Here’s the MP3 of yesterday’s radio interview with Bob Zadek on San Francisco’s AM 910. We had fun giving a vigorous patdown to the TSA (the agency was not allowed to “opt-out” from the show). Bob’s producer Charlie Deist said he especially enjoyed the riff on how reactions to TSA are an ink blot test of people’s attitude towards freedom. That occurs around 8 or 9 minutes into the second MP3 file. Later in the show, I speculated about TSA bosses….um… sitting in a circle to concoct the VIPR acronym for their Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response teams that hassle train and bus passengers. Here’s the write-up on the show from Bob’s website:
“If you’re flying home from vacation this weekend, you have one more gift to look forward to before you reach your gate: a TSA body scan. As of this week, opt outs of the invasive technology will no longer be granted to all those who ask for the alternative pat down. Jim Bovard has written for over a decade on the Transportation Security Agency’s encroachments of liberty. A frequent “opter-out” of the scanners in bygone times, Bovard has not flinched in the face of the screeners’ intimidation tactics. In addition to his repeat encounters with TSA agents, Bovard stands out among libertarian writers for his widely-read USA Today columns denouncing the climate of fear created by government to justify their privacy violations. He joins this special holiday edition of The Bob Zadek Show to dissect the carefully constructed “security theater” that we are forced to attend every time we fly.”
“Jim Bovard has made a study of the TSA….”
Dare we say he has … “hands-on experience?” I definitely can agree with the part about being afraid to wisecrack since the potential for immediate punishment is far too high. The fact that there *is* that fear in modern America kind of says it all…
The sad thing that such deference to intrusive federal agents is now the norm – or at least expected. It is amazing how much this nation has changed in the past 15 years.