TSA: Security Theater Goes Too Far

I've been watching the recent protest over the TSA's decision to go all-in with a combination of "Advanced Imaging Technology" and highly invasive body searches. Last week I stuck my tongue out in the AIT scanner at Tulsa International and was treated to "extra screening" in the form of a significantly creepy belt-line grope. I guess that'll teach me...

To be honest, I'm sick and tired of backscatter scanners, pat-downs, getting to the airport two hours early for international flights. I'm tired of being treated like a criminal. Most of all, I'm sick and tired of America expending more of its resources on the infinitesimally small number of people who are our true enemies than we do on our own citizens.

Placing locks on the flight-deck doors of airliners essentially solved the real risk exposed by the 9/11 attacks. I've travelled to other countries and to the best of my knowledge the good-old USA is the only place I've been asked to take off my shoes, take out my tooth paste or let some guy stick his hands down my pants.

Enough is enough. Let's drop the theatrics. Let's finally step back from the perpetual (and therefore meaningless) "orange" threat-level and go with simple, effective security practices rather than invasive, embarrassing and ultimately pointless procedures.