Right-wing is Ginning Up OUTRAGE against TSA to privatize Airport Security and Prevent Unionization

[orbitalman]

Share Submitted by BuzzFlash on Wed, 11/24/2010 - 5:26am. EditorBlog
BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG FOR TRUTHOUT BY MARK KARLIN

No one wants to be groped in order to board an airplane or go through a body scan that will cause exposure to radiation (although the level of danger is subject to a hot debate).

And it doesn't help public opinion that bigwigs like John Boehner, Barack Obama and airline pilots can bypass both - and many of the super rich avoid such intrusive security searches by flying their private or corporate jets. Furthermore, BuzzFlash has documented how the profiteering of former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff played a key role in the government purchase of the euphemistically named "Advanced Imaging Technology."

Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the current outrage -- while personally understandable -- against the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) intrusive technology and pat-downs just happens to fit the anti-government narrative of both the Tea Party and mainstream Republicans in Congress.

The creation of the TSA was held up even under the Bush administration because Tom DeLay was insisting that the security function for airports be privatized. So, it's of little surprise that conservative Republican Congressman John Mica, who will likely become the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is advocating for - you guessed it - the privatization of TSA functions. As a blog entry in Crooks and Liars notes: "Republicans want to use the recent outrage over the aggressive screening tactics being used by the TSA at airports as an excuse to privatize it. As Steve Benen noted this weekend, that of course doesn't solve the problem and just brings with it a whole new set of concerns."

The Bush administration shamelessly used fear as a means of exploiting concerns about flying - and a small group of terrorists are, it appears, interested in bringing down planes. But to blame the government for trying to protect airlines passenger is likely only happening because we have a Democratic president - and it perfectly fits the Republican "intrusive government" narrative.

Perhaps, it is no coincidence that the Federal Labor Relations Authority just gave the green light on November 12 of this year to allow TSA workers to hold a union representation vote, which would likely lead to collective bargaining. This is another motivation for the Republicans and the likes of the Tea Party to gin up anti-TSA hysteria.

There are ample reasons for the TSA to reconsider its unpalatable security procedures, but privatizing the function would just be another anti-government victory and a setback for the labor movement. More importantly, we are likely to be more at risk when we fly if profit is the only motive for "safety in the skies."

[guruoo]

1. It's being used to distract the public from more substantive issues. nt

[alarimer]

19. Civil liberties are the most substantive issues out there.

Some of us actually think what they are doing at airports is criminal. Not to mention ineffective.

[guruoo]

26. Poor training, and vetting/selection of employees is what's causing the

pat down issues, IMO.
To me, until they come up with a viable alternative, they should give people two
choices: Go through the scanner, or don't fly.

[MaeScott]

29. New shiny object..look over here. nt

[emulatorloo]

2. Thanks for the history lesson.

The Right Wing Noise machine has its fingers all over this story, starting with the FAKE scanner images posted by Drudge.

[liberal N proud]

3. Still doesn't change my objections to the molestation of passengers

[Misskittycat]

10. Nor mine. n/t

[bemildred]

4. TSA needs to be disassembled.

We don't need yet another federal government "security" organization, there are plenty already.

[grahamhgreen]

7. That's what they want. The TSA is on the verge of unionizing. They want them to be

replaced buy private firms doing the same things.

[bemildred]

8. I got that. That is not what I want. nt

[Moostache]

18. Don't stop there....Department of Homeland Defense too!

That bastardization of the government is one area of government job cuts that I would support.

An entire cabinet-level department of the government was not needed to get the CIA, FBI and NSA on the same page with each other and the local authorities as well. We needed a summit meeting and we got a Chertoff profit center instead....

[bemildred]

20. Indeed.

All these little political fiefdoms and their arcane cultures and obscure little territorial spats cause far more trouble and expense than any return we might get.

[jberryhill]

5. "There are ample reasons for the TSA to reconsider its unpalatable security procedures"

That is correct.

And a reasonable discussion is not served by the type of hysterical rhetoric which is being thrown around.

[grahamhgreen]

6. Of course! And Obama played right into it as usual. BUT the porno scan, and groping

must stop.

I support the opposition of it.

[Fruittree]

12. Maybe I missed something - how did

"Obama play right into it as usual" and "porno scan" ? Really?

[emulatorloo]

13. "porno scan" photos were fakes. Pushed by Drudge and the usual suspects.

Gizmodo, Drudge Fooled by Fake 'TSA Porn'
THAT'S NOT AN IMAGE FROM A BODY SCANNER, JUST A NUDE MODEL

http://www.newser.com/story/79466/gizmodo-drudge-fooled-by-fake-tsa-porn.html

====

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/lurid_and_corrupt.php?ref=fpblg
Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo

"Whatever else you can say about the backscatter scans, they usually reveal about as much as you do walking around the pool in a tight bathing suit. (Note: A number of the more revealing 'backscatter' pics you find on Google are actually fakes.)"

[AnotherMother4Peace]

9. This info is probably very germane to the sudden TSA controversy.

A couple of events raised my suspicions:

RW media (Rush, Fox, etc) all came out simultaneously with the same talking points as indicated by the similar wording and timing.

Shortly thereafter, the "Don't touch my junk" guy made the RW media circuit, all spouting incendiary rhetoric: molest, groping, sexual misconduct, etc.

The bullies came out in full force: name calling, intimidation, false accusations, and thwarts to any kind of discussions & real remedy.

[emulatorloo]

15. The Nation: The Washington Lobbyists and Koch-Funded Libertarians Behind the TSA Scandal

Posted by frazzled in another thread, some interesting stuff on "Don't Touch My Junk" Guy.

TSAstroturf: The Washington Lobbyists and Koch-Funded Libertarians Behind the TSA Scandal

http://www.thenation.com/article/156647/tsastroturf-washington-lobbyists-and-koch-funded-libertarians-behind-tsa-scandal

So far, all we know about “ordinary guy” John Tyner III, the freedom fighter who took on the TSA agents, is that, according to a friendly hometown profile in the San Diego Union-Tribune, "he leans strongly libertarian and doesn’t believe in voting. TSA security policy, he asserts ‘isn’t Republican and it isn’t Democratic.’”

Tyner attended private Christian schools in Southern California and lives in Oceanside, a Republican stronghold next to Camp Pendleton, the largest Marine Corps base on the West Coast.

At least one local TSA administrator wondered if Tyner hadn’t come to the airport prepared to create a scandal. Tyner switched on his recording device before even entering the checkpoint—and recorded himself as he refused to go through the body scanner. Most importantly, Tyner recorded himself saying “If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested!”—which quickly morphed on blogs into the more media-savvy tagline, “Don’t touch my junk!”

...

Strangely enough, just a few days before Tyner’s episode, another self-described “libertarian,” Meg McLain, went online telling almost the exact same story of oppression and attempted sexual molestation at the hands of TSA agents. McLain is an occasional co-host of a libertarian radio show out of a libertarian quasi-commune located in Keene, New Hampshire. As reported in the Washington City Paper, the libertarian “Free Keene” movement where McLain makes her home is yet another libertarian project tied to the billionaire Koch brothers, the prime backers of the Tea Party campaign, through the Koch-funded Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

[pmorlan1]

23. Read Greenwald response to Nation article

Check out Glenn Greenwald's

Anatomy of a Journalistic Smear

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald

It addresses the Nation article you posted.

[laughingliberal]

24. Great piece. Thanks for posting. eom

[soryang]

30. Loved Anatomy of a Journalistic Smear,: Thanks!

Anatomy of a Journalistic Smear

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald

"And therein lies the most odious premise in this smear piece: anyone who doesn't quietly, meekly and immediately submit to Government orders and invasions -- or anyone who stands up to government power and challenges it -- is inherently suspect. Just as the establishment-worshiping, political-power-defending Ruth Marcus taught us today in The Washington Post, objecting to what the Government is doing here is just immature and ungrateful; mature, psychologically healthy people shut up and submit. That's how you prove that you're a normal, responsible, upstanding good citizen: by not making waves, doing what you're told, declaring yourself a loyal Republican or Democrat and then cheering for your team, and -- most of all -- accepting in the name of Fear that you must suffer indignities, humiliations and always-increasing loss of liberties at the hands of unchallengeable functionaries of the state. I don't really care what political label John Tyner applies to himself: we need far more of his civil resistance in our citizenry and far less of the mindless obedient drone behavior which these Nation writers seem to venerate."

[whathehell]

11. Surely, they could change procedures without being "privatized", couldn't they? n/t

[emulatorloo]

14. part of the broader strategy to discredit "Government Workers"

Notice how much of this "outrage" and hysteria is being pushed by Limbaugh, Drudge, Huckabee etc. They were not "outraged" over patdowns under the Bush admin - this whole thing seems fishy to me. What is their motive?

[BobbyBoring]

16. Privitize =

Haliburton Airport Security!!

[yurbud]

17. this sounds remarkably similar for the game plan to privatize public education

Make public schools follow rules private schools don't have to like giving endless standardized tests while not giving teachers the resources to do more when test scores are low, then using that ''failure'' as a stick to beat the schools with and demand a switch to less accountable private, for-profit charter schools.

That is also why they want to means test Social Security and reduces payments: make the public program less successful and effective and people won't mind as much when they privatize it.

[iamjoy]

21. Yes, Better Privatized....

because government agents molesting us as we try to go about our travel plans is just an outrage and violation of our Fourth Amendment rights and violates the dignity of American citizens. But if a private company does it, that's okay...

:eyes:

[pmorlan1]

22. Interesting Post

Maybe you should send your post to Janet Napolitano. After all she is using a page out of the Bush FEAR playbook to try to make us embrace the invasive screening procedures used by TSA. Hmmmm...maybe Napolitano and others in the Obama administration really don't want the TSA unionized. Maybe they want it privatized and that's why they unleashed this horrible technology upon us? Let's split the base...have part of it defend TSA like loyal soldiers and the other part join with the right to condemn them. Maybe this all part of that multi-level chess game?

I know one thing, I'm not for privatizing the TSA but I'm also not for the invasive screening procedures being used.

[sabrina 1]

25. No, and this is extremely disingenuous. The LEFT have

been outraged for six years over the possibility of the police state equipment that the Bush administration tried to get installed in our airports. The left succeeded in preventing them with court challenges etc.

But now, after Bush failing to get them installed, and after all the work done by those Civil Rights organizations to put a stop to the ever increasing oppressive government tactics, it was in the end, a Democratic Administration that finally got the job done for Corporate America. THAT is outrageous and every Liberal Democrat who fought so hard to protect the people from these tactics, should be outraged. And they are.

That the right is also outraged, is irrelevant. But it is an opportunity to tell them that this is THEIR fault because back then when we opposed them, many of them supported them.

I guess there are some on the left now who are just as hypocritical as the right, supporting the destruction of Constitutional rights because a Democrat is responsible for it.

I wish I could find my comments from a few days ago, predicting that an effort would be made to split people down partisan lines. I hope people do not fall for this.

The right could not be as outraged as those of us on the left who remember the first reports of these police state machines back in 2004. And now to see all the work done to stop them, wiped away by Democrats. I am outraged and I don't care one bit about the right's sudden concerns for civil liberties, but if they want to finally lend their voices to help put a stop to the creeping totalitarianism in this country, then I'll take it.

[IdaBriggs]

27. I am not happy with the Our Way or the Highway TSA but "private" (same issue) TSA would be worse.

The theory behind making it accountable - including protests about STUPID policies currently in effect (groin groping and backscatter imaging) is because our elected officials are supposed to be *LISTENING* to us. Unless they offer you a choice of which company you want to go through at an airport so "the market can decide" then why even bring up privatization as an issue *behind* the understandable upset?

[Crunchy Frog]

28. So we can be groped by agents from Blackwater.