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As long as they've got guys randomly swabbing old folks' palms to test for bomb-making materials, and all of the other ridiculous trespasses on personal dignity
by oinksoft 14y ago
As long as they've got guys randomly swabbing old folks' palms to test for bomb-making materials, and all of the other ridiculous trespasses on personal dignity that comprise their much maligned "security theatre," I won't be flying. Amtrak may have a few threatening "see it, say it" signs at the station, but at least they treat me like a customer and not a maniac.
- wting 14y agoSome of us who travel between continents don't have that luxury. TSA already monitors Amtrack: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/opinion/don-phillips-tsa-vipr-teams/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/opinion/don-phillips-tsa-vipr-... Due to the broad description of the organization's purpose, it gives them overreaching powers allowing them to secure any mode of transportation. This has led to the TSA expanding its presence and showing up at NFL games: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-elliott/the-tsa-wants-to-be-every_b_2393332.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-elliott/the-tsa-wa... Edit: For those commenting about NFL game presence without reading the linked article... > Few people know that $105 million of their taxpayer dollars are going to fund > 37 VIPR teams in 2012, whose purpose is to "augment" the security of any mode > of transportation. They don't realize that these VIPR teams can show up > virtually anytime, anywhere and without warning, subjecting you to a search > of your vehicle or person.
- danilocampos 14y agoI love it. I encourage their presence at NFL games. I hope they give football fans a full body cavity search. Let Joe Sixpack endure their absurdity and maybe we'll actually see progress toward ending the TSA.
- philwelch 14y agoIf you can afford tickets to actually go to an NFL game, you're in the same elite as air travelers if not richer.
- outside1234 14y agoor have a credit card and not a lot of sense
- philwelch 14y agoYeah but you can use that to get airline tickets too.
- bitdestroyer 14y agoOr a shitty team that can't sell seats (ahem, I'm from Jacksonville).
- tmuir 14y agoLots of businesses give tickets to clients as a token of gratitude for sending work their way.
- detst 14y agoI've been more violated entering NFL games than going through airport security, on average. The problem is that the American people want to do anything about terrorists, crime or "for the children" at the expense of our civil liberties. It's entirely irrational. TSA at NFL games will not even remotely begin to change that. There was a bit of an uproar about the increased security measures at NFL stadiums some years ago but it died down and things went on as usual.
- flyinRyan 14y agoI haven't been in the US for just over a decade. What is keeping Americans so concerned about terrorists all this time later?
- coldpie 14y agoFox News, largely. You know how you see all sorts of ridiculous inaccuracies and jokes at Fox News's expense on the Internet? That's the most-watched news source in the United States.
- legitsource 14y agoI don't know if I would blame it on Fox. They practically function as the media arm of the Republicans, and it's not just Republicans pushing the buttons for fear of terrorism.
- noarchy 14y agoIt can't be blamed on Fox News any longer. They're still cheerleaders for the "War on Terror", but these wars now belong to the current president. Do you see other news outlets questioning the current president's military occupations, drone attacks, etc?
- SkyMarshal 14y agoIntermittent reports of thwarted terrorists plots (Richard Reed shoe-bombing type stuff), plus the fact that we're still at war in Afghanistan, in a standoff with Iran, occupying Iraq, and still hounding Al Qaeda everywhere we can.
- illuminate 14y agoThis won't do anything. Give the VIP box seats and season passholders the run-through, search them at orchestral events & the opera, maybe we'll see something. Maybe.
- oinksoft 14y agoJust because they say they want to monitor Amtrak doesn't mean they can afford to. There are too many stations and the mode of travel itself doesn't lend itself well to surveillance (you board and leave as you please). I'm not saying they couldn't, but it would be a massive undertaking. At best, they could lock down major stations like DC's Union or New York's Penn, and it would all be a joke anyway because a "threat" could've boarded at Wilmington or Ticonderoga.
- snogglethorpe 14y ago"Massive undertaking" => "Moar funding please!"
- rayiner 14y agoAlso, there is the whole "the entry/exit points are irrelevant given that the damn thing rolls over hundreds of miles of completely unsecured track outside often without so much as a fence around it.
- marcos123 14y agoFWIW, I've been on an interstate Amtrak train and watched plain clothed officers or agents of something or other, board at a stop and randomly search bags.
- waqf 14y agoAdmittedly I don't know a lot about the NFL, but I was fairly sure it was a sports league. Can you explain to me how it has become a mode of transportation?
- sliverstorm 14y agoThe NFL isn't a mode of transportation. The car you drove to the stadium is. The TSA is clearly there to ensure no terrorists board your car with you.
- greenyoda 14y ago"Due to a loophole that allows them to secure any mode of transportation, TSA is expanding its presence and showing up at NFL games" So an NFL game is now considered a mode of transportation?
- politician 14y agoMaybe the TSA can help solve our nation's persistent public transit shortage by revealing previously unknown transportation solutions.
- jdechko 14y agoCause that's what we need, TSA agents searching you before you get on every bus, train, subway and light rail. :)
- mixmastamyk 14y agoI was treated poorly by them a few years back. They demanded a current ID, which I didn't have. The whole reason I was taking the train was because my drivers license had expired and I was waiting for the new one. You didn't use to have to produce ID to travel inside your own country, shame it's come to this.
- halviti 14y agoDevils Advocate: Maybe they wanted your ID to make sure that you were the one that purchased the ticket.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- rvkennedy 14y agoI think it's called a ticket because having the ticket is what lets you travel. Stealing tickets is illegal because if you have the ticket, you can travel. If you have to be the person who bought the ticket in order to travel, you don't need a ticket, because you can prove that you're the person who bought it.
- jlgreco 14y agoSeveral of the Amtrak stations I have been at have super-creepy "propaganda stations". Basically a TV on a big metal pedestal, sometimes flanked by some potted plants for some reason, that just loop videos about how good their bomb-dogs are at chasing people carrying bombs through train stations, and about how they are all super pleased to be serving the public in such an important manner.
- raverbashing 14y agoScreening for traces of explosives seems to be less invasive and maybe more effective than most of the other "resources" they use
- OGinparadise 14y ago"I won't be flying. Amtrak may have a few threatening "see it, say it" signs at the station, but at least they treat me like a customer and not a maniac." Uh, huh. Just wait. TSA stands for Transportation Security Administration. Transportation...
- darkarmani 14y ago> TSA stands for Transportation Security Administration. Transportation... Well the S stands for security and we are still waiting for that...