From groping to probing, TSA to investigate John Tyner (The Don’t Touch My Junk dude)

This sounds an awful lot like payback for posting that viral video.

Sign On San Diego: The Transportation Security Administration has opened an investigation targeting John Tyner, the Oceanside man who left Lindbergh Field under duress on Saturday morning after refusing to undertake a full body scan.

Tyner recorded the half-hour long encounter on his cell phone and later posted it to his personal blog, along with an extensive account of the incident. The blog went viral, attracting hundreds of thousands of readers and thousands of comments.

Michael J. Aguilar, chief of the TSA office in San Diego, called a news conference at the airport Monday afternoon to announce the probe. He said the investigation could lead to prosecution and civil penalties of up to $11,000. […]

In the end, security escorted Tyner out of the airport, after American Airlines refunded his ticket.

According to Aguilar, Tyner is under investigation for leaving the security area without permission. That’s prohibited, among other reasons, to prevent potential terrorists from entering security, gaining information, and leaving.[MORE]

Tyner was given a choice, submit to a search he found offensive or not fly.  He chose the latter and now they are going to investigate him for making that choice?  I don’t understand how he could have left without permission when he was escorted out by security.  I think TSA is looking to make an example out of Tyner so that no one else thinks to stand up for themselves. The whole thing reeks of Big Brother throwing its weight around.

I must say, the left was correct on this issue.  You will recall back in the days shortly after 9/11 many on the left squawked about trading rights for higher security.  Meanwhile many of us on the right were willing to make the trade.  Ten years later as TSA starts to push its weight around, we are starting to see the light.  Perhaps now that the left and right are on the same page, we can come together to demand the effective security we all deserve.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Sign On San Diego

Man ejected from airport for refusing to let TSA “touch his junk”

SignOn San Diego: SAN DIEGO — John Tyner won't be pheasant hunting in South Dakota with his father-in-law any time soon.

Tyner was simultaneously thrown out of San Diego International Airport on Saturday morning for refusing to submit to a security check and threatened with a civil suit and $10,000 fine if he left.

And he got the whole thing on his cell phone. Well, the audio at least.

The 31-year-old Oceanside software programmer was supposed to leave from Lindbergh Field on Saturday morning and until a TSA agent directed him toward one of the recently installed full-body scanners, Tyner seemed to be on his way.

Tyner balked.

He’d been reading about the scanners and didn’t like them for a number of reasons, ranging from health concerns to “a huge invasion of privacy.” He’d even checked the TSA website which indicated that San Diego did not have the machines, he said in a phone interview Saturday night.

“I was surprised to see them,” said Tyner.

He also did something that may seem odd to some, manipulative to others but fortuitous to plenty of others for whom Tyner is becoming something of a folk hero: Tyner turned on his cell phone’s video camera and placed it atop the luggage he sent through the x-ray machine.

He may not be the first traveler tossed from an airport for security reasons but he could well be the first to have the whole experience captured on his cell phone.

During the next half-hour, his cell phone recorded Tyner refusing to submit to a full body scan, opting for the traditional metal scanner and a basic “pat down” — and then refusing to submit to a “groin check” by a TSA security guard.

He even told the guard, “You touch my junk and I’m going to have you arrested.”

I have to applaud this guy.  The whole airport security thing has gotten completely out of control.  Two months ago I was hired to do a three day photo shoot at La Guardia Airport.  I had to submit identification 48 hours in advance (for each of the three days too).  Despite that, I had still had to stand in line, remove my shoes, go through regular x-ray machines and hand scanners.  Over the course of the three days I submitted to the security check five times! Just imagine how much fun that was with three crates of photo equipment! On the final check, I slipped in my socked feet and pulled a muscle in my lower back.  It was only through the Grace of God, I did not let out the string of curse words that was on the tip of my tongue.  

To me the whole screening process seems to be on automatic pilot.  The TSA workers did not seem to be actively screening people but rather just processing them by rote. There simply has to be a more efficient and effective way to do this.

It seems like people are starting to revolt to the whole process.  TSA Opt-Out day is set for November 24^th!

More reading at American Power, Red State, Left Coast Rebel and Protein Wisdom.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Sign On San Diego

Via: The Atlantic

Why is this clown in charge of our security?

On April 14, 2009, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Janet Napolitano released what has to be taken as written proof of her complete incompetence. The Assesment, titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment", had nothing to do with her job (keeping us safe) and everything to do with political hackery! Basically the "assessment" tries to define mainstream conservatives as rightwing extremists.

Check out this statement:

(U) Historical Presidential Election

(U//LES)
Rightwing extremists are harnessing this historical election as a recruitment tool. Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms ownership and use. Rightwing extremists are increasingly galvanized by these concerns and leverage them as drivers for recruitment. From the 2008 election time frame to the present, rightwing extremists have capitalized on related racial and political prejudices in expanded propaganda campaigns, thereby reaching out to wider audience of potential sympathizers.

So let me get this straight Janet: if one doesn't agree with the policies put forth by the Obama administration, and chooses to speak out with others who share such views, then one is labelled an extremist motivated by racism. Is that it Janet? Well then my dear, you are a first class clown!

The only reason for this joke of an assessment is politics. At the very least, the politics behind this assessment is to discredit conservatism in the eyes of the gullible and ill informed. At the very worst, it serves as a warning to
conservatives that flexing its grassroots muscle will cause scrutiny by the DHS!

The opening paragraph of the DHS's Strategic Plan, states:

This Department of Homeland Security’s overriding and urgent mission is to lead the unified national effort to secure the country and preserve our freedoms. While the Department was created to secure our country against those who seek to disrupt the American way of life, our charter also includes preparation for and response to all hazards and disasters. The citizens of the United States must have the utmost confidence that the Department can execute both of these missions.

Sorry, but with Janet at the helm, the last thing I have is confidence that she can execute any of these missions. Since being appointed, Ms. Napolitano has dropped the word "terrorism" and has replaced it with the utterly foolish phrase "Man-Caused Disaster"! You are not dealing with serious minds when you get a completely stupid term like this. Did anyone over at DHS bother to realize that the term "Man-Caused Disaster" could just as easily apply to something like the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Does Napolitano not realize that there is a huge difference between something like the Exxon Valdez and 9/11?

If shilling for progressives with bogus assessments and creating meaningless euphemisms for terrorism were all we had to worry about that would be bad enough. But Ms. Napolitano's record on security as Governor of Arizona should give us all pause. Here is what the Tucson Citizen had to say about her when Obama chose her for DHS:

President-elect Barack Obama's choice for homeland security chief blames budget problems and the difficulty coordinating agencies in Arizona, where she has been governor, for failing to complete key provisions of a detailed security plan for her own state.

Gov. Janet Napolitano put together the plan six years ago to improve Arizona's ability to respond to emergencies, detect and prevent terrorist attacks and secure Arizona's border with Mexico. But some key provisions remain incomplete. Firefighters, paramedics and other first responders at disaster scenes still can't always communicate by radio without calling in special equipment, and criminal records still aren't fully available electronically.

Perhaps if Napolitano could have gotten her act together on security in her state, Phoenix would have become the second kidnap capital of the world!

Yes folks, all that chilling violence you just saw happened under the watchful gaze of our new DHS head. Whatever, Ms. Napolitano's priorities were as Governor of Arizona, security wasn't one of them. Yet, she was nominated and even more shockingly, confirmed.

This is where Republicans need to take some blame. Republicans should have rejected her nomination and loudly voiced her short comings and poor qualifications. Democrats sink nominations all the time for far less reasons. Sadly, too many Republicans fear the wrath of negative media attention (which they will get anyway) and thus go along with very bad ideas for the sake of appearing bipartisan or supporting the president in his early days. This is why a Tax Cheat is now head of the IRS and a clown is now in charge of the Department of Homeland Security.