The Most Stupid Thing Homeland Security Took From You?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:19 pm

They tested my playa dust for explosive content and confiscated some massage oil and eyeglass cleaner.
Do you feel safer yet?

Almost forgot.
The plane nearly hit another plane on the runway at LAX.
Air traffic control never recovered from reagan.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:44 pm

They tested my playa dust for explosive content

Don't leave us hanging! What were the results?!?!

B.

SED · Post by **SED** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:15 pm

They took away my anxiety for awhile, but they gave it back.

I got to keep my lighter, though.

helitack · Post by **helitack** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:54 pm

Congress, in their fear and with GW's insistence, took this away, by enabling and allowing the TSA to violate this:

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their PERSONS, houses, PAPERS, AND EFFECTS, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

BigCock · Post by **BigCock** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:44 pm

I put two lighters in my carry on. The xray lady told the rifle man there was a lighter. He found one of them and confiscated it leaving me one unknowingly. I pulled a oney in the john to celebrate. Momma always said I was a terror. Bwahahaa! cough cough

K-mom · Post by **K-mom** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:23 pm

Took my tent pegs couple of years ago.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:04 am

Lessee...

Material goods? A pair of mosquito hemostats (but left the pointy suture scissors) out of my response kit because it could be used as a dangerous weapon. To emphasize it, the security supervisor poked the point of these 1/2" hemos into her hand, after calling over the "paid to be ferocious" Nat'l goardswoman w/ M-16 to make sure I was properly intimidated while they stole them. And they weren't the cheapy pakastani ones - cost upwards of $40 in 1990.

Lessee... Lighters? My brother lost a collectable zippo (which was my dad's) the day they started stealing those. Was his pride & joy, titanium case, brass guts. Prolly one of a kind. Would NOT let him mail it to himself or pack it. You *know* where that one went...

Other than that? Best not say. Isn't allowed. And *that's* the saddest "take away" we've suffered.

bb

Killbuck · Post by **Killbuck** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:35 am

Gee, just 'cause I was flying to North Korea, they took my lead-lined suitcase... it WAS empty for the outbound flight!!! Go figure.

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:45 am

I lost my nick name! At the time of 9-11,I had been going as Shelly for 34 years! Short for Rachelle(middle name, I had to go re-new drivers license, and after having Shelly on it for years I naturally put shelly as first name, I got a letter from homeland security, the IRS, the Social security admin and the dmv. all telling me that I was using a FALSE identity to please contact all of the above.
Damnit!

EvilDustBooger · Post by **EvilDustBooger** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:05 am

Lost a tin of pate de foie gras from my carry-on at the Zurich security checkpoint.
We offered to open it and eat it right there, but they confiscated it.
The Gourmet bastards.

Also a small bottle of Grappa from an Austrian Alps Monestary, and a tube of Perry Ellis aftershave lotion from my checked bag.

...you`d think with all the extra security, that your shit wouldn`t still be subject to pilfering...

...I`d like to see an expose` documentary on just exactly what does happen to all the gear that the NTSA is confiscating...hell , you could probably fund an insurgency somewhere with the pocket knife proceeds alone.

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:11 am

duh, stupid me...I shouldve gone and grabbed handfuls of lighters in the self serve disposable when I dropped people off at the airport...you know I wouldnt have to buy another lighter for yrs to come...wouldve been the perfect BM gifting idea!

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:14 am

Habeas corpus

felony · Post by **felony** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:34 am

My silver Tiffanys bracelet ( worn for over 20 years) at SFO. Put all my bracelets in the little white plastic bowl and they all came out except the Tiffanys one. BASTARDS!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:36 am

pinemom wrote:I lost my nick name! At the time of 9-11,I had been going as Shelly for 34 years! Short for Rachelle(middle name, I had to go re-new drivers license, and after having Shelly on it for years I naturally put shelly as first name, I got a letter from homeland security, the IRS, the Social security admin and the dmv. all telling me that I was using a FALSE identity to please contact all of the above.
Damnit!

Wait a minute! If you've been useing it long enough, can't you use that to legaly change it?

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:01 am

you know, i try to fly under the radar...so I know what my name is...my friends know what my name is...

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:03 am

my plastic sheets and duct tape!

AIIZ

Post by **mdmf007** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:39 am

Polaroids a vendor took of us in front of LAX - apparently pictures of two guys drinking a soda, with an airport and planes in the background constitute a security breash. that was 9/19/2001 - since I have made 200+ flights. Not much is consistent with airport security domestically and even less internationally.

later all

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:52 am

Next time I go to the airport, I want to stand in the â€œDangerous But Freeâ€

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:02 am

Been across country three times post 9/11.. They crawl all over my Ccap with there wipes.. I could have any thing but there interest is distracted with that machine.. And I raise hell if they try to take it out of it's plastic bag. When one insisted, I insisted she puton fresh gloves and a face mask. She gav in.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:20 am

Flying is actually not safer than driving.
That all comes from a 1960s airline ad.
How could it possibly be true?
Riding the bus is about 4 billion times safer than flying.
About ten times as annoying though.
It seems that when buses break, they don't drop 30,000 feet.
Just remember that statistics don't apply to individuals.

The only reason I avoid flying, other than bad weather, is the airport experience.
On the other hand, the near miss and sudden full climb and full throttle at LAX is very common there these days.
Air safety has dropped since the flight controller's strike.
The ratio of controllers to flights gets worse and they will never catch up on experience.

No one on the plane made a sound until we were over the ocean.
Including the crew.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:42 am

The playa dust they were so interested in didn't test positive for anything,
to my surprise.
They have probably tested enough powdery suitcases now that when they do, the screen flashes

BLACK ROCK DESERT!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:23 pm

gyre wrote:The playa dust they were so interested in didn't test positive for anything,
to my surprise.
They have probably tested enough powdery suitcases now that when they do, the screen flashes

BLACK ROCK DESERT!

/ You mean to tell me, They will throw a shit fit over my dusty camera case? Took it to BM this last year.

Post by **mdmf007** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 2:15 pm

Odds of dying are not higher if flying.

If born in 2003 the stats are as follows:

Odds of dying in a plane crash are 1: 5051 in a lifetime
Railway accident 1:156,159 in a lifetime
Streetcar accident 1:1,874,034 in a lifetime

HIghest risk - Pedestrian 1:626 lifetime risk of dying walking somewhere.

I did my own research thesis and discovered that gravity is the number one cause of ALL Falling deaths, rock slides, avalanches, rain, snow, and a myriad of injury mechanisms.

If we cancelled out gravity we would all be safer.

Sources for above (aside from my gravity thesis) http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm

Later all

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:26 pm

I would probably agree with those, but they don't mean flying is safer, of course.
I flew twice last year and nearly died in a crash.
I drove in a car thousands of times and didn't.
All that means is that my exposure to flight was low,
just like most people's.
And it is invalid to compare a private car to a 400 million dollar jet.
The comparison would be between buses and planes.
An NTSB investigator wrote an entire chapter in his book on the myth of air safety.
The risks aren't unreasonable, but they are real.
You can always reduce your personal risks by your choices.

When I fly in a singe engine plane, I am in a fully upgraded and refurbished plane.
That reduces my risk by a huge margin compared to the average older plane.

Statistics are only valid for groups.
The closest comparison to a car would be a small plane.
And you still have to get in a car to drive to the plane usually.
Flying is not a substitute risk.
It is an additional risk, like setting yourself on fire.

Just say
I will not set myself on fire today.
I will not set myself on fire today.
I will not set myself on fire today.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 5:03 pm

unjonharley wrote:Been across country three times post 9/11.. They crawl all over my Ccap with there wipes.. I could have any thing but there interest is distracted with that machine.. And I raise hell if they try to take it out of it's plastic bag. When one insisted, I insisted she puton fresh gloves and a face mask. She gav in.

NICE! Joke 'em if they can't take a fuck.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:22 pm

pinemom wrote:I lost my nick name! At the time of 9-11,I had been going as Shelly for 34 years! Short for Rachelle(middle name, I had to go re-new drivers license, and after having Shelly on it for years I naturally put shelly as first name, I got a letter from homeland security, the IRS, the Social security admin and the dmv. all telling me that I was using a FALSE identity to please contact all of the above.
Damnit!

I work for the Wisconsin DMV, and it can get quite odd telling an elderly woman that we can't renew her liscense because she never got around to registering with social security her name change from 30+ years ago when she married her husband (who could very well be deceased). (And, yes, that, or something very similar, really did happen!)

It all goes back to the Social Security card. If the name and birthdate on the driver's license don't match what is on file with Social Security, the driver's license (or state i.d. card) can not be issued. Basically, the Social Security card is becoming a national identification card. (Something which it was never intended to be, of course.)

Of course, the more ridiculous thing is the restrictions on getting a hazardous materials endorsement on a driver's license.... Exactly how many terrorists/suicide bombers will bother to get the proper endorsement for the hazardous materials they are carrying...?!?

(I wonder if I am considered a security risk because my mom decided to make herself a few years younger back in the late 1950s, before she met my dad, and only corrected the "mistake" this year?

)

b.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 7:23 pm

Wasn't the phrase 'Homeland Security' first used by the National Socialist Party in the thirties?
It seems like things didn't end well.

Post by **mdmf007** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 7:53 pm

Gyre -

I agree withyou whoe heartadly. Exposure is a major component to statistics. I fly 5-60 times a year so I know my risk is higher to die in an aircraft accident. I am also a rated as a rescueman on a mountain rescue crew. Increases the odds there.

Driving exposure id the highest risk we all face realisticly. Almost everyone drives.

With 120-140 MPH closure between two opposing vehicles it amazes me that there are not MORE head on collisons.

I guess it is all relative.

later

helitack · Post by **helitack** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:32 pm

Life is terminal, it's also sexually transmitted...

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:40 pm

The ntsb guy suggested the proper protocol for comparing airline safety is by takeoffs and landings rather than miles traveled.
When methods of transport are compared this way, the ratio tilts even further in favor of ground transport.
He also said if you want to apply averages to yourself, you had to walk out and get in the first car that came along, even with a drunk driver with bad tires and bad steering.
If you have ever seen the debris field from an air crash, you appreciate how remarkable the safety record of air travel is.
Planes must be light. Even race cars are rugged by comparison.
Besides, the only thing that holds them up is wishful thinking!

I think mountains are safe as houses.
Just remember not to ever let go of the mountain!

The Most Stupid Thing Homeland Security Took From You?

The Most Stupid Thing Homeland Security Took From You?

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