When I was in Congress and had to regularly fly between DC and Texas, I was routinely subjected to invasive \u201cpat-downs\u201d (physical assaults) by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). One time, exasperated with the constant insults to my privacy and dignity, I asked a TSA agent if he was proud to assault innocent Americans for a living.<\/p>\n
I thought of this incident after learning that the TSA has been compiling a \u201ctroublesome passengers\u201d list. The list includes those who have engaged in conduct judged to be \u201coffensive and without legal justification\u201d or disruptive of the \u201csafe and effective completion of screening.\u201d Libertarian journalist James Bovard recently pointed out that any woman who pushed a screener\u2019s hands away from her breasts could be accused of disrupting the \u201csafe and effective completion of screening.\u201d Passengers like me who have expressed offense at TSA screeners are likely on the troublesome passengers list.<\/p>\n
Perhaps airline passengers should start keeping a list of troublesome TSA agents. The list could include those who forced nursing mothers to drink their own breast milk, those who forced sick passengers to dispose of cough medicine, and those who forced women they found attractive to go through a body scanner multiple times. The list would certainly include the agents who confiscated a wheelchair-bound three-year-old\u2019s beloved stuffed lamb at an airport and threatened to subject her to a pat-down. The girl, who was at the airport with her family to take a trip to Disney World, was filmed crying that she no longer wanted to go to Disney World.<\/p>\n
The TSA is effective at violating our liberty, but it is ineffective at protecting our security. Last year, the TSA\u2019s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), conducted undercover…<\/p>\n