I always get it for some reason, even with Pre, guess I look suspicious. I just joke about it with whatever poor sod drew the short straw and they make it as quick and easy as possible.
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Yay! When we start using China as the stick by which to measure individual freedoms and limitation of state powers…
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That is an @Melizmatic-worthy jpg you have right there!
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I joke as well, but with significant bounderies.
I have accidentally, and I really honestly mean accidentally, flown with things that should have been caught. One time I left an 18" long, huge flat head screw driver in my laptop bag. I made it to my destination, discovered I had brought it, and threw it in a garbage bin before the return flight.
Two weeks ago I boarded a flight with a full, huge tube of toothpaste. Again, by accident, but it made both trips.
I could go on and on, but the basic issue is the security controls in place, like enhanced groping, are an embarrassment.
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You monster.
At least tell me it wasn’t tartar-control!
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I used to fly for work for some 3 years or so, two flights a week (to and from).
The stuff I got dinged for and the stuff that snuck by, and how I was treated is all very inconsistent. Fun times with Europe and Asia too. European versión of TSA is much more sensible, I have found. Wish I could write it all down simply in one place instead of piecemeal here.
Suffice it to say, I once tried to board a plane with a small box of .22 ammo (500 rounds) and got through security quicker as TSA Precheck that day then if I had been in the normal security line. And the TSA was apologetic! I got 0 mention of this in my Global Entry interview, but my ex who currently works for Google and previously the FBI and NSA accidentally left a banana she purchased past the security gates in Paris in her book bag when going through customs at Dulles and this almost disqualified her for GE.
She texted me when this happened, and we’d been broken up a few years. 500 rounds of live ammo vs. a Fucking Banana. Just look at it!
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Okay, okay. Gentle whitening poses little threat.
Now, tartar-control x-treme mint… That’s why we have a TSA.
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Jebus!!
The last one I accidentally did was worse… In some ways, not others. I really need to audit my bugout bag.
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In my case, I hadn’t flown for a few weeks due to a project where some colleagues wanted to go shooting after work. (Neighboring red state I was working in) Time to fly again, take the dirty clothes out, put the clean clothes in and head to the airport!
No bug out bag here, just carelessness. Which the police appreciated. Sidebar: I am white. If you are wondering.
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Leave the dirty clothes in, and hang them when you take a morning shower.
(Some day I’ll do an unpacking of my bugout bag, it is engineered)
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I hate to break your bubble, but knowing the reasons why…
At most, you could have killed 500 people. IF you had a gun to put them in. Depending on what parasites or fungi might have been on that banana… Agriculture biosecurity is serious business. One good wheat blight and we’re talking starvation numbers in the millions. Where I live, we don’t HAVE pine trees anymore because they’re all dead after someone brought a certain beetle in and it got a foothold.
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Omg certainly not! Pay to keep your rights and dignity. That’s the American Way
Land of the Free (for those with money).
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In a sane world, a person should get more flak for trying to smuggle detonatable explosive ordnance than a banana.
In a sane world, bananas which could potentially pose a global threat should not be sold past the international security gates at an airport.
In a sane world, someone on record for A should be held to a higher standard than someone from B, the latter being less obvious common sense given the global economy.
I understand implicitly that bananas can be serious business. The problem is (as I stated) that governments seem to be the parties inconsistent about it.
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That picture has given me a new understanding of White Stripes’ Doorbell that I will never be able to shake.
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Facts:
- TSA Pre is $85 for 5 years. $17 a year. No, you can’t pay in installments. (https://www.tsa.gov/precheck)
- There’s an online application form. You submit that, then make an appointment for a background check and to get fingerprinted. (https://www.tsa.gov/precheck)
- Active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces and DoD federal civilian employees are automatically enrolled (https://www.tsa.gov/travel/frequently-asked-questions#tsa-precheck-military)
- The average US domestic fare in Q3 2016 was $344.86 (https://www.transtats.bts.gov/AverageFare/)
Analysis:
- At $85 for 5 years, TSA Pre is comparable to other air travel related additional expenses such as: extra bag fees, seat selection, taxi to the airport, lunch at the airport, cat sitter, etc. Choices.
Opinion:
- As a “wealthy” traveler, I wouldn’t be too bothered if the fee went up a bit to, say, $100 or $125, if the extra amount was earmarked toward a reasonable basis for offering a reduced rate to people who might need it. Not sure how that would work exactly, perhaps someone can think of a way.
Anecdote:
- The people who complain about money all the goddam time, never can come visit me, I have to visit them, and the one time they scrape it together, they spend $100 on some new slip-on shoes “for the airport”. And noise-cancelling headphones. And organic hydration spray. Pfft.
Deep thought:
- Digital rectal examinations come in both literal and metaphoric forms.
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They may not be 1%ers, but all of those jobs put you well above median income.
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That was very well said. Nice one.
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Do they still have passenger ships crossing the Atlantic? My kid’s probably getting married in Europe in the next couple of years.
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I recall many years ago a comedian saying that he’d have no sex life at all if it weren’t for security at airports. It seems he was quite prescient.
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