Rand Paul Again Planning to Take on TSA, Airport Security Screenings

[fleur-de-lisa]

By KEVIN WILLIS, WKU Public Radio, posted Feb 1, 2013

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul says he plans to refile a bill that would scale back the power of the Transportation Security Administration. The Bowling Green Republican told Politico he has two different measures ready to go—one that would privatize the TSA, and another that would create a passenger bill of rights.

Paul introduced those bills during last year’s Congress, but both measures failed to get out of the Senate Commerce Committee. Paul wants to end the TSA screening operation and force airports to hire private companies to conduct security screenings. Paul’s legislation would also allow some fliers to opt out of pat-downs, and create an expedited screening program for frequent fliers.

Sen. Paul drew national attention last year when he resisted a pat-down at the Nashville airport. That refusal caused him to miss a speech he was scheduled to make, and a video of the incident went viral on the internet.


This idiot Rand Paul is determined to take this country to a privatized aviation security system that will surely result in another 9/11-type disaster. But he seems to be more interested in making sure that the wealthy bleed this country dry of every last dollar in the name of "Capitalism", to hell with the consequences to the traveling public. Hopefully this fails again!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. As much as I dislike some of the methods and procedures of the TSA,

Paul's only motive is to privatize it so rich GOPers can make more money. I doubt a privatized version of the TSA would be any less annoying, arbitrary or intrusive, and it would just end up making travel even more expensive because "TSA, Inc." would charge airlines whatever it wanted to charge and passengers would end up paying for that. Fix the TSA, but don't privatize it.

[SharonAnn]

6. And it was private (airline) security before. That worked well! Not!

Private companies hire low-paid, under trained personnel and focus on getting people on the airplanes, not keeping them off.

[JoKandice]

2. Tea Party Flea Should Be Fired

This Little Turd Is Not Good For America

[high density]

3. I support anything which will make getting on a plane less ridiculous than it is today

However, I'm not seeing how re-privatizing security somehow accomplishes this. At least what we have now is standardized, even if the standards are totally crazy.

[al_liberal]

4. But it's not standardized, that's the problem.

Sure, we all hear the same things while going through security, but there are no standards from one airport to the next. They claim this is to throw off the "terrists" but all it does is confuse the traveling public. One airport will allow my daughter to take a tiny container of Play-doh onto the plane, another will take it away. Some let people go through with their belts on, others do not. And the millimeter wave scanners? Forget about those entirely. They show false positives all the time and are rendered completely useless by damp clothing. As I've heard it explained many times over the years, it's a kabuki dance to make the public feel safe.

[backscatter712]

5. At least partially in this case, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Maybe this will get the TSA to tone down the brownshirt tactics and the use of the grope-downs and the Rape-i-Scan pornoscanners.

[Iggo]

7. Fuck Rand Paul.

[DFW]

8. "Took off my belt, took off my shoes, and then I learned to sing the TSA Blues.."