Kip Hawley is an Idiot, but We're Not Allowed to Point That Out!

One of the most frustrating consequences of the WoT has been flying the paranoid skies since 9/11.

If screeners were incompetent, aggressive, and on a power trip before, they're ten times worse now.

A Wisconsin man who wrote "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" on his bag was detained by these fools while they tried to determine whether or not the statement was a bomb threat. :shk:

www.cnn.com...

A Wisconsin man who wrote "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" on a plastic bag containing toiletries said he was detained at an airport security checkpoint for about 25 minutes before authorities concluded the statement was not a threat.

Ryan Bird, 31, said he wrote the comment about Hawley -- head of the Transportation Security Administration -- as a political statement. He said he feels the TSA is imposing unreasonable rules on passengers while ignoring bigger threats.

A TSA spokeswoman acknowledged a man was stopped, but likened the incident to cases in which people inappropriately joke about bombs. She said the man was "a little combative" and that he was detained only a few minutes.

I think there is no similarity between calling the TSA director an idiot, and claiming to have a bomb. No similarity whatsoever.

This is a crock, and we should be ashamed of the way this makes us appear to the world - like a bunch of uneducated, terror-stricken yokels afraid of our own shadows.

It took those morons 25 minutes to determine that innocuous sentence was not a threat? How much are they getting paid again? I'm pretty sure it's too much, in light of this and all the other screw-ups. What's their error ratio in regards to tests that seek to slip in prohibited items? They fail, what, about 80-90% of the time? Unbelievable...

If my error ratio at work was comparable I would be fired in a hearbeat - how do they get such a sweet deal? Is their union really that powerful, or are we really that desperate to cling to some flimsy illusion of security?

And does anyone remember the story not too long ago where the passengers refused to fly with a man because there were arabic characters on his sweatshirt? What have we become?

It's pathetic...

original quote by: WyrdeOne
If my error ratio at work was comparable I would be fired in a hearbeat - how do they get such a sweet deal? Is their union really that powerful, or are we really that desperate to cling to some flimsy illusion of security?

it looks like they have taken a page from the weathermans handbook.
The only two jobs that I know of that failure is rewarded...govt. and weather forcasting...

This is exactly what our country is coming to. Where political statements are potential terror threats and people that speak out about our govt. are infact terrorists... its moving that way more and more everyday.

I have started to become alittle paranoid myself about even posting on this board
(let alone the countless letters I have sent to my representatives.) I am beginning to become fearful that my quest to save the Constitution will be seen as a terror threat and I will be hauled off with no warning and with no legal representation to some seceret location to be tortured for "what I know"(which isnt much so it would be a long night) So if I suddenly stop posting(you guys know what happened)

And its things like this that illustrate to myself that maybe I am not being so paranoid after all. Funny I am not afraid of getting attacked by the terrorists.. but I AM afraid of my own govt... how sad is that. Especially since I am a pacifist and do not condone violence for any reason; even my own survival.

And im afraid it is only going to get worse.

Whilst flying out of Paris last week it struck me that it seems like just the UK and US that have introduced these over-the-top security measures. People on the same flight as me had all sorts of liquids, cosmetics etc in their carry on luggage.
I lost my toothpaste and deodorant on the way out from Heathrow, but they didn't bat an eyelid at the cigarette lighter

Why is it that these alleged mad radicals only want to fly from the UK? France has a much higher Muslim population but there doesn't seem to be any threat there.

As for the "Kip Hawley is an idiot" message written on this passengers bag, I can understand how that could get someone in trouble in these times. Ex burger flippers given a nice new uniform and some power see it as their duty to make life difficult for the rest of us. Maybe it's a sort of payback or inferiority complex thing?

People just need to get back to reality and stop jumping at shadows. The level of government induced fear and paranoia is truly amazing

Originally posted by Britguy
I lost my toothpaste and deodorant on the way out from Heathrow, but they didn't bat an eyelid at the cigarette lighter

According to Michael Moore, the reason for that is that Big Tobacco objected to the confiscation of lighters and the White House, ever subservient to its clients, buckled.

What a surprise.

Could be Rich

I saw new sign at Heathrow saying that Zippo type lighters were now allowed, as the fuel was absorbed into another medium, but liquid gas lighters were banned.
So, surrender the liquid gas filled lighter at security checkpoint, walk 30 yards the other side of the security checks for the departure lounge and buy a nice shiny new liquid gas filled lighter.....DOH!

Seriously, it's screwed up beyond belief. Seems to have gone very quiet on the alleged liquid bomb plot too. I thought they'd still be trumpeting that foiled plot at every opportunity, or maybe it's falling apart and will quietly go away like so many other foiled plots and arrests before it.