Airports NOT required to have TSA screeners - Time to Opt-Out!

[FrankRep]

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR9LixGXRc3_c-H1JFszOCb7qTVzqfI2VTR2Gt_yFC9RYqyFKfy
Rep. John Mica (http://mica.house.gov/), Florida's 7th District


Amid airport anger, GOP takes aim at screening (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Amid-airport-anger_-GOP-takes-aim-at-screening-1576602-108259869.html)


Washington Examiner
November 15, 2010



Did you know that the nation's airports are not required to have Transportation Security Administration screeners checking passengers at security checkpoints? The 2001 law creating the TSA gave airports the right to opt out of the TSA program in favor of private screeners after a two-year period. Now, with the TSA engulfed in controversy and hated by millions of weary and sometimes humiliated travelers, Rep. John Mica, the Republican who will soon be chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, is reminding airports that they have a choice.

Mica, one of the authors of the original TSA bill, has recently written to the heads of more than 150 airports nationwide suggesting they opt out of TSA screening. "When the TSA was established, it was never envisioned that it would become a huge, unwieldy bureaucracy which was soon to grow to 67,000 employees," Mica writes. "As TSA has grown larger, more impersonal, and administratively top-heavy, I believe it is important that airports across the country consider utilizing the opt-out provision provided by law."
...


Lawmaker To Airports: Do Away With TSA (http://www.wesh.com/r/25816724/detail.html)
Congressman Reminds Airports Private Security Is An Option


WESH / Orlando News
November 16, 2010



ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Central Florida lawmaker who helped to write the bill that created the Transportation Security Administration now says it might be time to do away with the government entity at airports.

Rep. John Mica is reminding airports across the country that they have a choice to opt out of using the TSA.

[FrankRep]

http://www.kochsoft.com/tna/logo.png (http://www.thenewamerican.com/)
The New American Magazine on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-American-Magazine/146909368666979)


Object to Sexual Assault? Boycott the Airlines! (http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/opinion/becky-akers/5202-object-to-sexual-assault-boycott-the-airlines)

When Steve Bierfeldt decided not to fly as opposed to subjecting himself to either the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) porno-scanner or aggressive pat down at the San Diego airport, he was threatened with a civil suit and a $10,000 fine. By Becky Akers

Pilots Urged To Avoid Body Scanners (http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/health-care/5067-pilots-urged-to-avoid-body-scanners)


Following the recommendation of Dave Bates, president of Allied Pilots Association, collective bargaining agent for American Airlines pilots advised the pilots to opt for the pat-down search rather than submit to repeated radiation from Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) screening procedures. by Kelly Holt


TSA Introduces New Pat-Down at Airport (http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/crime/5032-tsa-introduces-new-pat-down-at-airport)


According to a law-enforcement official at the TSA, security officials will be changing their traditional hand pat-down at the airport to a “hand-sliding motion.” by Raven Clabough

TSA Test Markets More Agressive Frisking (http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/constitution/4406-tsa-test-markets-more-agressive-frisking)


The ACLU is questioning a new technique being tested at Boston Logan Airport, as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implements its new policy of using its aggressive palms first, slide-down body search measure. by Kelly Holt

[Lucille]

I did not know that!

[james1906]

So nullification is already built in? Let's see if pretty boy perry does anything.

[low preference guy]

what incentives did they build to encourage airports to not opt out?

[Lucille]

HotAir: Former TSA security director: No one likes Fourth Amendment violations, but we’re going to have to do it (http://hotair.com/archives/2010/11/16/former-tsa-security-director-no-one-likes-fourth-amendment-violations-but-were-going-to-have-to-do-it/)

Oh no we're not!

[RSLudlum]

Private or not, the federal gov't still picks up the tab and sets the rules.


(The federal government pays the cost of screening whether performed by the TSA or by contractors, and contractors work under federal supervision.)

[Deborah K]

This has the addresses to various airlines: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=269082

Maybe we can start there and work our way toward the airports.

[HOLLYWOOD]

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSgwApoYHwgH50yVs7FLmQxFZ_PClO2g 1I0B3_K47GMJ3tZT_HIgAhttp://thebsreport.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/trump-youre-fired.jpg?w=430&h=322

[Deborah K]

Found this on another site:


All process employed by government is commercial . . . there is a provision for remedy in the Uniform Commercial Code at page 1 section 308 aka UCC 1-308 for your reservation of rights which is to the exclusion of "Civil" process FRCP Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which is another term for Admiralty and mercantile law. This reservation demands an Article III Section 2 recognition of "Due Process". . . not the diminished privilege of "Procedural Due Process" arising under the Administrative Procedures Act." A duly crafted Affidavit asserting this right under these circumstances and presented to TSA at the point of boarding . . . should become most interesting

[oyarde]

I have thought about this before ... Say , I own American Airlines , if there is security , I would want those people working for me so they are accountable to the customer ....

[HOLLYWOOD]

Asshats not backing down... Time for a National BOYCOTT of Air Travel and anything related to Airports

If you won't submit to screening, you won't fly, TSA says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111607255.html



TSA: Religion offers no break on airport screening

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/16/1928931/tsa-religion-offers-no-break-on.html#ixzz15VcsAVjr


By Ashley Halsey III Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 16, 2010; 9:57 PM
Airline passengers who object to any type of physical screening are not going to fly anywhere, the head of the Transportation Security Administration (http://www.tsa.gov/) told a congressional committee Tuesday.
Quizzed by lawmakers about a controversial new airport procedure (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/12/AR2010111206580.html)that uses revealing full-body scan machines and intimate "pat-downs" of those who object or set off alarms, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole appealed to the flying public to become "partners" in the effort to combat terrorism.
But Pistole told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutCommittee.Membership) that his inspectors at 453 of the nation's airports are not going to back down in the face of complaints that techniques are invasive.
He said they try to strike a balance between privacy and security needs. "We want to be sensitive to people's feelings about privacy," he said. "We have to ensure that each person getting on every flight is secure."
Asked by Sen. John Ensign (http://ensign.senate.gov/public/) (R-Nev.) about groups that objected to all forms of search on religious grounds, Pistole was unambiguous: "While we respect that person's beliefs, that person's not going to get on an airplane."
A recent CBS poll (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20022876-503544.html)found that 81 percent of those surveyed did not object to the screenings. Still, enough people have balked to fuel what is being called an "opt-out" day a day before Thanksgiving, one of the year's busiest travel days.
"This country needs security measures in place that not only keep us safe but also do not grossly violate privacy or constitute an unreasonable search, like the current protocol," National Opt-Out Day organizers (http://www.optoutday.com/) said in a statement."Protest the federal government's desire to virtually strip us naked or submit to an 'enhanced pat down' that touches people's breasts and genitals in an aggressive manner."

http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2010/11/16/17/182-Airplane_Security.sff.embedded.prod_affiliate.56.j pg

In this Nov. 15, 2010, photo, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator John Pistole, right, accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, left, speaks to the media during a news conference to kick off the holiday travel season at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. Pistole told the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 16, that passengers who refuse to go through a whole-body scanner machine and get a pat-down won't be allowed on planes, even if they turned down the in-depth screening for religious reasons. Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Photo



The TSA is using 385 of the full-body scanners at 68 airports, with plans to increase the number to 500 by year's end and bring the total to more than 1,000 next year. Passengers selected at random go through the full-body scanners and are offered an "enhanced pat-down" as an alternative

[tropicangela]

The federal law that created the TSA gives airports the right to go with private screeners, as long as they continue to follow the Department of Homeland Security's rules and guidelines.
http://www.wesh.com/r/25816724/detail.html

[Deborah K]

He needs to be asked point blank how:

1. bomb sniffing dogs
2. metal detectors
3. xray machines for carry ons
4. armed pilots
5. and armed marshals

are less efficient than molestation and porn. Explain it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can't!!!!!!

[RonPaulGetsIt]

Customers should be able to choose what level of security they wish to fly with.

Carriers should be able to choose what level of security they wish to screen customers with.

When the two vested interests in a transaction have a meeting of the minds without government coercion we call that a free market.

[haaaylee]

Some of Mica's quotes make him seem kind of badass. (At least on this matter.)

[Stary Hickory]

These airports need to definitely opt out. Send the TSA bureaucracy back to the depths of hell from whence it was born. I HATE the TSA and their snobby, rude, elitist pricks who makeup their employee base.

It will be a fine day when the TSA is defunded and all the rude, ignorant, power crazed morons are sent packing.

[Patrick Henry]

Some of Mica's quotes make him seem kind of badass. (At least on this matter.)

Except he helped write the bill. I guess he realizes that he helped create a liberty squashing monster. Still, I am glad that he is saying this stuff and letting it known that the airports can "opt-out".

[Bruno]

http://www.kcci.com/news/25827232/detail.html

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Airport body scans are the holiday travel buzz, but passengers don't have to worry about them at Des Moines International Airport.

Officials said there are no plans to add body scanners at this time.

If you are planning to travel by air from Des Moines this holiday season, you will be surrounded by lots of other not-so-frequent fliers.

Here are some tips to alleviate some of the hassles:

Photos: Airport Security Tips

Check with your airline on baggage costs, weights and allowed sizes because each airline is different.

Check with your airline before you leave the house to see if the flight is on time or even canceled. The airline has the most up to date info.

If you're traveling with gifts, do not wrap them. Security may need to have a look and you may end up wrapping your gifts again.

Carry-on liquids and gels must be in a 3-ounce container, placed in one-quart zip top bag. One bag per person is allowed.

The Des Moines airport will be busy next week, but the day you really have to be patient might surprise you.

"The outbound bump is spread out between Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Coming back, the Sunday following Thanksgiving is going to be a zoo around here, so if you've coming back in again, have your patience with you and plan ahead," said Roy Criss, spokesperson for the Des Moines International Airport.