Government 'surplus' stores now selling personal items TSA steals from passengers

If you have ever wondered what happens to the countless barrels of personal items that the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confiscates (steals) from air travelers every single day, you might be surprised to know that state governments are now reselling these supposedly "dangerous" items in government surplus stores for extra revenue.

SOURCE 1

SOURCE 2

As a matter of fact, I have been curious to know where everything goes. As a former flight attendant (both pre and post 9/11), I've had finger nail clippers, cuticle files, and company issued cork screws confiscated by security.

I used to always carry a blender with me to make health shakes while on layovers because fast food was so unhealthy. Security almost confiscated my blender due to the sharp metal piece at the bottom. I guess they thought I'd yank it out and toss it around the plane like a Chinese star.

Now we know where some of the goods are going.

Seems like a nice little racket they have going on there. Instead of 'falling off a truck' they now have the origins as 'willfully surrendered.'

So it turns out the TSA goons are just another version of your friendly tax collector. Who'da thunk, eh?

I read that this morning and was like WTF?

Why don't they just

A. Tell the people that fly out that if they are flying back to said airport they may pick it up at a "holding area" or locker system..

B. They have shipping services right there to ship items to new destination/or home.

I would totally destroy the # before they confiscated it...liquids/creams/etc. squirt them out/spit in them before giving it to them..everything else destroy..

reply to post by AshleyD


I haven't flown on a commercial plane since 1987,seeing
what the tsa does to people,I won't ever fly again.

I wont fly commercial either, i dont think charters do this to anyone

reply to post by mamabeth


Yeah, I haven't flown since 2002 and I don't plan on it anytime soon. Unfortunately TSA is now venturing into other modes of transportation.

Anywhere I plan to go will be a road trip in my own car.

Originally posted by Neopan100
I read that this morning and was like WTF?

Why don't they just

A. Tell the people that fly out that if they are flying back to said airport they may pick it up at a "holding area" or locker system..

B. They have shipping services right there to ship items to new destination/or home.

I would totally destroy the # before they confiscated it...liquids/creams/etc. squirt them out/spit in them before giving it to them..everything else destroy..

A. can u imagine the confusion of a large airport with hundreds of surrendered items? we'd need 4-5 people just to man the lost/found desk. lockers of course are an option if available.

B. some airports have fedex boxes that can be used for this.

prohibited items are clearly listed at the airport, and of course online www.tsa.gov...
anyone with half a brain knows better than to try to board a plane carrying knives, fireworks, etc. guess what? Nine years into DHS we have numerous half-brained passengers.

what should DHS do with these items? divvy them up in the back? pitch them in the dumpster?

Looks like we have a distinction between two types of theft by the TSA. Government sponsored theft, as in this case. And unofficial government sponsored theft, as in this case.

TSA comes under fire again as employees admit to repeatedly stealing money from passengers

Gotta give the folks who do the actual theft, er...work a little bonus for themselves, right?

S&F Ashley.

Originally posted by AshleyD
reply to post by mamabeth

 

Yeah, I haven't flown since 2002 and I don't plan on it anytime soon. Unfortunately TSA is now venturing into other modes of transportation.

so are the bad guys.

"This is not the first time that terrorists have targeted public transport systems; on 20 March 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway, killing twelve and injuring thousands. On 6 February 2004, a rush-hour blast killed several people on a metro train in Moscow. The 2004 Madrid blasts entailed coordinated bombings in the commuter train system of Spain. Why do terrorists attack transportation systems?...undoubtedly, the transportation systems are the strength of any nation; attempts to disrupt them are an effective assault. Besides facilitating travel and mobility for the people, a nation's economy hugely depends on the road and transit systems. Hence, sabotaging them is akin to killing two birds with one stone - terrorizing the population and causing economic damage."

source: www.ipcs.org...

reply to post by works4dhs


Yes, of course it happens. Terrorism is indeed very real. You act as if somebody said it wasn't.

However, there needs to be some common sense here.

Guess no one on here ever looked up or bought from a Gooberment auction website

Hate to tell you this is not new news been doing this for many many years.

reply to post by works4dhs


fair enough...I really haven't set foot inside an airport since 1996..

reply to post by works4dhs


The problem is the list is not all encompassing. It often depends on the airport and the agent as to what is and isn't contraband. The list I checked on the internet was out of date and there for was not a dependable resource. People tend to forget that the general population is not made up frequent flyers Many are first time flyers or haven't been to an airport in many years. Therefore why would it be a surprise that there are a lot of uninformed travelers.

reply to post by works4dhs


work4dhs, I'm genuinely curious, how many terrorists have you guys caught / prevented from committing an act of terrorism in airports in the last 10 years? Can you give me a credible source for this information?

I'm also curious the DHS budget for transportation security, I'd like to break it down and figure out how much it costs to catch each terrorist. Gotta be somewhere...

reply to post by works4dhs


From what I've seen of DHS and especially TSA, I'd rather take my chances with the terrorists.

The scanners are worse than a joke; they are actually dangerous because of the radiation emitted. Passengers stand a lot better chance of getting cancer from the scanners than ever being hurt by a terrorist attack.

Yes there are "bad guys" out there, but nobody is going to live forever.

I'd rather not have what remains of my time on this earth unconstitutionally infringed on by a bunch of tin-plated mouth-breather TSA personnel who lack the quals to become dog-catchers in most small towns.

By the way:

Do the TSA geniuses determine before public sale that these "dangerous" confiscated items are actually harmless?

If so, why not determine that at the airport, and if not, then TSA is assuming a heavy legal liability if someone's burma-shave blows up and levels half a neighborhood, aren't they?

Well, they aren't "stealing" these items. The majority of the items are things that you shouldn't have with you if you want to partake in the PRIVILEGE of flying. The majority of the items....the MAJORITY...are things that any moron with half a brain knows not to bring on board, and if they don't know they have a million places and opportunities to find out what they can bring on board BEFORE they get in the damn security line.

Flying is not a right. Get it? Don't like the rules then drive or take a bus or ride the train. Or horse, I don't care. Just use your friggin head so I don't have to wait in long lines every other day behind total morons listening to them say "oh I didn't know I couldn't take that with me" despite the fact that they probably bought their ticket online, so I know they understand how to use the internet, and can easily check what the luggage restrictions are. If that is too complicated for them they can find out at the airport in multiple ways. But to sit there in front of me and claim you had no idea about the luggage restrictions just means your a frigging moron. I wonder if that same moron can successfully negotiate a 4 way stop sign? Can they use an automated teller machine? Can they hold a job (obviously, they have money to fly)? Why is it that flying is so hard for them to understand the basic rules?

Ignorance is no excuse. And this is not about the minority of fringe items that seems to start all the hubbub. This is about the majority of confiscated items that the moron in line had multiple opportunities to learn he/she shouldn't have them there in the first place.

Ignorance, deny it. Don't like the rules, don't fly....but don't act like you had no idea what the rules are that doesn't fly with me

reply to post by mydarkpassenger

From what I've seen of DHS and especially TSA, I'd rather take my chances with the terrorists.

That is the single most stupid thing I have ever read on ATS. And that is saying a lot. Spoken like a true person living in their mom's basement that knows nothing about the real world.

Originally posted by MainLineThis
reply to post by mydarkpassenger

 

From what I've seen of DHS and especially TSA, I'd rather take my chances with the terrorists.

That is the single most stupid thing I have ever read on ATS. And that is saying a lot. Spoken like a true person living in their mom's basement that knows nothing about the real world.

Please sir. Share your wisdom, and teach us about the real world. We await your instruction with bated breath.

The government is nothing but a state-supported mafia. Organized crime in its truest sense. The Italians and Russians really look up to the government, they could only dream of having such a nice racket.

The post office is always complaining about how they are low on cash, and nobody uses the mail anymore. Here we have a perfect example of how easy it would be to generate some revenue for the post office.

They have those flat rate envelopes that you get, I think it's like 5 bucks to ship them anywhere in the US. All you do, is have a ton of those at every airport. When someone has something on them that they can't bring on the plane, simply drop it in a flat rate envelope, which gets collected every day at the airport, and it gets shipped back home, or wherever you are going.

What's wrong with that idea? Nothing. It's perfect, could make money for the post office, and would help out a lot of people. That's why something like that would never be put into place.

Originally posted by MainLineThis
reply to post by mydarkpassenger

 

From what I've seen of DHS and especially TSA, I'd rather take my chances with the terrorists.

That is the single most stupid thing I have ever read on ATS. And that is saying a lot. Spoken like a true person living in their mom's basement that knows nothing about the real world.

I bet I was in the Navy when you were still in diapers buckwheat: I turn 50 this year.

I was serving when Ron Regan was president, and I left home when I went to college and never moved back.
I can show you places in the "real world" your rear-end will never visit. If you value YOUR skin so much as to sacrifice your freedom, please do so as fast as possible, but LEAVE me OUT of it!