{"id":18740,"date":"2023-11-14T16:12:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T21:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=18740"},"modified":"2023-11-15T20:11:52","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T01:11:52","slug":"the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/","title":{"rendered":"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

by James Bovard\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 November 14, 2023<\/p>\n

The TSA has been promising to end its boneheaded ways for more than 20 years. Flying out of Dallas International Airport last week, I ruefully recognized that all TSA reform promises are malarkey.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As I neared the end of a TSA checkpoint line, I saw two women loitering behind a roped off section for CLEAR, a new biometric surveillance program that works with 35 airports and coordinates with TSA. CLEAR involves travelers standing in photo kiosks that compare their faces with a federal database of photos from passport applications, driver\u2019s licenses, and other sources. The Washington Post warned that airport facial recognition systems are \u201cAmerica\u2019s biggest step yet to normalize treating our faces as data that can be stored, tracked and, inevitably, stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the CLEAR program is purportedly voluntary, TSA agents at Washington National Airport recently threatened long delays for any passenger who refused to be photographed by CLEAR, including U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Merkley said that TSA falsely claimed there were signs notifying people that the facial scans are optional. But the clock is ticking down on seeking voluntary cooperation. TSA chief David Pekoske announced in March that \u201ceventually\u2026 we will require biometrics<\/a> across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIdle hands are the tool of the devil,\u201d as the old saying goes, and the same is true of cell phones.<\/strong> I raised my phone camera, snapped a few shots of the women, and the howling commenced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d screamed a young woman wearing a CLEAR jacket. \u201cYou can\u2019t take my photo!\u201d<\/p>\n

“But you’re scanning people’s eyeballs,” I replied. What could be more intrusive?<\/p>\n

“That doesn’t matter because you can’t take our photo – it’s not allowed!” She sounded as if I had desecrated a federal temple.<\/p>\n

I gave her a Chesire cat smile.<\/strong> With her three-inch artificial fingernails, I wondered if she planned to audition for a Dracula movie. Her colleague speedily exited, perhaps to summon police to end my assault. But if airport officials had sought to seize those photos, they would have faced a legal ruckus.<\/p>\n

The queue finally reached the stern middle-aged TSA dude sitting behind plexiglass who checked identification and boarding passes. He stared at my driver\u2019s license and then gave me an intense look. TSA considers a \u201ccold, penetrating stare\u201d a terrorist warning sign, but I assumed this guy was above suspicion. I was tempted to ask how many TSA Watch Lists included my name thanks to TSA bashes I wrote for New York Times, USA Today, New York Post, Washington Times, and other publications. Was this TSA dude reading about how the TSA chief denounced me in 2014 for \u201cmaligning\u201d TSA agents?<\/p>\n

TSA protocols make flying vexing without making travelers safe.<\/strong> As I approached the luggage scanner, I removed my wallet and stuffed it in the bottom of my carry-on bag. More than 500 TSA agents have been fired for robbing passengers. In July, three TSA agents at Miami International Airport were arrested because they pilfered property \u201cwhile the passengers were distracted with their own screenings and not paying attention to their items,\u201d the New York Post<\/em> reported<\/a>. A TSA agent admitted to partnering with another TSA employee to steal a thousand dollars a day, including grabbing cash from wallets sent through TSA x-ray systems.<\/p>\n

TSA decrees are wildly inconsistent, but every command is presumed sacrosanct.<\/strong> Flying out of Washington Dulles Airport the prior week, I was told to keep my laptop in my courier bag. Fine by me. In Dallas, a TSA drill sergeant wannabe barked orders for everyone to remove their laptops and lay them out before sending through the x-ray machines. TSA agents have been caught selling stolen laptops on eBay, so I tried to keep an eye on my computer.<\/p>\n

TSA lunacy also obliged me to modify my attire.<\/strong> Instead of good ol\u2019 blue jeans, I was , wearing Dockers. Prior to entering TSA\u2019s Whole Body Scanner at Washington National Airport for a recent flight, I did everything right – emptied my pockets, removed my belt and boots, and sported a friendly smile (ok, not that friendly). But as I exited the scanner, a TSA supervisor grimly announced, \u201cWe have to do a supplemental patdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the heck are you talking about?\u201d I groused.<\/p>\n

He pointed to the large screen next to the scanner that showed the problem: an illuminated thin line directly in front of my groin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the zipper on my pants,\u201d I exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, we have to do a supplemental patdown. If you want it conducted in a private room, we can do that,\u201d came the rote TSA reply.<\/p>\n

\u201cHell no. Let\u2019s do it where the TSA surveillance cameras record the search.\u201d Never, ever go into a private room with TSA agents.<\/p>\n

A tall, heavyset TSA agent with his hair tied in a bun atop his head came up and began vigorously grappling my ankles. Did TSA agents have a daily quote for groping or what? As I left the checkpoint, I muttered about TSA standing for \u201cToo Stupid for Arby\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dockers were slightly less likely to trigger this boneheaded alert than blue jeans. But it wasn\u2019t my fault that TSA screeners failed to detect 95 percent of the test bombs and weapons during covert tests by federal inspectors.<\/p>\n

I had no trouble in the Whole-Body Scanner in Dallas last week, but my carry-on bag failed the TSA inspection.<\/p>\n

A beefy young female agent hoisted my bag and carted it to the end of the checkpoint area. She was the final participant in the gauntlet of village idiocy that I had to pass before reaching my plane. She summoned me to explain its contents and my depravity. \u201cIs there anything sharp in this bag?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I replied. Geez, how much did TSA pay for x-ray gizmos that were more obtuse than a presidential speechwriter?<\/p>\n

She unzipped my bag and began pawing through it. In lieu of a machete, she found a small half-full jar of peanut butter. \u201cYou can\u2019t take liquids on a flight,\u201d she announced solemnly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s peanut butter. It\u2019s not liquid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s liquid and it\u2019s prohibited,\u201d was her decree. Did TSA covertly classify peanut butter as a bioweapon, or what?<\/p>\n

\u201cYa, whatever,\u201d I said as I abandoned the jar to federal custody.<\/p>\n

Chatting with another jaded traveler as I put my boots back after clearing the checkpoint, he asked if I was upset about losing my peanut butter.<\/p>\n

I smiled: \u201cI\u2019ll settle accounts with TSA later.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years by James Bovard\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 November 14, 2023 The TSA has been promising to end its boneheaded ways for more than 20 years. Flying out of Dallas International Airport last week, I ruefully recognized that all TSA reform promises are malarkey. As I neared the end of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[415,3895,3896,27,3897,105,30,76,3898],"class_list":["post-18740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-boondoggle","tag-clear","tag-dallas","tag-lying","tag-merkley","tag-peanut-butter","tag-surveillance","tag-tsa","tag-whole-body-scanner"],"yoast_head":"\nThe TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TSA Still Crazy after all these years\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TSA Still Crazy after all these years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-14T21:12:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-16T01:11:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"833\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-14T21:12:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-16T01:11:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1110,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Boondoggle\",\"Clear\",\"Dallas\",\"Lying\",\"Merkley\",\"peanut butter\",\"Surveillance\",\"TSA\",\"Whole Body SCanner\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/\",\"name\":\"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years - James Bovard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-14T21:12:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-16T01:11:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"description\":\"TSA Still Crazy after all these years\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":833},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/14\\\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"James Bovard\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"description\":\"Bovard's homepage is at http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years - James Bovard","description":"TSA Still Crazy after all these years","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years - James Bovard","og_description":"TSA Still Crazy after all these years","og_url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/","og_site_name":"James Bovard","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","article_published_time":"2023-11-14T21:12:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-16T01:11:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":833,"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jimbovard","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"headline":"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years","datePublished":"2023-11-14T21:12:32+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-16T01:11:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/"},"wordCount":1110,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg","keywords":["Boondoggle","Clear","Dallas","Lying","Merkley","peanut butter","Surveillance","TSA","Whole Body SCanner"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/","name":"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years - James Bovard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg","datePublished":"2023-11-14T21:12:32+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-16T01:11:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"description":"TSA Still Crazy after all these years","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/TSA-Clear-JPB-photo-november-2023-20231108_092705.jpg","width":700,"height":833},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/14\/the-tsa-is-still-crazy-after-all-these-years\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The TSA Is Still Crazy after All These Years"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/","name":"James Bovard","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f","name":"Jim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Jim"},"description":"Bovard's homepage is at http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18740"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18744,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18740\/revisions\/18744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}