“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock
Another elderly flier claims TSA strip-search at JFK
Ruth Sherman, an 88-year-old frequent flier with JetBlue, has flown from New York to Florida many times, but never has she been taken aside and asked to pull her pants down and show her colostomy bag, as she asserts occurred at Kennedy Airport recently.
It makes Sherman the second elderly woman in recent days to claim that TSA agents forced her to expose herself during a pre-flight security screening. Lenore Zimmerman, a Long Beach, N.Y., resident, says she was required by TSA security screeners to take off her pants as part of a search on Nov. 29. That search likewise took place at the JetBlue terminal at Kennedy.
Snip...
“It was awful,” Sherman told msnbc.com from her home in Sunrise, Fla. “They asked me to come into another room. I said ‘Don’t touch me — you have dirty hands.’ I had on plain sweatpants and a top. They made me pull my sweatpants down with my underwear. They invaded my privacy.
“I was so taken aback. I’m on medication, and I didn’t want to get high blood pressure. It was a horrible situation.”
"TSA is currently reviewing recent allegations of passengers who flew out of JFK, " spokesperson Greg Soule said in a statement. "Our preliminary review of each of these claims indicates all screening procedures were followed."
One thing is known, Soule told msnbc.com earlier Monday: “Is removal of underwear proper for (someone with) a colostomy bag? The answer is no.”
JetBlue had little to say. “We’re cooperating with the TSA and ask that you refer to them for additional information,” said Allison Steinberg, a spokeswoman for the airline.
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...-search-at-jfk
Here is part of the problem right here. You have fliers, old ladies even, being rude to TSA and just what expecting them to take it and be all smiles and lollipops? I wonder if the lady had been polite and explained her situation had things played out differently. Not to say I agree with her being strip searched, but two wrongs don't make a right either.
Back braces, Depends, colostomy bags? You too might just be a tad testy and embarrassed!
http://www.local10.com/news/Elderly-...e/-/index.html
</aside>NEW YORK - With age come such things as catheters, colostomy bags and adult diapers. Now add another indignity to getting old — having to drop your pants and show these things to a complete stranger.
Two women in their 80s put the Transportation Security Administration on the defensive this week by going public about their embarrassment during screenings in a private room at John F. Kennedy International Airport. One claimed she was forced to lower her pants and underwear in front of an agent so that her back brace could be inspected. Another said agents made her pull down her waistband to show her colostomy bag.
While not confirming some of the details, the TSA said a preliminary review shows officers followed the agency's procedures in both cases. But experts said the potential for such searches will increase as the U.S. population ages and receives prosthetics and other medical devices, some of which cannot go through screening machines.
<aside>"You have pacemakers, you have artificial hips, you have artificial knees," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. "As we get older and we keep ourselves together, it's going to take more and more surgery. There's going to be more and more medical improvements, but that can create what appears to be a security issue."
Prosthetic devices can set off metal detectors, and certain devices such as catheters and bags are visible on body scanners, making those passengers candidates for more thorough inspections. Metal detectors and wands can disrupt some devices such as implanted defibrillators, so those passengers must ask for pat-downs instead.
Ruth Sherman, 88, of Sunrise, Fla., said she was mortified when inspectors pulled her aside and asked about the bulge in her pants as she arrived for a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 28.
"I said, 'I have a bag here,'" she said on Monday, pointing to the bulge, which is bigger or smaller depending on what she eats. "They didn't understand."
She said they escorted her to another room where two female agents "made me lower my sweatpants, and I was really very humiliated." She said she stood with her arms and legs outstretched, warning the agents not to touch her colostomy bag. Touching the bag can cause pain, she said...
...The TSA says it has been trying to tailor its screening procedures for different types of passengers. In September it eliminated pat-downs for most children under 12 because of complaints from parents. In October it began testing an express screening program for frequent fliers at four airports.
The agency has formed an advisory committee of 70 disability groups to help adapt its screening techniques.
TSA chief John Pistole has said the agency is trying to train screeners to more quickly identify medical devices, such as catheters, to save passengers from embarrassment. He also said the agency might give preference to senior citizens going through the screening lines.
It's been more than a decade of this now, more than enough time for better solutions.
"The government is a child that has found their parents credit card, and spends knowing that they never have to reconcile the bill with their own money"-Shannon Churchill
"The government is a child that has found their parents credit card, and spends knowing that they never have to reconcile the bill with their own money"-Shannon Churchill
Count me SHOCKED that Con will defend gov't thuggery and abuse against the people it's suppose to be serving and get their paychecks from. Assuming the people MUST be the problem that the gov't/cops/military can't be wrong, unless provoked then... well it's OK...they have a every right to pull an old ladies draws off.
It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. The freeman of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. James Madison
Live as free people, yet without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but live at all times as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16
How did the first woman, the one you immediately blamed the TSA for, be in the screening room for 11 minutes according to cameras and yet have been an hour late and missed her flight? Why does her story go against what the cameras showed? I didn't see you reply to my question earlier...
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock
I've seen issues from the TSA that are horrid, and need to be corrected. Then I see issues where the passengers are looking for trouble. I've seen issues where it seems as if the complainer is potentially lying. I just think each case needs to be addressed separately, even if the TSA needs addressing as a whole. But to automatically accuse employees of wrongdoing because of who they work for is wrong.
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock