daddy?Don't Ya?

Even the Chinese are stealing these days. Times are really bad.

Okay, let’s get straight to the issue at hand, safety!

What we endure or describe as a violation of our human rights or being subjected to
an unlawful search, for which you agree to when you purchase an airline ticket
to travel, please read the small print regarding security. The rather short process is really nothing
compared to the rest of the transportation security that is in place around the
world. Please take the time to reflectand remember that all individuals flying from within the US Territories are not US Citizens, and neither you and I or TSA at the Checkpoint have any idea who
is who, when we arrive at the Security Checkpoint heading for the gate to board
the plane, when we are temporarily inconvenienced to have our person and
carryon bags checked by TSA/Airport Security;

Take a moment to think about just how many individuals flying don’t check bags, and
you know exactly who they are because they piss you and I off each time at the
checkpoint heading for your gates; they use 3 bins for personal stuff, the “suitcase”
travel bag, laptop, purse or and the all new "MAN PURSE", that’s overstuffed
etc., then they board the freaking plane with that overstuffed to heavy carryon
and almost hit you in the head, then they push and punch until they jam it into
the overhead compartment, and/or they totally disregard your stuff already in
the overhead bin and start shuffling/moving all the other baggage in the
overhead compartments around to accommodate them. So ask yourself this; who's checking them, and
the answer is TSA of course right at the security checkpoint, thank goodness
someone is!

I've flown numerous times overseas on business, and every time I go through “Security”
overseas if I’m returning to the USA or flying from to another foreign country in
the region, it’s far from a picnic, here is the minimum process; body search,
luggage search (everything) carry on forget that, and then there’s the personal
interview (yea right) where your put in an uncomfortable room and endure 2/3
hours of interrogation by foreign military/police of sorts, and your just
trying to get home, and they are not playing around, no one gets on that plane
unless they are cleared, and that’s a fact. No that is Security, serious
security. With all the "other types of security going on in the world", I sure am glad to be an American
because I can tolerate the small inconvenience for the "PRICE OF SAFETY
THAT THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT" is doing their best day-by-day, hour-by-hour
to protect us. Give yourself and the American Security forces a break, kick
back and enjoy your life and thank your fellow Public Safety Official or
neighbor for caring enough to keep you safe so you can bit** about something you
know absolutely nothing about!

Good work America, thank you for another Safe and great day to be alive! Today I went through Airport Security returning from a trip across country (East coast to West) I was able to see my
sick father, during his time of need, and just for being an American I was able
to do that. Tonight I was able to return to my home and hug and kiss my wife and children, look up above and point with one finger while holding back the tears (cause I’m a man and we don’t cry) and
say simply "Thank you"!

Nice Speech!Really dramatic, who wrote it for you? Maybe a public safety official?Well guess what it don't Fly.Pedal it some where else!

Oh and the part on keeping you safe?Two Words BULL CRAP!

Frankly I'd rather be unsafe.

I've heard better claptrap from a hallmark card.

If we are so 'safe' thanx to the Trans Siberian Authority, it must be luck or divine providence. Feeling up your junk won't find explosives like a bomb dog (ditto for other contraband). The TSA loves to trump up its 'successes', but is ominously and selectively silent when there are reports which state that agents fail to nab weapons at surprise inspections. And when other folks (like the airline pilot) point out security flaws, instead of rewarding them, the TSA makes them look worse than Dillinger. And then there was the TSA agent who was fired for being a witch (or more accurately a Wiccan)...these silly @$$es are willing to discriminate and break the law of the land! How could you even trust such an agency that won't even follow it's own laws and guidelines?

You love the TSA so much, you can have them...me, I'll use any mode of transport that doesn't involve the TSA, and if I do have to deal with this bunch, I'll remind them of MY rights.

Oh, and if you want to thank someone for keeping you safe, it should be the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and police...who ACTUALLY put themselves in harms way to defend your right to spew melodramatic crap. THOSE are the people you should thank, not some glorified mall cop.

Safe and sound at home must look like a terrorist?!? I travel all over the world on business and can say that I have never been interrogated by foreign officials anytime I fly. Sure, they ask normal security questions at customs, but never have I been put in a room and questioned for 40+ minutes. To be honest, the only difference I have found with security in other countries is that they make me open my carry-on and inspect the contents as well as scan it. They do not personally fondle me in the name of false security. I am glad that he got to see his sick father, kiss his children and receive a "handy j" from TSA by simply going from one coast to the other!

Stealing out of passengers suitcases is nothing new, it was done way before TSA started. I remember stories of baggage carriers being busted in the 70's. Not defending TSA, but this happened before.

i had a watch stolen out of my luggage in Indianapolis, and when I reported the loss to TSA, the behaved like they could not care less. Never put valuables in luggage that will be rifled through.

I had something of some value in my checked baggage once. I received a set of Henckel knives for Christmas several years ago. I watched as the TSA agent pulled my bag off the scanner to search it. He opened it, went straight for the knives, and pulled each out of the paper sheath. He then put them back in my bag (he didn't look at anything else) and closed it up and started to take it off his counter. That's all fine, right? Well, he didn't know I was watching from about 50 feet. He then put the suitcase back on his counter, opened it back up and went for the knives. As he pulled them out I walked up and said something to the effect of 'yes, they're Henckels, now put them back and put the suitcase through' He jumped and said he had worked in a knife store before the TSA and said they were really nice. Now someone please tell me in all seriousness he wasn't planning on taking them.

There are plenty of real sexual assault victims who love to explain the difference between someone in gloves and in public as part of their job touching you in various places, a touching you've known was probably going to happen weeks in advance, and what it's like to held down with a hand over your mouth, not able to move or scream, while someone rapes you.

So please, stfu about being "sexually assaulted" at the airport.

I would never put anything of value in a suitcase which is why I carry a backpack with my camera, money, etc. I also carry a laptop on me. I don't wear much jewelry but if I did, I would carry that also as well as my money. The only thing that has been stolen from me was my tsa lock (which I think was broken) and someone opened a factory sealed jar of horseradish. I could smell it when I opened my suitcase. I went off.

Ryo, I would have gone off on that person who looked at my knives and pulled them out. Yeah, he was going to steal them. Glad you caught him. I would have reported him anyway.

When I travel, I tell TSA exactly what I have in my suitcase, tell them I have pictures of it (documentation) and basically dare them to take anything out. Haven't had a problem since. I also keep a copy of the TSA rules with me that I print up the latest copies before I travel so if I run into any problems I have their own words to use against them. Haven't needed them yet, but I know the day is coming.

me of little faith,

What a doctor does when you go to his office would get the anybody else arrested for sexual assault. But that doesn't mean the doctor is sexually harassing you. Nor is the TSA agent. You agree to it. If it bothers you so much, don't fly. Take a train or a car or a boat or just stay home.

You are more than welcome to lobby to change the policy. That's a great thing about deomcracy. You have a voice. Personally, I don't think the patdowns are a good idea either, but then, I'm not really that worried about being blown up on a plain. If it happens, it happens.

At the same time, though, I know it isn't only my life in danger. Everyone on that plane and people on the ground below are put in danger. So, I live with the somewhat annoying patdown when necessary.

@Devil's Son: your "logic" scares me. Honestly, you should probably re-read your post and then ask yourself, "how the heck does any of what I just said make sense?" First, You can pretty much refute your first point with your third. Nobody has to have a carry on. I worked for Alaska Airlines and there were literally tons of people that only used a checkon bag because they didn't want to deal with finding an overhead compartment and/or put their luggage under their seat (mostly men... you know, the ones with those expensive watches? Your second point is completely rested soley on your personal sentiment, which makes that whole point moot. PLEASE PLEASE try and think with your brain before you make an inane post like that.

@Devil's Son: If you honestly believe the TSA makes flying any safer, face it, dude, you've already drunk the Kool-Aid. All TSA does is instill a false sense of security in exchange for you relinquishing your civil liberties -- not to mention any remaining dignity you may have after plodding through the lines at the security checkpoint.

I would like to know, however, if the plane does get hijacked or blown up would you be upset that some undertrained, underpaid and underqualified TSA agent felt your "junk" all he wanted?

Too bad we can't put TSA applicants through an "honor scanner".

Sorry but TSA wages don't cover "honor". You see what these people are paid? It's no wonder they all don't steal constantly.

The Angry Guy

Too bad we can't put TSA applicants through an "honor scanner".

Are you kidding?

We call TSA job "Half way House" by NJ standards.

...or the thinnest

<Gasp!>

But that would violate their rights!

I agree security is no better for using the TSA. Get rid of it and while we're at it fire Janet Nepolitano since she has no idea what a terrorist is. We DON'T need the DEPT of homeland security at all.

Well Jacques,they're going to keep doing it to us until the revolution begins. Hopefully sooner than later with this whole debt ceiling thing. A lot of people are pissed off about a lot of things. Kinda looking forward to it actually.

Keith: If millions of seniors and disabled do NOT get a social security income next month, you can bet there will be 1000's of buses heading for washington full of wheelchairs and canes! I think this would be the PERFECT TIME to get this going! I am totally ready to DEFEND MY CONSTITUTION FROM MY ENEMIES, BOTH FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC!!!!!

To Jimmy Hoffa--- what skin color are you talking about? anyone of color or just one particular color?

One dislikes to point the finger, but your comment has a racist flavour.

Post names and dates of your claim about the 'TSA employee' who kidnapped and raped a child.

Edit: Nothing happened in Nebraska, brain donor. There's something on Google about an Atlanta incident but no convictions as yet. Randall Scott Kind was arrested and there's no follow up whatsoever. This is becoming an urban myth.

There is corruption in every single job type in the world. No job type is immune to it, be it the TSA, the Catholic Church, or a downtown hospital. There is always theft, lying, sexual assaults. You cannot point to a job and say "all those workers are corrupt". What DOES determine the reputation of an organization is how those problems are handled. Is it hushed up? Is the person arrested and charged? Is it completely ignored and allowed to continue?

In this case while the police and victim were the ones to catch the guy, the TSA put out a statement acknowledging the incident and their policy. Try Googling "baggage handlers caught" and see were the real thefts come from.

Baa...Baaa...Nevvvvvvvvv...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!

DEAD ON WMG!!!!!!!

Mine was Thieving Sadistic A$$holes!

Maybe, but it's TRUE.

Hear, hear! If "The Man" wasn't holding them down, they wouldn't be forced to steal!

@JoeNY...

They're already unionized. Being that they are federal employees, they can join AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees) through their local union office.

I honestly think the TSA is a giant drain on our economy, being that they simply give the appearance of increased safety... Seriously, nearly every line I've been waiting on to go through security reminds me of cows lining up to go into the slaughter house.

Their mere existance is a huge victory for the terrorists who attacked our country... They wanted Americans to give up their freedoms, and we have done so all in the name of security (see Act, Patriot... How a bill can be passed nullifying 4 or more of the 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights is beyond me, and calling it patriotic? Seriously?)

Everyone is bickering over budget cuts... what to cut where, which group of people should be screwed by said cuts, etc. Saying it's Obama and his "big government" philosophy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it der Furor W Jr. that massively expanded government by adding an entire new department, and agencies that serve the new department, to do the job the FBI, NSA and CIA were already doing? How much of a chunk of the budget would be wiped clean if TSA were dissolved.

Simply put, the terror attacks on NY, DC, and other countries are slowly bringing their ultimate plan to fruition... Bankrupting us the way we did to the USSR by making them spend money on unnecessary arms races, government agencies that cost billions to stand up and operate, and wars that will never end. Funding for these things is what caused our economy to nose dive, and hardly anyone realizes it. They'd rather bicker over whether the tax cuts enacted at the same time as all of these new Govt. organizations and wars began or blaming the bad economy on a black man being in charge or whatever... Without the combination of all of these things, we may still have the budget surpluses we saw in the late '90s.

Either way, I believe it is completely wrong to be forced to choose between an body scan (that can show details of things like women's nipples among other things) or being fondeled in ways you would only allow your gf, bf, wife or husband to do to you... Land of the free? Once perhaps.

It's not only the fact that the Patriot Act was enacted, it's that it only took a month to do so. Try to tell me this doesn't mean that they already had it written, and were just waiting for an excuse.

I agree with you. Let's get rid of the DEPT of homeland security and bring in the way Isreal does it. They have no problem with terrorists and don't demoralize there citizens at their airports. Why do we have to put up with it.

great idea, americans won't mind a 4-6 hour security process. give us convenience or give us death.

Did you ever consider that "convenience" is all that airlines sell. They are faster than cars, busses, and boats. Airlines put ocean liners out of business because of time savings. The break even drive time vs flying is nearly 500 miles door to door. TSA makes driving more appealing.

BTW, can you point to ANYBODY that intended to do harm that the TSA sreening has kept off an airplane?

... didn't think so. So other than making the ignorant feel better, what exactly are we getting for throwing our rights away?

So what do you think they should make, $100K per year? These are ex-hamburger flippers in many cases and no one asked them to take the job at $10 per hour. They accepted this gladly. In fact, I bet there are people out there that would gladly want $10/hour today!

They should make a wage appropriate for the work, and expectations. $10 an hour buys you an ex-con, $20 an hour buys you standards and the right to expect professionalism.

First of all, why are we acting as though having job with a low salary justifies theft? Second $10/hour is the starting salary, I doubt that very many TSA agents are making that salary for very long. The range does go up to nearly $20/hour. Plus I sure most of them make a mint in overtime.

I don't make that much and I DON'T steal. Why do they need too.

I read something online last week that said that out of 50,000 TSA workers, that less than 1% have had any background checks or pre-employment drug screens. In addition, an agreement that homeland security has with every state is that ex-cons no matter what the crime is, are being allowed to work for the TSA without any oversight, background checks etc.

How is this helping our travels?

Because of the TSA, I do not fly anymore. Period. I won't fly until they disband the TSA. All of us who travel should do this. Watch and see how fast they get rid of the TSA.

The FAA should seriously consider using Israel's methods, there methods have been proven for the last 30 years, and I guarantee it doesn't cost them a trillion dollars a year to support like the TSA does.

ANARCHY!

REVOLUTION!

Give this nation back to the citizens instead of special interest groups that make a million dollars each time I take a dump!

Come on, you can't just throw that out there without any facts behind it!!! My God, I can say evilGenius is a stealing,lying,ex-con,rapist,child molester and it would have the same weight as what you just posted!!

You have ZERO credibility posting your OPINIONS with no facts.

People steal because they are theives, not because they are paid $10 per hour. If what you claim is true, it would be an obvious solution for the police to use income as a profiling tool for solving crimes.

49,955

this dishonest tsa agent who wrongfully stoled items is just the tip of the iceberg. a new law needs to be

put in placed that makes it a manditory prison sentenced for any tsa agent who steals or is involed in

theft in any way. such a tough law would stop those corrupt tsa agents right in their tracks. just because

they may make the ski's safer does not give them the right to steal your hard earned items.

NO! You're the coward for not reporting him... If you were so sure he stole your camera.

I think you're the stupid ass. It's people like YOU that let thieves get away with crap like that. You must be a small white guy.

And you know Alex didn't report him how?