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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!"
But I'd pay double to just be shot out of a cannon at the target landing zone or something - anything instead of having to spend the rest of the 6 hour journey with the same people I had to stand in line with.
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
...but I didn't expect it to be just cash money, and I certainly didn't expect it to be so low.
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 TSA's new program, Precheck, is free (right now it's by invitation only though). The $100 is for Global Entry, the program that lets you skip the lines for immigration. If you have Global Entry you automatically get Precheck, but Global Entry is not necessary for Precheck.
I hate the TSA as much as the next guy (probably more than most since I'm an international student and have to put up with their stupid security theater often), but get your facts straight.
Or they feel so secure in their position that they're comfortable dropping the pretext that what they do is anything other than a huge scam. "We can reduce the size of the haystack when we are looking for that one-in-a-billion terrorist," said TSA Administrator John Pistole." That would mean that the TSA believes there's approximately six or seven terrorists in the world, so why is all of this necessary again?
I don't think I want to request Global Entry from people who take naked pictures of me, or who wear rubber globes and feel me up.
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.
Indeed! WTF?! What the fuck took them so long?
Unless... oh dear... don't tell me they ever actually thought they were making us safer. I mean, I know the gate jockeys who feel you up or bark at you to stand still while they look through your clothes are actually convinced they're standing between terrorists and our safety, but I guess I just assumed that the guys at the top, the ones who completed high school, were smart enough to realize they were scamming us.
The article mentioned a couple things that have profoundly disturbing implications when considered together:
1) This expedited screening program is by invitation only.
2) The TSA agents staffing the expedited checkpoints are smiling and extra-friendly.
So now, air travel has a caste system. VIPs (everybody who might possibly have a chance to successfully reform/dismantle the TSA) get kid glove treatment, and the filthy plebes get the rude assholes who steal stuff from your luggage and molest your children with complete impunity.
Joy.
To do this, you go through a background check and TSA interview, plus pay $100. It's an outgrowth of the SENTRI and Global Entry programs, which let you avoid the long immigration lines when returning to the US. And yes, it's worth every penny if you fly a lot.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
People who have already been screened and approved for the Global Entry ($100) or NEXUS ($50) program are automatically eligible for pre-check. The TSA isn't making (or receiving) any money on this. The money is to pay for the background check and screening done to get into the trusted traveler programs run by customs and immigration.
The TSA is actually being *smart* here. If you've already been checked and interviewed for expedited entry into the country, why *wouldn't* you be trusted for expedited security screening at an airport?
Neil
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.
I just need to not have a history of not being a suicide bomber?
Is it as rigorous as the background check needed to be hired as a TSA employee?
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
I got Global Entry. My interview was touch-and-go. I got grilled pretty heavily and finally the agent said "Why are you nervous? Are you nervous?" and I was like "I wasn't nervous until now" and then he asked "are you on any medication?" I thought for sure I was going to get denied, but I passed.
We make fun of TSA a lot but they do do a background check on you, the interview is looking for certain tells, and even with the pre-check you never know when you'll go through the expedited line or express. I'm betting the agent that scans the BP can also look for tells and push you through the normal line even if the BP says you can go through the quick one.
Also, Global Entry really delivers on re-entry into the country, especially if you're sitting up front. I'm in my car 10 minutes after the door opens (I know where to park right outside the arrivals hall, which helps too)
How exactly is it a rigorous background check for only $100? Before hiring employees, most large financial services firms spend thousands on background checks. In fact it cost an old company I worked at nearly $20k to anal probe, urine test, and strip search me when they went to hire me.
No, that's not the fact at all if you RTFA. You just get to go in a different line that has an expedited process (ie. it's back to the normal, sane level of security checks that existed before 9/11).
Everyone still goes through the security check, some people just get treated a lot better than others - like the Congressman who in 2004 literally tried to walk through with a loaded gun in his briefcase, and was "detained briefly" and given a plea bargain with no jail time. If it were anyone else they'd still be locked up without trial...
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.
Yeah- you have be able to order pizza (and read the ad on the box) or pump gas (and read the ad on the pump).
Yes- the TSA hires from ads on Pizza boxes and gas pumps.
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=97&sid=2000678
So the choice is rigorous background check or rigorous backside check. Great!
Silence is a state of mime.
I think you have a misunderstanding of the context. Sure, there are more than 7 terrorists in the world. But the air transport industry handles 2.75 billion customers each year. Of those 2.75 billion per year, if only 2-3 are terrorists looking to actively carry out an act of terrorism in the air, then he is correct.
I haven't seen a terrorist since 9/11. Have you?
and always been at war with Iran. The ministry of truth keeps all the old newspapers updated so that I can verify that fact.
Did you hear that the chocolate rations are going up again?
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
You work for the airline. It's expected as part of your employment. Freedom of travel is a protected liberty. All air travelers have to be treated equally since the government forces certain security checks before flying. That is fine. What is happening now is that there is discrimination based on wealth and probably nationality (you know who will NEVER get a prescreening invite). The government cannot do either; it's illegal and in violation of equal protection laws. Wealth discrimination by private companies (i.e. airlines offering first class services) is not illegal, but it is for the government.
so... you enjoy the probing...
"it still beats dealing with the airlines"
That just shows the Patriot Act and the TSA are working! If you ignore the fact that correlation doesn't equal causation, that we've improved cockpit security, and that citizens are now more aware of the dangers of hijackings, of course.
> Yes- the TSA hires from ads on Pizza boxes and gas pumps.
That explains a great deal.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
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.
Bootleg DVDs fund terrorism. At $5 each, that's 20 to get a shoe bomb past security.
THAT DODGY SIMPSONS BOX SET COULD KILL HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE!
If it comes with dinner and a complimentary full body cavity search.
Yeah- you have be able to order pizza (and read the ad on the box) or pump gas (and read the ad on the pump).
I think I've seen those ads on matchbook covers too - "Can you draw this clown? You might qualify to become a TSA Agent!"
#DeleteChrome
Not anyone. A lot of us have understood how stupid they are from the get go.
Still too many points of weakness. What's to stop someone from stealing a passport and going through the low-security line as them?
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.
And just like an Airline Employee Global Entry allows you access to crew lines at customs and immigration. Given the amount of time the interview process takes it's not worth the money or hassle for someone that doesn't travel much. But if you travel several times a year it's a big plus... well until too many people enroll.
I love the line "We want as many people as possible in the program,"
So. You started with a system where most people are presumed innocent.
You changed that system so everyone was presumed guilty, but checking all of them thoroughly takes too much work.
Now you've created a program to allow people to be presumed innocent, that you're going to try and get most people into. Entry costs $100.
End result: You're right back where you started, but a few billion dollars richer.
It should read:
Pay the TSA $100 and Bypass Airport Security Theater
"Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither." - Benjamin Franklin
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
First you have to pass a rigorous background check
Yeah I wonder how rigorous a $100 background check is going to be.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Just a clarification. There is an international program called Global Entry, that is $100. You can get invited to the domestic program PreCheck either by being a frequent flier or being part of Global Entry. I am a frequent flier and participated in PreCheck, did not cost me anything. I did not pay $100 to join the Global Entry program. And btw, they still randomize more thorough searches.
Let's see ... I've had rejected:
The problem was that the first three of 'em were at the same time. It went down something like this: (I show my agency badge). "You need to show a government issued ID." "It was issued by NASA". "I can't accept that." "They let me fly here showing this" "I can't accept it, you need to show other ID" (I show my student ID). "We don't accept student ID cards". "It was issued by the University of Maryland, which is under the state government, so it's a government issued ID". "No, we don't take student ID cards, I need to see something else". (I pull out my military dependant ID). "I have this, but it's expired." (he writes 'no ID' on the boarding pass, and sends me for a pat down).
Note ... he never asked for a driver's license, which yes, I had on me. He just kept repeating 'government ID', but then kept rejecting them when I showed them.
Now technically the first one didn't comply with the full requirements, because it didn't have my height or eye color on it, but I used it for years without problems (it didn't have any identifying information other than a last name and a picture, but it was a hell of a lot more functional than the current one, as it had in HUGE text what the damned expiration on it was).
The sad one was when I got rejected because I gave my new 'unified' government ID. The guy's not rejecting it, he's just turning it over in his hands, looking at both sides ... spent a minute or two looking, finally, I asked him if there was a problem, and he replied "I've never seen one of these before", to which I replied, "You're wearing one". "I mean a NASA one" "It's the same as yours, but it says NASA on it" "Do you have some other ID on you?" (I then pulled out my driver's license, as I didn't have the others on me).
... and the really sad thing ... back in high school (before 2001), I worked summers for a DoD office that was across the street from the Pentagon. One day, I was making the mail run, and realized I didn't have my wallet, which had my military dependant ID, which was my normal picture ID, as the summer badge didn't have a picture on it. I dug through my bag, and managed to find a Photon (sort of like laser tag) ID -- a hand-filed out crappily laminated card, but it had my name and a picture ... and the guard let me in (without even going through the metal detector, as I had the summer badge)
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
At present, there are none in this program.
A security system is only as strong as its weakest link. For example, this is why they screen pilots, even though they are the ones who control the plane. In the past there have been incidents where someone with a pilots ID skipped security and hijacked a Fedex plane in the US, so now they closed that loophole. You make a line where people skip the checks, and now the entire system is weakened
I read something totally different into the title actually.
"The TSA is wildly out of budget and needs some thinly veiled excuse to make ends meet again so they will allow people to buy their way out of the checking process allowing them, by the excuse of reduced checking volumes, to reduce employees tactically making expense cuts and making the checking process even more unbearable for all the people who don't pay up or pay up and are declined."
So yes, it I s discrimination. With a bit of imaginataion you could also call it "banning certain nationalities from entering the country". But hey it is so great to live in liberal times right?
-- no sig today
This is obviously to avoid pissing off people who have the power to hurt the TSA such as, for example, Alaska State Rep. Sharon Cissna who got angry at the TSA for groping her and introduced legislation against TSA searches.
http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/02/23/1641251/state-legislatures-attempt-to-limit-tsa-searches
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
It depends on the level of background check. If the background check is being used for a security clearance it can become extremely expensive. An initial single scope background investigation (SSBI) for a Top Secret-SCI clearance can cost $15k. But this involves investigators interviewing friends, family, coworkers, and business partners in person as well as tracking down every place you have been in the last 10 years or so, what relationships you were involved in, and if anything could be used to bribe or coerce you (being gay was a disqualifier in the past because it could be used against you).
Most background checks aren't as intrusive and only check your credit history, your employment and education records, and criminal history. Most of this is automated and it will only become more expensive if the systems signal red flags.
So it's a self-portrait?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
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
The US airlines created this problem. By charging ridiculous baggage fees, they are practically forcing you to carry-on everything but the kitchen sink.
Luckily in Europe, baggage fees are mostly an exception (oversize and extra pieces over the normal limit, excess weight, etc) and this problem does not exist. Even when I fly to/from the US on a codeshare flight booked on a European carrier, I don't have to pay the baggage fees even if some segments are on US carriers.
so.. what's the rigorous background check? that you haven't been convicted of terrorism before?
They check whether you've ever been a suicide bomber before.
"Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
Why the heck doesn't anyone who has a CAC/PID, the government's trusted ID card used by civilians, military and contractors have access to these lines? The government already spent plenty of cash doing background checks on these people.
My card (the standard gov issued one) gets me into the whitehouse (even the west wing) with an escort, with the security screen process being less intrusive than going through an airport. Heck, the west wing doesn't even have any screening. The guard just opens the gate and lets you in.
Bring back the old version of slashdot.
In the event of an emergency your bag would be an obstacle to other passengers exiting the plane. There are reasons that such rules are in place.
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