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Pay the TSA $100 and Bypass Airport Security
An anonymous reader writes "Catching a flight in the U.S. isn't a great experience anymore due to the security checks involved. You have to remove your shoes, your belt, get your laptop out, be scanned and subjected to radiation in the process. Hundreds of other people are doing the same thing, meaning it takes 40 minutes instead of four. Now, the TSA has come up with a clever, money-making alternative. Instead of scaling back security or speeding it up, you can instead pay $100 and bypass it completely!"
W.T.F??
Oh, and first post!
Secuity theater has been on the decline from comedy to tragedy for a while. Now it is simply a farce. It is about control and money and the illusion of security.
Silence is a state of mime.
Now only terrorists who can afford the $100 can take a bomb on your plane.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
You could do the same thing, but cheaper. Seriously, how is this fundamentally different from legalized bribery?
-- Two men say they're Jesus. One of them must be wrong. - Dire Straits
The article makes it seem as though the offer will only be extended to those who, due to flying frequently, are invited to the program by air lines. So really it is for CEOs, celebrities, and politicians that fly frequently to avoid those few run-ins that they have had in the past. Maybe it is just cynicism, but I am feeling like this is just "we are trying to be better" posturing masking an attempt hopefully prevent accidentally groping someone that can use their social position to have their voice easily heard by a large number of people.
Just a guess, but they're probably not entirely different than the requirements for a TWIC Card, also issued by the TSA to gain access to secure areas such as maritime ports, refineries, and other "sensitive" locations.
I do have a TWIC card. It's always interesting (scary?) when I present the federal credential to a TSA agent at an airport. Although the TWIC card provides no access to airport facilities, it is a valid form of government ID issued by the TSA, Most agents are familiar with it, but one agent, after checking my boarding pass and waving me on asked me "what is this TWIC thing, anyway?"
Security theater!
Beware of the Leopard.
Bypass everything in the US touched by the government. Dump the dollars, don't go to the US. Nothing, as it becomes overrun with orwellian BO (Bushie-Obamite statists etc devolving parallel to the UK example) . Hitler and Mussolini could only dream of the coercive powers being developed in the US.
The caste system has always been in place. Coach/steerage gets the general line. First class gets a special, shorter line (since it's just FC passengers). Private jet passengers have no line, no check.
This is more of a nod to the frequent fliers who are constantly going through this. I'm of two minds about this: folks who are putting up 200k miles are unlikely to be terrorist bombers, and this addresses part of the "bad for business / lost hours" problem that the TSA creates which I like to harp on. That said, it just makes those of us who fly infrequently madder to see folks breezing through the lines and TSA agents standing around doing nothing while the regular line snakes around the corner.
As for the smiles - that's just human nature, not some kind of special Disney treatment you get with your pass. Those agents don't have to deal with constantly grousing passengers, people who have lost patience with the lines and required security striptease, and the inevitable idiot who has no idea what their doing (or is intentionally belligerent) and fouls up the works. I'd smile too if everyone who passed through my line was happy about NOT being in that OTHER line.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
It works for me, and I'm normally a very nice person. When I go to the airport though, I let the TSA know exactly how far they can push me around, and that is NOT AT ALL. Be snarky. Rush them. Let them know you do not like, or want, to stand for their bullshit, and let them know that *you* know that's exactly what it is: bullshit. Don't use the "security theater" moniker. What they're doing there doesn't deserve terminology all it's own. It's bullshit, plain and simple, for the purpose of control. I have found that if you resist it strongly, with confidence and a proper amount of aggression, they will rush you through, knowing they'd rather avoid a scene than try and collar someone of a stronger will than their own.
Of course I'm a white male in my mid-30s, so your mileage may (unfortunately and to the utmost shame of my people) differ. Best of luck to everyone going through these situations though. The most important thing is to stand up for yourself and don't be complacent.
Lastly, I understand I will probably be arrested someday for how far I can take things at the "security" checkpoint. I feel that it's a worthy sacrifice for real, actual freedom though, and I hope everyone who reads this can and will feel the same. This whole situation will not end well for any of us if we just let it go.
Here's what I object to about paying for the 'security' card: I'm a 'safe' citizen - No criminal record, no issues etc. So in effect every time I step in front of an officer at security I'm eating up the (expensive) valuable resources of a trained officer who would be better served questioning more 'suspicious' characters.
If I consented to a check, the governments of the USA and Canada would not have to waste valuable resources asking me questions any more, and would in fact save themselves money. Instead, they charge *me* money for the ability to repurpose their officers. They should be encouraging as many 'safe' citizens as possible to get these cards (for free) so security can be more efficient, and cheaper to operate.
I object to this non-sensical government tax grab.
It's not exactly like that, and it's not exactly new. First you have to pass a rigorous background check, the same one I passed to work for an airline.
Yeah, exactly, you have a pass a rigorous background check that will ensure that under no circumstances can you be bribed or threatened into bringing a bomb onto a plane by threatening or giving a pile of money to your family. First rule of security. Treat all people the same. Anyone getting special treatment is a huge liability.
Soon enough you will realize that you too love big brother.
Silence is a state of mime.
Not anyone. A lot of us have understood how stupid they are from the get go.
From the article:
"We can reduce the size of the haystack when we are looking for that one-in-a-billion terrorist," said TSA Administrator John Pistole.
Wow.
So if there's 7 Billion people in the world, then... there are only 7 people we need to find. Wow we're wasting a lot of time, money, and resources at the airports.
I hate it when people try to sneak on an oversize bag rather than just book it into the baggage hold. A plane has limited space, so just stop being so greedy and get a properly sized bag. It's not difficult.
You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
it had in HUGE text what the damned expiration on it was
What happens when your ID expires? Do you turn into someone else?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
They should really do quite the opposite, charge people for carry-ons, and checked baggage is free.
It would speed up the security checkpoints.
It would speed up boarding.
It would give everyone who actually needs to carry on baggage (people with medicine, kids, etc.) a much easier time finding space close to their seat.
-mrxak
Onions Will Kill You