Alaska News

Cissna's experience raises the question: What's to be done about the TSA?

Everyone is watching the curious case of Alaska state Rep. Sharon Cissna.

As most Alaskans now know, Rep. Cissna was turned away at the TSA checkpoint in Seattle after refusing a pat-down.

The pat-down request came after Rep. Cissna had passed through the full-body scanner and it showed scars from a mastectomy. She had endured a previous pat-down and vowed never to do it again. So she refused. And the TSA turned her away. She missed her plane.

After working her way up to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, she caught the ferry and arrived at Juneau's ferry terminal in Auke Bay to a rush of flowers and support from other state legislators and citizens.

It's unfortunate, but this is not an isolated case in which Rep. Cissna was picked out for harassment. The TSA's twisted logic treats all travelers as potential terrorists. So there are plenty of other terrible stories of travelers who get singled out each time they fly because of a pacemaker, a prosthetic device or some other anomaly that tips the TSA scale, requiring additional screening.

They're doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons, of course.

Further, it does not take a rocket scientist to point out the numerous flaws in the TSA's well-meaning, wooly-minded strategies.

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According to security guru Bruce Schneier, there have been a couple of documented improvements in the airplane security arena since Sept. 11, 2001, including:

a. Situational awareness of airline passengers. There have been several instances where passengers and flight crew have stopped other passengers from wreaking havoc mid-air (think "Underwear Bomber" or "Shoe Bomber").

b. Strengthening cockpit doors.

All of the other TSA machinations, from secret "no fly lists," hand swabs, pat downs and so forth qualify, in Schneier's words, as "security theater."

"The propensity for security theater comes from the interplay between the public and its leaders. When people are scared, they need something done that will make them feel safe, even if it doesn't truly make them safer. Politicians naturally want to do something in response to crisis, even if that something doesn't make any sense," he writes.

Few travelers fail to be moved by Rep. Cissna's experience. And the question naturally follows after we all agree that the TSA is overarching, heavy-handed and arbitrary in its enforcement. "What must be done, then?"

That's the hard part. But we all have a part to play in the development of a realistic solution. And that includes standing up to the very idea of terrorism. We must refuse to be terrorized.

Schneier believes the best security tactics and strategies are behind-the-scenes. "Our police don't need any new laws to deal with terrorism; rather, they need apolitical funding. These security measures don't make good television, and they don't help, come re-election time. But they work, addressing the reality of security instead of the feeling."

Currently, the TSA is involved in a clumsy positioning dance with the rollout of their full-body scanners and the corresponding "enhanced" pat downs. It's a mess, really.

On the one hand, Adm. Michael Chertoff, the former head of the TSA, has a cozy arrangement with the manufacturers of the irradiating full-body scanners, Rapiscan. He lobbied Congress on Rapiscan's behalf, resulting in a $41.5 million order. Another nude-o-scope manufacturer, L-3 Communications, spent more than $4 million lobbying Congress, netting a $39 million order. Their lobbyists include Linda Daschle, a former FAA official (and wife of former Sen. Tom Daschle).

Next comes the controversy over airline pilots and flight attendants, who were refusing to be irradiated or groped. The TSA backed down, waving the crew members through without the additional screening.

Oh, then there is the special exception list, which includes senior government officials from the screening, including "Big Sis" herself, Janet Napolitano. Why bother, since they usually travel on chartered luxury jets or the government's own fleet of Gulfstream jets? Ya, sign me up.

Never mind the numerous reports of unauthorized access to airfields, the unscreened bags, the ability to "game" the scanners/metal detectors or the recent story of the agent walking through several metal detectors at DFW with a pistol in her panties -- undetected. I am not making this up.

Of course, it is impossible to plug the holes in this flawed approach. Rather, it will take a concerted effort both on the part of travelers and our government to rethink the process of air travel.

It's not clear how this episode with Rep. Cissna will impact how Alaskans travel by air. Thankfully, Rep. Cissna was able to get back to Alaska by boat. But the expense and inconvenience was considerable.

With the outpouring of support for her and her advocacy for other travelers, including victims of sexual assault, perhaps now is the time for our legislature to examine how these federal TSA policies violate Alaskans' rights on a daily basis.

As Rep. Cissna said, "Flying in Alaska is not a choice, but a necessity. The freedom to travel should never come at the price of basic human dignity and pride."

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based travel marketing consultant who has lived in Alaska for three decades, spending much of that time traveling the far-flung corners of the state. Visit his website at www.alaskatravelgram.com.

Scott McMurren

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. Subscribe to his e-newsletter at alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.

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