Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Another Airport Safety Rule

I just joined the team of bloggers over at Jon Henke’s site Inactivist, and for my first post discovered that the TSA has the power to levy “behavior fines” without even informing the person who’s being fined:
Passengers can be fined for their actions, as well. For example, "interference with screening" that includes physical contact could cost a traveler between $1,500 and $5,000, and "nonphysical contact" between $500 and $1,500. . . . People usually don't know they've been fined until a letter arrives at their homes. In reviewing incident reports, TSA officials consider factors like whether the passenger tried to conceal the item or the "attitude of the violator."
Ms. McCauley said fliers can fight fines through an informal conversation or a formal hearing. Those who contest the penalties may eventually have to travel to the airport where TSA issued the fine.

Once a law-enforcement body starts turning into a money-collection organization, you know that hard-core corruption can’t be too far away. Anyway, there’s a lot more about this in my post at Inactivist, so come on by and find another reason to feel depressed about the future of American freedom.

2 Comments:

Blogger rhhardin said...

My merit reviews always listed ``bad attitude,'' attaining for me the coveted last-in-the-merit-ladder placement for two years running, which I guess you could see as sort of an administrative thought-crime fine.

The position itself, however, admittedly held some prestige.

I was also banned from mandatory annual consciousness-raising seminars on such things as affirmative action and sex discrimination, an independent honor.

3:19 PM  
Blogger Jennifer Abel said...

Now, Ron, imagine that it's three weeks after a brief incident with some jackass in security, and if you don't manage to get that bad-attitude ruling reversed you have to pay a fine levied by the anti-terrorism agency.

That looks bad. What are you, some kind of terrorist-lover? I mean, you're causing problems for the government agents protecting us from terrorism.

6:46 PM  

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