Nightmare at Reagan National Airport: A Security Story to End all Security Stories

The idiot referred to was MikeC. Rules are there for a REASON. The authorities have obviously lost THEIR REASON, if they ever had any. They obviously aren't really concerned about any REAL terrorism, which is what "THE RULES" were put in place for!!

Travel is a constitutionally protected right, no a privelege as the above poster FrMikeC suggests.

> It's a privilege to fly - not a right.

Read the Constitution, in particular the Privileges
and Immunities Clause of Article IV, Section 2, of the United States Constitution.
Edwards v. People of State of California, 314 U.S. 160, 173, 62
S.Ct. 164 (1941).

 The Fourth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments also seem to suggest the Security Theater engaged in by the TSA is simply a demonstration of the validity of Frederick Douglass' warning: 

"Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the
exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them;
and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or
blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the
endurance of those whom they oppress."

Does that suggest WHY the TSA has been created?

Your papers, please? 

You are correct, that she appears to be lying on the errant premise that this will strengthen her case.

 What do you expect" she's a former government bureaucrat, herself.

But it doesn't make the TSA thugs' behavior any less inexcusable.

If she can DRINK the damned water, then obviously there's not a problem and she should be allowed to pass.

 Authority abused is authority invalidated. I commend her for dumping the water and trying to go right back in...just not for, as far as I can tell, lying about it afterward. We should never treat with respect the abuse of authority, nor any unjust law, or we become an accomplice to it.

Authority worship, and surrendering liberty for imagined temporary safety, are forms of grotesque cowardice.

yes....our freedom still applies. No government issued badge has the "right" to behave in the manner of an asshole. A frazzled mother doing her best to comply in every manner asked that accidentally spills water? A bunck of sick jack booted thugs. Yes we need security....and we need some real screening for these jobs. Which corporation would put up with such behaviour? none. Why should we????!!!!!!!!!

"She and her kid got what they deserved."

You are a fatuous ass.

> Interstate travel IS a constitutionally protected right, but the method by which it can be effectuated is not definited nor > enumerated, to wit, nothing was stopping Ms. Sippy Cup from getting into her car, loaded with all the water  she wanted, and driving to Reno.  In other words, when the Constitution was written, travel between states was done on foot or horseback and was not hindered. 

 This kind of sophist nonsense would make the Founders vomit.

 Of course it's the excuse that control freaks regularly use, these days, but it's still inexcusable. Just as ALL forms of communication are protected by the acknowledgement, in the first amendment, of our natural right to freedom of communication, so ALL travel is protected.

This kind of authority-worshipping cowardice, being willing to excuse and justify abuse of authority just in case it might possibly make us feel safer, is grotesquely anti-American.

Regardless of what that woman thought to be the source of her "entitlement", the cold, hard fact is that every one of us has a NATURAL RIGHT to better treatment than that.

The TSA should not have an erg of authority to violate our natural rights, not even in the name of keeping cowards feeling safe. To insist that a mother can't drink the tap water in her child's sippy cup is a beautiful paragon of "Who is John Galt" bureaucratic power-madness.

They should be fired, and blackballed from ever working in ANY position of authority, again.

I am 47, have been flying since I was 8, to and from more Countries than I care remember.

What I can say is, in many Nations the "TSA" equivalents are military, and have Rules and Regulations and procedures... and if they get things right, pat on their back, but if they make mistakes, including being overpretentious and oppressive, then they are in hopeless trouble. This TSA, on the other hand, seems to have more authority that Lawmakers in Congress: she stops a US Official, ignores Regulations on the 3-oz. permitted amount, refutes the passenger's offer to drink the water, and purposefully makes her lose her flight.

Look at Video#1, the Mom is being escorted to the gate by a gentleman in a kind of uniform. Look at Video#2, as the escort leaves the Mom, the TSA Police Officer stops her, and... in the end, prohibits her from drinking that water.

Where is the legal justification in prohibiting the woman from drinking her baby's water? How can National Security be at stake from a sip of water?

The Mom flicked her credentials. OK, she's entitled to doing that; SS does not mean "secret agent", those people go through extremely difficult screening and training to qualify as US.SS. Flicking her credentials did not mean "I am untouchable", it actually meant "I'm safe, you can rest assured" If the TSA Officer ignored those credentials, she could be prosecuted for that.

The Mom overreacted, sure, but the primary mistake is with the TSA Officer. In my system, that TSA Officer would be fired, or issuing parking tickets overnight.

You are obviously an idiot.

Very enlightening article.

It confirms my concerns that in the Bush era of control the inmates have taken over the asylum.  I was intending to visit USA shortly, but as an organic devotee who travels with his preferred items of personal products, forget it.  I respect justified and well mannered authority, I'm 71 years old, never even had a parking ticket, let alone any other sort of law abiding infringement, but I do not suffer fools... God knows where I would end up in the current cesspit of the american dream.  Probably dead.

Would'nt be suprised if my email address is tracked down for a red flag marker, being so, get a life you sick, inadequate pathetic bastards.

You want respect..?  First have the wit to earn it by simply giving it. 

djk

Before we start quoting the founding fathers over spilled water, let's remember they never had to deal with this stuff nor does this apply to someone who is so self involved and unable to understand rules and regulations that are posted for everyone to see.  Perhaps the basis may be the same (of your quote), but it doesn't apply here.  Sorry, I love BF too, but wrong place to put it as this has nothing to do with rights.  It's a privilege to fly - not a right.

IF, in fact, it is Constitutionally protected, then why couldn't she adhere to the rules and regulations imposed on this protected travel?  Are you saying we should let every Tom, Dick and Habib just board a plane without rules and inspections?  It's a small inconvenience, deal with it - I know I do.  Do I agree with it? No.  But it is there and if I wanna fly by my own volition, then I chose to subrogate myself to the rules imposed thereupon.

   Although she poured the water out and although she may have gotten pissy with the TSA, I can understand why anyone would act that way. 

   Flying in and out of Regan is a nightmare.  I flew out of there with my 3 year old and before we boarded the plane I took her to the restroom to go potty.  We boarded the plane and then they had the plane sit there for over an hour.  My daughter told me she had to go to the bathroom and the flight attendant told me that no one is allowed to go to the bathroom for a half an hour after the plane takes off. 

   I explained that we hadn't even moved yet and my daughter had to go to the bathroom.  The flight attendant told me no and that my daughter would have to just pee on herself.  I said "WHAT!!!"  and then they brought me a blanket.  I asked what it was for and they said so my daughter could pee on it!!!!!!!!

   I told them they were crazy and that I didn't have a change of clothes and we had a connecting flight and I was not going to have my daughter go around the airport wet!  My daughter cried the whole time after we got in the air for a half hour waiting to go to the bathroom. 

    I was so angry!!!  I don't care what the rules are.  If they believe that someone is going to do something then they could have taken her to the bathroom themselves.  I wrote a letter to Continental about the incident expressing my horror and informing them that I would not be flying on their airline ever again!  That was 3 years ago and I have NOT flown on their airline since.

    I sympathize with everything having to do with security and no, I don't want to be at risk, however there has got to be a better way.  Until then, I will continue to drive.  I can stop anytime I want, eat what I want, and pee when I want!

Hold on a second.

Interstate travel IS a constitutionally protected right, but the method by which it can be effectuated is not definited nor enumerated, to wit, nothing was stopping Ms. Sippy Cup from getting into her car, loaded with all the water she wanted, and driving to Reno.  In other words, when the Constitution was written, travel between states was done on foot or horseback and was not hindered.  The same goes for today, only the horse has been replaced by the car.  Just because she opts for the quicker method of airplane (and I presume train, but I'm ignorant when it comes to rail travel) run by private companies (the airline industry) and must subject herself to their security checks and rules doesn't mean that travel has been restricted - she can still go by car and not deal with any security.

If she wants to get onto an airplane, she's got to check her attitude at the ticketing counter and comply with the rules just like the rest of us.  The rules, some of which are a little ridiculous, are there for the majority of people.  Since JFK proclaimed "As not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", there has been a shift from the benefit of the whole to the benefit of the individual, at the expense of the whole.  This ex-Treasury agent chick is a perfect example.

She and her kid got what they deserved. 

Did you read the article? I don't see any reason to believe she "got what she deserved" or didn't "check her attitude." According to her she was dealt with in a very overbearing and threatening manner and complied with orders that were at LEAST "a little ridiculous" (ordered to apologize, clean up the spill). 

You might subjectively infer that she is lying about accidentally spilling because she was nervous. But such a conclusion wouldn't be founded on the info contained in the article. It would speak to your biases.

I agree with you that security regulations are mandatory and to be complied with. But I don't believe that the existence of regulations gives TSA officials (a government functionary) carte blanche to humiliate and demand servileness from their customers (citizens). We all need to reflect on whether the specter of terrorism automatically requires pinning facist badges to the fabric of our society.

What is nursery water anyways? Pretty cruel stuff, especially when the little boy was crying to get his sippy cup back...

Bill, Wow! what a story.  It makes you think there is no humanity left in the world.

While I understand that we do not have any comments here to illustrate the other side of the story, let's be honest... it's a sippy cup and there's precedent for asking (ordering) people to drink the liquid they want to carry through.

It sounds to me like the initial officer was having a rough day justifying her first response, and instead of being rational and moving towards reason, she got defensive and soon everyone was out of sorts ... I didn't miss the comment about 'disrespecting the officer'...  

What a web has been woven. 

This is outrageous.  Why mess with a defenseless
woman and an innocent child?! ... The funny but true thing - the officer in
question who harassed them and abused her "power" is a woman.  PMS?  Early
menopause?  Pure evil?  ... shouldn't she be inclined to feel sympathetic for
Monica and her kid?!  Absolutely ridiculous.

Even without going into how ridiculous and unnecessary the entire TSA liquid screening process is, I have to say that the abuse of power that the police showed in this situation is representative of the state of the nation. It has become a daily occurrence for me to read an instance of police stepping over the line. I've seen video of police searching cars with no warrant or probable cause when the driver implicantly told them not too. I've seen stories of people arrested for "illegal surveillance" for video taping a traffic stop. I love what our country stood for before the Bill of Rights was thrown out with the signing of the Patriot Act. But, sadly, those days are gone. Anyone remember when police used to have the motto, "To serve and protect" on the side of their cars? Well they scraped it off in the late 80's and it's not coming back.

I think it's time for another Tea Party- everyone should peacefully protest this tyrannical behavior and bring through security a bottle of plain old iced tea...