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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Well, as Mark Stein just said, “Thank God no one has to sit next to Joan Rivers on a plane!” Ya gotta love it.
Ja-No: “The sistem werked!”
The system is jerked!
*Sigh*
Yet one more example of something that one just could not make up.
She was the “The Apprentice” for crying out loud! Donald!? Donald!?
If someone asked me how much money I make, I would not answer it either. It is none of their business. This whole thing is getting to be a joke and it will only get worse with this bho and team in charge. GADS!
L
Joan Rivers: “My face has been lifted so many times that there’s nothing left inside my carry on!” (ba dum bum)
So do we laugh cry or both??
I was denied entry to Canada from Washington State for the reason of ‘not having enough money’ one time.
I was pretty upset, but the border guards were serious after they searched my car for an hour. They then gave me a document that I still have that says I could not go into Canada because I did not have enough cash.
The border rules are ridiculous. All the agents are like little cartmans who demand that you ‘respect their authoritah’.
Needless to say I did make it into Canada at a different crossing. I picked up a hitchhiker on that trip who had been banned from the USA because of activities with a German terrorist group in the 70′s.
We were in the middle of nowhere. No, I have no idea why I am still alive. It isn’t because I have lived safely. God has looked out for me for some reason.
this was circa 1999
Not having enough money is a reason to bump you from a flight? Well, I won’t be going anywhere any time soon.
OK, that could explain it.
TSA: How much do you make
Me: How does a size 11 shoe fit when inserted sideways?
Pathetic simply pathetic.
I’ve always been a little afraid of Joan Rivers. I don’t know about you but I feel safer now that she’s been stopped.
Since when is the question of personal income a security issue? Unless they start asking that same question to Congressmen (especially the pork/Democrat bribed ones like Nelson and Landrieu), I won’t answer, either.
Michael Yon is a hero, and I thank him for all of his work.
It is possible that Joan Rivers does not look like her passport photo due to all of her surgeries? That still does not make it right for what she endured thanks to TSA.
I remember a Vietnam Veteran telling me that I check points that they pretty much knew who the Viet Cong were, because their identity papers were always in perfect order.
I refuse to fly to be stripped searched by high school dropouts. I use skype and web cams to talk to far away family. For biz I use net meeting.
I took a TSA entrance exam. It was a joke. I decided I didn’t want to work for TSA when I was sitting around the waiting room (waiting for the interview) looking at all the people I would be working with; mouth breathers, cretins, ex-hall monitors, audio-visual geeks, Dungeons and Dragons players.
And, I was a racial minority. (White)
Were you a sailor? There’s an old saying that God takes care of fools and sailors.
You could make anything up you wanted. How would they know? That is what is so stupid. How can it be constitutional for them to ask you that anyway? Just think what it would be like if the TSA became unionized. Those thug tactics would be the norm. God help us. And speaking of God’s help, I am going off topic for a second to say that I am so grateful to God for sending Rush back to us healthy and safe. 20 million prayers lifted to God certainly were heard, loud and clear!
Never heard the saying. But I would probably file myself under ‘fool’. I certainly haven’t done anything to deserve His help, but I wouldn’t be here without it.
Rather than arresting Yon, I’d favor putting him in charge of travel security.
Un-freaking-believable! Just when I thought I couldn’t be surprised by liberal stupidity, because I thought I’d seen it all, something like THIS happens.
Even if you’ve never heard-of or seen Joan Rivers before, you’d think that there would be SOME recourse to put a nincompoop like this at ease, and allow Ms. Rivers to go on her way. BUT NOOOO! Her NAME sounded suspicious–fishy as it were, and she was forced to miss her flight.
With regard to asking questions like “how much money do you make?” before you are allowed to enter an airliner (and indeed, “security” will arrest you if you fail to answer that irrelevant question), that only leads one to believe that any questions that OUGHT to be asked with regard to properly profiling someone bent upon murder and mayhem do not matter to them.
So rather than being suspicious of young males of foreign persuasion, with names that identify them as of Muslim origin, with one-way tickets and no luggage, we are supposed to feel safe that they’re stopping Jewish grandmothers and people who rightly balk at asking stupid questions about their personal finances. Today’s liberalism will be the literal death of us all.
happyscrapper,
I am with you also on the prayers answered to God for Rush. I am looking forward to have him back tomorrow.
L
TSA: How much do you make
Me: Are trying to bribe me? Sir, I’ll have you know that I do not engage in such! Now, no more shenanigans, no more tomfoolery, no more ballyhoo!
TSA: How much do you make?
Me: I don’t know? Ask my accountant.
What about World of Warcraft? I like World of Warcraft!
Fixed that…
TSA: How much do you make?
Me: I always make enough for leftovers the following day.
TSA: How much do you make?
Me: I don’t know? My wife takes it all before I have a chance to count it.
Napolitano is on the phone.
No idea. I quit keeping up with the games after I rescued the Princess.
Hangfire:
Ahem. Michelle Malkin plays Dungeons and Dragons. “I” play Dungeons and Dragons.
What exactly are you trying to say????
My incident with Canadian border guards was so bizarre that I actually asked them if I was on candid camera (I’ve never done that before). When they told me they weren’t going to let me into Canada because I didn’t have enough money, I laughed because I didn’t think they were serious.
Again, these things happen when you are by yourself and someone with a badge wants to feel important. I recommend not traveling alone. When I traveled alone I never got any problem from the people I met (no matter how dangerous). The only problems I ever got during my road tripping days was with the authorities.
That was actually a bad day. I had gotten a speeding ticket for 40 in a 35 earlier that morning. I’ve never felt ‘protected’ by any of these people with badges and government legitimacy.
Suspicious bag closes BFL…
I’ve been drunk in Bakersfield…
Uh………Uh……….I have a cloak of invisibility……..
LOL
I’d venture that now that a Hollywood celebrity has suffered at the hand of the TSA, somebody in the White House will finally get the message that the system is not working and we will finally see some action to institute a saner system of regulation. Hollywood celebrities forced to suffer the indignity of flying commercial will have expedited screening to reduce their inconvenience. Full body pat-downs for everybody else to help ensure their safety.
Was Pelosi trying to get on a plane?
I’d pat down Jennifer Connelly or Charlize Theron.
I’d have to ask for a pay raise to pat down Joan Rivers, and would join a union if it prevented me from frisking Rosie O’Donnell.
It’s like the Force “Protection” Measures the military puts in place. I call them Force Inconvenience Measures because they don’t protect squat! In 2001 I worked at a major AF Headquarters. After 9/11 they put these water-filled plastic barricades across streets next to the HQ building.
But, next to the barricades was a 6-inch curb and open lawn up to the building. They made the people that work there park a block away, but a determined terrorist could crash through the gate and drive right up to the building to blow up his vehicle.
They just want to be seen to be doing something. Perception is everything.
Sort of like our new census questions.
A couple of years ago my bag was flagged for inspection. Here is how the conversation went.
TSA: Sir, is there a weapon in this bag?
Me: No.
TSA: Sir, is there a handgun in this bag?
Me: No.
TSA: (pause) Sir, is there a pistol in this bag?
Me: (pause) No.
Tsa: Has this bag been out of your sight since you packed it?
Me: Yes, when you guys ran it through that xray machine.
TSA: (goes to get his supervisor. I now have three TSA folks looking at me)
TSA Super: Sir, is there any kind of weapon or handgun in this bag?
Me: No.
TSA Super: Sir, (now speaking very slowly) is there a pistol in this bag?
Me: Nooooooooooooo. Oh, wait. Yes. Yes there is.
TSA Super: Can you point, do not touch the bag, to where the weapon is?
Me: Yes, it is in that zippered pouch.
(at this point the super slowly unzips the pouch and pulls out the weapon: A pistol from the boardgame Clue)
TSA Super: Sir, this is a weapon.
Me: Sir, it is not a weapon, it is a solid piece of metal, the trigger does not function, the hammer does not pull back, the barrel is not hollow, I left the teeny tiny bullets at home. The only way that is a weapon is if I force it down your throat and choke you with it. Besides, I also have the wrench, candlestick, and knife in the bag as well.
TSA Super: Well, Sir, the knife blade is under three inches.
Me: THE WHOLE DAMN GUN IS UNDER THREE INCHES LONG!
TSA Super: There is no need to get irate but I should tell you that you’ll not get through another airport with this in your bag.
Me: There is no need to be stupid and I will fly with that from now on.
They let me go and I have have traveled through three dozen airports since then, including that one, and have never been stopped.
That was the day I encountered the weakest links.
All I can say is, wow. Total morons, working for morons, working for other morons ….
The entire Federal bureaucracy needs to be gutted and rebuilt from scratch – based on real need. I nominate Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the job.
TSA: How much do you make?
Me: About a Couric and a half on average.
h/t traveler49
ROFLMAO…. Man that was good. Sad but good. They did’nt threaten to tase you did they?
TSA: How much do you make?
Me: How much do you want me to make?
This is what happens when you don’t allow people to think. You get idiots like these, and people that expell 3rd graders for having plastic knives, or kindergartners for hugging. It won’t be long before Outdoor Life magazine will be considered a weapon because there are pictures of guns in it!
Good God, Okiedokie, Thacker Agency et al…WHAT KIND OF FOOLS did you encounter at the airport/border??!!
The airport is now a Nazi concentration camp. Welcome to Obama’s changed America.
To see how well the “system” worked, read how a pilot who was airborne over the Atlantic first learned of the “Fruit of the Boom” bomber.
Link:
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/01/didnt_work_beforedidnt_work_af.html
Oh, it can, so can “O” and “People” and “Time“. Remember the scene from “Alien” when Ash (the robot) tried to stuff a magazine down Sigourney Weaver’s throat to kill her?
Well to be fair – the government and CNN are conjoined at the pelvis…
Joan Rosenberg is a fishy name.
Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab is not.
Got it. Glad that little misunderstanding is all cleared up.
I applied to the Jacksonville Beach police department several years ago when I was out of work. Did it on a challenge from a friend.
When I turned in my application, I gave them my proof of graduation from the U of MD. That won’t do the clerk said. She needed my high school diploma. I said a college diploma trumps a high school diploma. She again said in deadpan fashion that she needed my high school diploma. I became confused and defensive, thinking maybe I was wrong about university diplomas. Maybe it was just Maryland diplomas. I tell her that this is an advanced degree. She is not impressed and proceeds to give me the high hat.
These are the same people who run our governments and spend our money. Federal, local, no difference.
It was the AKA that messed them up – confused them with AK-47…
Sue them. Seriously.
Apparently she wasn’t on Schindler’s List.
If they can’t figure out that no criminal or terrorist is going to give you a list of names they also go under right there on their little passport, they don’t need to be working in any kind of security field.
If they are to stupid to also figure out what ‘AKA’ means in the first place, again, no business doing anything related to security.
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Obambi’s idea of national security.
Joan Rivers? Michael Yon?
While I find Rivers’ comedy…lacking…even I know who she is. She’s not a jihadi.
Neither is Michael Yon.
But I guess detaining them is more PC than those who are likely to commit acts of terror.
Part of me has to wonder:
Is Obama hoping for a terrorist attack?
Would he use it as the motivation for instituting martial law? Take total control?
I used to put my straight-razor in my carry-on. Now, I put it my checked baggage. Don’t want to play with these people.
What I resent, since I have a bad knee, is having to walk in my socks (or barefoot) to a place where I can sit down and put my shoes back on, since I can’t bend over too well.
My 84-yr. old mother-in-law was pulled aside in the Las Vegas airport for the “random” detailed search. She is hard of hearing and is starting to slip her clutch. She was almost in tears because she didn’t hear the TSA commissar tell her it was “routine.” They checked her for explosives residue and patted her down. She was afraid since she had been separated from my wife.
A catholic priest was also “randomed.”
None of the persons (about 10 to 12, maybe) who appeared to be of middle-eastern flavor were “randomed.”
It was almost like a Monty Python sketch.
My brother has two prosthetic legs and was aggravated to the point that he unstrapped them and flipped them off his stumps. They had been insinuating that he had bombs in the prosthesis.
They didn’t know what to say at that point but obviously let it go at that point.
Isn’t Rivers a huge Obama-supporter? If so, then what is she complaining about? This is the Change she hoped for, no?
Wow I can’t wait until they’re in charge of our health care.
BTW on KFI AM radio last night I learned that although pilots and flight attendants must pass through security (and the wanding and the like), there are no such measures for ticket agents, baggage handlers and the like. This is a huge hole in the system that the pilot has pointed out repeatedly, but his concerns are dismissed repeatedly.
So happy flying!
Don’t worry, the TSA wants these same people to scan you with X-Ray machines – what could go wrong?
How much do you make?
Perfectly legit question. But remind me again what income bracket is the biggest security threat? /s
Little people in big jobs. But thank goodness we created the TSA! I mean, don’t you feel SO much more secure after passing by these highly qualified, dedicated public employees?
My 71 year-old mother is constantly checked by these morons. I, on the other hand, while I do not fly often, have NEVER been checked beyond putting my carry-on through the x-ray gadget, taking my shoes off, and walking through the metal detector. I guess what can be taken from this is that the terrorists will be discouraged from using elderly Caucasian women as bombers.
As soon this failed, alleged attempt at a man-caused event by a “lone, alleged, almost perpetrator” didn’t happen I put myself on the NO FLY LIST. Airlines cannot and my government will not protect me on an airplane (or in the airport). When I want to take a trip I will use my car.
Put yourselves on the NO FLY LIST and advise friends to do the same.
No even close.
Oops, “not” even close.
This is true, but they do pass through a federal 10 year background check (I used to be a baggage handler for Alaska Airlines).
Look at the bright side AG, at least they will have more job satisfaction.
ew-just made myself sick
Joe Biden “warned” us about a crisis that would “test” Obama in some way. I’m waiting for it with bated breath.
I get “randomed” every single time. Must be my blue eyes, blonde hair and Scandinavian name. I think I’m being profiled.
I don’t even tell my wife how much I make; why should I tell some TSA schmuck?
Reason number 3 why I drive everywhere.
Naw, it’s legit, really. FOR A LOAN APPLICATION!
Airport security? not so much…
Which proves you have never been caught. Any American-hating jihadist muslims with clean records work with you at AA, True? PC will or possible already has them in some of these places.
I have been wondering the very same thing. None of this makes any sense. I think Napalatano had it right the first time. “The system worked.” Cloward-Pivan. They can overwhelm the system and take over total control. They have to know there will be he!! to pay if they “allow” an election this Fall.
You and Dodd must use different loan companies…
Here’s an interesting anecdote: I was unemployed and applied to the TSA program, partly out of patriotism and partly because my expertise in microscopy and image analysis might have proved useful. I also have a Ph.D.
Naturally, I was not contacted for an interview. Now I know why, and I feel much better about it!
In 2004 when I was deployed to Iraq one of our mechanics was told do dispose of his 3mm wrench on his keychain as it could be used as a weapon.
For thos of you who do not know a 3mm wrench is about 3 inches in length and would only be used on very very small nuts and bolts (like thos found on a childs toy).
I agree. From now on I am driving from Honolulu to Seattle or Long Beach.
Well there’s one thing this administration can say they did that Bush’s didn’t do, make a laughing stock of this country around the world. For now all we can do is hang our heads in shame.
I put myself on about 25 years ago after sitting on an airport tarmac halfway to my destination for hours with a 5-year old, no food, no bathroom.
Just wait until we have a health care bureaucracy making up rules as it goes and having to deal with unruly citizens tired and angry from waiting in lines behind newly amnestied third world immigrants. I suppose we will be expected to accept one indignity after another because at last everybody has insurance and thousands are no longer dropping dead in the streets from lack of medical care. Seriously, this is the type of random insanity what awaits all Americans every time they need medical care if they don’t wake up. Anybody that is not trying to thwart the Dems deserves the nightmare that will result if they are not defeated.
Like I said I used to work there no longer. I was just stating the fact that there are checks, but of course you are correct that if they have never been in any trouble they could slip through the system. It is not a perfect system by any means at all. I just did not want people to think that ticket agents and baggage handlers are just hired and immediately have unfettered access.
rfjjulie,
FYI,talking about Cloward-Piven, Glenn Beck is having his show about them tonight on Fox. It should be good.
L
LOL, I stand corrected!
That gave Rahm the willies…
I get pulled for screening everytime too do to having been in Iraq both with the military and as a civilian contractor. I have talked to a lot of the military personnel at Ft Lewis, WA (I work at the Military Hospital) and they say they too get hit at Sea-Tac everytime due to being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Good grief! I can understand if they would have asked relevant questions:
See?! It’s not just me! The only difference is I shouted ‘Do terrorists wear Ferragamos?’ And they were mules so that got me extra scrutiny.
No one threatened to tase me. It became a stare-down match and the TSA was the first to blink. I just shrugged my shoulders which they interpeted as “Well, what are ya gonna do?” but I really meant it to be “Gawd, you are sooo stupid, how do you manage to breathe and not choke on the air?”
I was traveling once and had to empty my pockets to go through the x-ray machine at the security checkpoint at Dulles International Airport.
On my keyring was a laser pointer which I frequently used in presentations. The TSA screener told me that I could NOT carry the laser pointer with me as “IT LOOKED LIKE A BULLET.”
I disassembled the pointer and took out the batteries and proved it was NOT a bullet. Next, I discussed the obvious stupidity of the restriction and actually called for a supervisor who insisted that I could not carry my laser pointer on my keyring through the security checkpoint “BECAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE A BULLET.”
I threw the laser pointer away as I had purchased it in Manila for about $2.00 and it just wasn’t worth the trouble.
I then proceeded through the security point, entered the gift shop in the secure area where I PURCHASED THE EXACT SAME LASER POINTER AND CARRIED IT ON THE FLIGHT.
I was NEVER questioned about the laser pointer on subsequent flights at Dulles or other airports. I am convinced TSA has no real rules and makes stuff up as they go on a daily basis.
As another commenter stated, they are morons working for morons working for other morons.
The Obama Administration and Congress are conducting an all-inclusive survey to find out how much money they can steal from you to spend. Participation is mandatory.
That is all.
Bono: I sneer at your meager droppings!
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!