Airline security idiocy of the day: Milblogger Michael Yon handcuffed, Joan Rivers blocked
File under “Homeland Security is a Joke.”
Milblogger/independent war correspondent extraordinaire Michael Yon reports that he was stopped at Sea-Tac airport and handcuffed by TSA agents (*update* – several readers write in that it may have been CBP agents, not TSA):
Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eventually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.
I’ve met Michael and have blogged about his enterprising war coverage as an embed in Iraq and Afghanistan for years. The idea of him being treated as a national security threat and handcuffed is as ridiculous as anything we’ve seen from Janet Clown-itano and her cadre.
Speaking of ridiculous airline security episodes:
Joan Rivers is many things: Funny lady. Jewelry mogul. Red carpet mercenary. But a terrorist?
Can we talk?
Rivers, 76, was deemed a danger to national security and booted from a Newark-bound flight in Costa Rica on Sunday by a jittery Continental Airlines gate agent who found the two names on her passport fishy.
Her passport reads: Joan Rosenberg AKA Joan Rivers. Rosenberg was her late husband’s last name.
The “nasty and cruel” Continental gate agent bumped Rivers from the last flight out Sunday and the comedian found herself alone (her daughter, Melissa, flew out to Los Angeles earlier in the day) and with no ATM card and just $100 cash, she said.
Rivers’ tale of woe put a famous face on travel’s new reality – one that leaves many feeling like common criminals.
“If I were going to make up an alias, I wouldn’t pick Rosenberg. I’d pick Jolie or Pitt,” said Rivers, back home Monday in New York with her sense of humor intact. “Do terrorists wear Manolo Blahniks? I can tell you Donna Karan does not make anything that hides a bomb,” she said.
We’re at Code Red Elmo on the Homeland Insecurity Scale:
***
Related: TSA Allegedly Waited 80 Minutes Before Reporting Breach at N.J. Airport
The Transportation Security Administration waited more than an hour to alert law enforcement about a security breach at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday, MyFoxNY.com reported.
An unidentified man, who may have just been lost, confused or simply mistaken about which way to go, was able to bypass security and enter the airport through an exit door.
MyFoxNY.com was reportedly able to see a computer dispatch log that indicated the breach had occurred at 5:20 p.m. Sunday. But it wasn’t until 80 minutes later, at 6:40 p.m. that the Port Authority Police Department was notified about the incident, MyFoxNY.com reported.
The TSA said they needed time to investigate the traveler’s claims before they could request a shutdown of the terminal, which required several calls up the chain of command and viewing surveillance tape, according to the station.
“We have security officers stationed at the exit,” the TSA reportedly said in a statement.
“We’re investigating the circumstances surrounding the breach and will make an assessment as to what level of disciplinary action is necessary… we did the right thing.”
Related: Have you seen TSA’s “20 Layers of Security” chart? (h/t Patriot Room & Yid with Lid)
The only thing protecting you from layers and layers of bureaucratic incompetence is…you.
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I thought you were going to say that TSA said you could not take it on because a laser is a weapon like in Star Wars….
BTW, I too have been singled out for “special processing” at airports all over America. It happens to me approximately 50% of the time I fly.
One time, they singled out my wife and children for “special processing” but not me even though we went through the security checkpoint together. Keep in mind my kids were 9, 7 and 2 years old at the time.
STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!
which he can spy at eye level…
snerk
You know, at first I thought that was going to be their objection to the darn thing. I mean, it would be possible that I might have invaded the cockpit and blinded the flight crew with my laser pointer! But, that was not their point!
“IT LOOKED LIKE A BULLET.”
STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!
Profiling!!!
My husband used to get “randomed” every time he went through airport security. We couldn’t figure out why until we were driving in another state and heard a rabid anti-immigration radio talk show host, who shared the same name. We wondered if there was a connection.
So he/we purchased the Clear Pass which had a TSA background check component and the “random” searches stopped. Unfortunately, Clear Pass is now defunct.
The worst one I remember was being stopped for extra screening in Pittsburg in nov of 03. My wife was chosen because she looked suspicious TSA said (she was 7 months pregnant).
That’s alright, Dexter; it’s inanimate & can neither vote nor sue.
If I were a TSA screener, and was tasked with “randoming” ,say, 5 passengers per flight, I would pick out the 5 who looked like they would give me the least amount of trouble or backtalk, and who would not be able to play the race card.
By the way, most military personnel I know say that they quit using their Military I.D. to show as identification at the airports. A Military I.D. is almost a guarantee that you will be randomed, since they perceive that military personnel will not creat a disturbance, and are used to following orders.
Wow, “random” is now an adverb.
Obviously, we are getting only one side of the story, but I wonder if the point of the question is not the answer, but rather the reaction it elicits. I read an article recently about the “israelification” of airport security and one of the things they always do is ask everyone approaching the airport some question, always benign, and measure the response. Again the point is not the question, or the answer. But rather how the respondent reacts.
Or maybe I am just giving the TSA too much credit.
Give ACORN and the ACLU a chance and a bullet will be able to vote and sue in not time.
ACORN can find a way to make it vote.
And, I’m sure a shyster from the ACLU would sue on its behalf.
I’ve got a pen with fletchings and a nock on it. I should take that with me the next time I fly.
Great minds, True…
Good guess.
LOL!!
Good one.
Thank you for a great yuck this workday afternoon.
Couple o’ sick puppies we are! Snerk right back at ya!
Yep. 70-someodd year old lady is definitely a security risk. Perhaps they were afraid her sharp wit would pierce the fuselage or a fuel tank?
A few years ago, I was in the airport coming back from Pebble Beach. A man in line behind me was asked to remove his ‘shoes’ to go through security. He was wearing flip-flops! To skip from ridiculous all the way to simply stupendously stupid, the TSA guy actually made him sit down and WANDED HIS BARE FEET! Sounds too idiotic to be true. You can only imagine how much safer we all felt getting on that flight, secure in the knowledge that the TSA protected us from a potential bare-foot bomber.
In a previous life I was required to travel at least once a month for business. During that time I was an avid cigar smoker. I flew most of the major airlines through many of the airports around the US and had to submit my briefcase/laptop bag for X-ray screening each and every flight. That amounted to perhaps 300 times the bag was x-rayed. In addition, there were several manual examinations of its contents. When the old bag finally wore out and I was transferring its contents, I found a plastic cigar cutter I had forgotten about. Razor sharp blade in a plastic housing. Not once did it come up as a problem.
Right on top of things, our TSA guys and gals. Doing a job none of the travelers I’ve spoken to even believe does the minimum to keep us safe.
Take a tip from El Al.
I hate TSA as much as the next frequent traveler, but I don’t think they’re to blame here. Yon does not say on his facebook posting WHO arrested him, just that he got arrested.
More likely that CBP rather than TSA are the culprits here. Does TSA even have handcuff?
A couple years ago I had brought a loaf of special bread to work to share with co-workers, with a bread knife. Afterward I tossed the bread knife in my briefcase and forgot about it. After one round-trip to Chicago and one round-trip to Washington National, I remembered it. Still there, all 8-inch steel blade of it.
Feel any safer?
Joan Rivers has every reason to be upset with Continental Airlines and their overzealous agent.
Blaming that on TSA only distracts from the multitude of actual TSA screwups, such as the master clusterf*** terminal dump at EWR this weekend.
I was at a party a few years ago and asked a TSA airport person (in vino, veritas) if she felt that TSA did a good job of catching the bad guys.
She basically told me that they don’t expect to catch the bad guys. Their job is to make the public feel that they are being cared for, and that everything is being done for their safety.
Light, smoke, and mirrors.
Unfortunately, while we all consider the TSA to be a joke, it’s much more serious than that. Since airline travel is the safest form of transportation, the TSA discourages people from flying. Many people now drive moderate distances where the risks are higher. It may not be the displaced airline passenger that gets in a crash, but could be someone who dies because the roads are more congested.
The bottom line is that TSA policies are killing people.
TSA: How much do you make?
ME: Would that include my charitable work for CAIR and the United League of Terrorist Nations?
TSA: Let this man through! No need to check passport, green light all the way.
ME: Thank you sir (wink, wink). Keep up the good work.
Off topic: but more idiocy. Ninth Circuit says not letting felons vote is raaaacist:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/01/05/06-35669.pdf
TSA: Is there nything else I can do for you sir?
ME: Yes. See that dark complected man at the back of the line?
TSA: You mean the one with the “I Hate America” tee shirt?
ME: Yes. He seems to have misplaced his Passport and visa. Is there anything you can do about that?
TSA: Already done sir.
ME: I will be sure to put in a good word for you to Barry tonight over dinner.
If his travel was domestic, TSA detained him and then called for the Port Authority.
If he was traveling internationally, the only CBP person he would have encountered would have been the Immigration officer at Passport Control.
Now, to answer the question about how much money I make.
My answer: Too much. Democrats aren’t talking about me when they speak about “Working Americans,” or especially “Hard Working Americans.”
Democrats think those making a good wage don’t work for their pay.
traveler49, say instead ‘cast your gaze upon the swarthy gentleman at the end of the queue’.
Be prepared for ‘doooooiiieee what did you jes say?!’
How much money do I make?
None, but I earn enough to pay my bills.
Do they jack up smart-a$$e$?
Duly noted. I am preparing as we speak.
I was stopped by a security checkpoint in Japan en route to Manila because of a soapy shaving brush! Not speaking any english, the officer simply held up my vintage foam-besmeared boar-bristle brush and nodded his head “No”. Thinking quickly and reaching for my handkerchief, I took the brush from his hand and wiped it off, placing the handerchief back into my pocket. He then nodded “yes”. Mysterious soapy substance on brush: bad. Mysterious soapy substance in handkerchief: good.
I’ve done all the world traveling I’m interested in. Anywhere I want to go is now within car distance of a day or 2. No interest in flying anywhere, unless it is an emergency. These days, I want it to stay that way. At least I won’t be frisked getting into the car…yet.
graysonret, that’s why I let mrcakes get in the car first…
I’ll give you credit for actually arriving at a final conclusion that makes sense out of your entire silly attempt at justification for the TSA’s stupidity. YES, IT’S THE FORMER!
Maybe, just MAYBE the entire idiocy of everything that your side is doing which will ensuring that death and mayhem will reign down upon American people (desiring to breathe free)will finally dawn upon you, and you will happily join the ranks of sane-thinkers. Your “maybe” conclusion offers us all some hope in that regard.
So if they ask “How much do you make?” and the answer is “Praise Allah, I no longer need dinar” is that a go or no go?
Spacey, he said “frisked”, not “frisky”.
Poor mrcakes.
Yeah, let’s all rush to defend the mindless bureaucrats at TSA…
We all know it is smoke and mirrors. They continue to do the dumbest things on a massive scale.
The federal government does nothing well. That is why the founding fathers went out of their way to limit the power of the federal government.
Holy Slovakia! Stupid government tests and bad airport security doesn’t just happen here!
It’s “Go, and Have a Nice Day.”
I tell ya, I don’t know how those 9/11 families make it though the day with the current admin. in charge. Many were pretty upset with the previous admin too.
How many more people will die? Maybe Mr. ‘K’ or the ‘K-ette’ or me will be next. These days, I don’t believe anybody in power cares.
I had missed this from earlier. The very idea that a “pistol” from a “Clue” board game gave these people pause about allowing you to board an airliner (not to mention a “lead-pipe” and a “dagger”–I’m not so sure that they’d be too worried about the “candlestick” and the “wrench”–although you never know), not to mention everything else which we have ALL experienced from these people are stark evidences that our so-called “airline security” is populated with mindless idiots, which leads one to the conclusion that our lib policy wonks want it that way.
I added my name to the no fly list a couple of years ago. Sure it takes a little longer (used to be a 9 hour difference, but now it’s probably closer to 5 after getting through security, to visit my Mom) but driving is a lot less stress, even in a blizzard on I80 in January.
“How much money do I make?, more than you moron.”
when mrcakes travels, which is often for his work, his shoes barely fit into one pan. Geez. What do they make Shaquille O’Neal do with his footwear?!
Not true. The Federal Government is very good at spending our tax dollars on pet projects to ensure their own re-election.
What… TSA is going to call the IRS to verify Michael Yon’s income tax returns while handcuffed? Charlie Rangel could come up with 20+ variations of income. Tax cheat Tim Geithner could offer all of his restated incomes. Maybe TSA would like to ask all of our Congressmen, Czars and ACORN/SIEU members how much they make while being detained in cuffs.
Hey walter, I80 in a blizzard outside of Burlington ain’t no picnic. I’ll take cabin class over that.
My favorite screening story is from Phoenix. I got to be Mr. Random Bag Check. The TSA person had this look on his face that said “I know it’s BS to screen you and you know it.”
TSA person: “Do you have anything in your backpack that I need to know about, sir?”
Me: “No.”
TSA person (Looks around really quick to see who is watching.): “Let me put it another way. Do you have anything sharp in your backpack that could cut me and make me have to go home for the rest of the day?”
Me (Grinning as I get the joke): “No, sir. Sorry.”
TSA person: “Rats. It was worth a try. Have a safe flight.”
TSA: “How much money do you make?”
ME: “My wife gives me $20 every Monday before I go to work.”
TSA: “How much money do you make?”
ME: “None right now. I ran out of green ink.”
I was stripped searched(with military ID in hand) in Dallas while wearing the Army ACU’s because the steel plate in my combat boots set off the alarm.I laughed hard thru the whole process.The more I laughed the more I had to take off.They had no sense of humor.
Thank God the likes of Ivana Trump, Joan Rivers, and Michael Yon aren’t getting away with going about their business! I feel a whole lot safer now!
That’s because Dallas is a Navy town, ground-pounder.
You should have done a whole strip tease swirling your ACU jacket over your head…
TSA: “How much money do you make?”
ME: “DEATH TO AMERICA — ALLAHU AKBAR!!!”
TSA: “Have a nice flight sir.”
You’ve never been to a job interview where they ask you a stupid question to gauge your reaction?
As I said they do the exact thing I describe in Israel already. I’d note that, in a far more dangerous environment, they have not had a single airport security breach since 2002.
So, if they are not asking random people how much money they make or what their favorite baseball team is, or where they bought that watch…maybe they should start.
Customs and Border Protection OFFICERS, not “agents”.
Persons entering the country don’t have the same rights as persons within the country. Every person a CBPO faces at the boarder MAY be a terrorist or smuggler with a fake passport. CBPOs ask unexpected questions to gauge the subject’s reaction, not because they care or will remember the answer… they care about your REACTION to the question.
Yon’s description of the incident is sorely lacking in facts. Until he is more forthcoming I don’t think any conclusions can be drawn.
My proudest moment ever in playing Trivial Pursuit occurred when I was about 16 and was asked what the currency of Iraq was. I had no idea, of course, but was taking Spanish at the time. So I just took the Spanish word (dinero) and tried to make it sound Arabic. “Dinar?” Boom baby! Piece of pie!
Rivers just wanted to go thru the “puffer” machine for the thrill.
Let me guess – Larry King with a straw?
We could learn a lot from the Israelis, starting with profiling rather than randomling. New word, I’m so proud. From what I recall, it’s pretty sophisticated, and if you add the random question as part of the larger screening, fine. But my guess is the TSA would just ask random questions and miss the big picture.
In fact, here’s an interesting article. The security people doing the talking are called – ready? – “Profilers”.
The big difference as noted in the article is that we look for bad things, they look for bad people.
Not a weapon, perhaps, but a definite “Red Flag” that you might be a NRA member or similar “Domestic Terrorist”…
TSA: “Are those the panties your mother laid out for you?”
Me:
“What the hell happened to How much do you make?”
I prefer saying “We must be forever vigilant against counter-revolution” to the TSA folks.
Confuses them to no end, it does…
TSA: “How much money do you make?”
ME: “Not enough!”
As Ann Coulter said, we have terrorists who are dark-skinned, with dark hair, middle-eastern, with most having the name “Mohammed”, bombing our airplanes; yet, we refuse to profile them. Instead, we hit kids and grandmothers.
Don’t give Chapoutier that much credit…He needs to earn it first…
Welcome to Insaneville USA 2010.
At a time not long ago it was required from military personnel to fly in class-A uniforms. Not any more, the metal detctors go crazy with all the awards, decorations and brass buttons. Airmen, Sailors and Soldiers almost have to strip down to get through air port security, but let someone show up in flowing robes and and truban, they sail right thorugh. Ignorance can be fixed, stupid is forever.
When FOOLS run the government, this is what happens.
This could be excused in the early days of post 9/11. Be we know better now. Or most of us do. Unfortunately the PC liberals running the show are going to be busy handcuffing authors and comedians while American citizens and others are blown to pieces in the sky, littering neighborhoods below with their mangled and bloody body parts.
Nice work Obama. Incompetent in Chief.
Truesoldier: I had to ditch a set of jewelers screwdrivers at the BWI Military terminal once. Chartered, mil-only deployment flight, but they and my nail clippers, were “weapons”… despite the fact that the 5 S.P.’s with us were lugging a brace of M-4′s, a SAW, and a shot gun. Sigh…
The ONLY effective security is EVERYONE goes through a body scan or full strip search, and the Second Amendment is restored to airline passengers.
All else is simply a government jobs program for the incompetent.
Besides the military is there any government job that isn’t?
Geez. I have a couple of suggestions since our brilliant gov’t can’t figure out how to reduce terrorism risks in the US.
1. STOP wasting time searching little blue haired/blued eyed old ladies. PROFILE PROFILE PROFILE
2. If you are going to hand out visas to people from known terrorist countries (ie muslim countries) at least make it a very very thorough and expensive process (to the immigrants that is). Don’t just rubber stamp the d*mn visas. It’s not like a known terrorist is going to use their real name. Duh!!!
3. Institute a computerized visa tracking system that actually tracks when visas are issued and when they expire. The minute someone overstays their visa, an arrest warrant should be issued. And make each one put up a $10K bond, with a US bond agency, prior to coming to the US. I gurantee you the private bounty hunters will be able to locate the absconder even though ICE can’t.
As a diabetic, I am routinely harassed at airport security because I carry syringes, a glucose meter, and insulin, all of which I have had taken from me as potentially dangerous objects.
I now get that syringes are terrorist devices, but insulin and a glucose meter.
It just keeps getting better and better.
Are we going to have to create another federal bureaucracy to watch over the lunatics employed by TSA?
GOVERNMENT DOES NOTHING WELL!