They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
If that’s true, then I should probably feel privileged that my old friend Bob Burns has started a “week in review” feature on the TSA site to highlight the positive things his agency has done – and presumably, to counter all of the unfortunate events I tend to write about every week in TSA watch.
But in this week’s post, Burns covers one event for which the TSA deserves to be recognized — and several that left me puzzled.
[continue]
By now, anyone with an Internet connection knows that Texas legislators have abandoned their efforts to restrict the TSA from screening air travelers with what some consider an invasive and inappropriate pat-down.
The bill would have made it a misdemeanor to “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly [touch] the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of the other person, including touching through clothing, or touching the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person.”
But after the Justice Department threatened to suspend flights to Texas (PDF) if it was passed, state representatives had second thoughts about the idea and shelved their proposed law.
[continue]
Editor’s note: I’ve restructured my Q&A feature a little. The questions are now yours. I’ll be soliciting queries for my next interview on Facebook soon, so please stop by and “like” my page.
Bob Burns, a.k.a. “Blogger Bob” doesn’t need any introduction. I’ve been following his work at the TSA for years, and refer to it frequently on this site and in my weekly TSA Watch column.
A note about the format of this interview: These were reader questions, and I didn’t have an opportunity for a rebuttal. Your comments are always appreciated. I can be reached here.
I started our interview by asking him a question that’s been on my mind for a while: Could Burns cite one example of responsible TSA coverage, either in a mainstream media outlet or in a blog? He declined. “I’ve been around the PR pros long enough to learn at least one lesson,” he told me. “Never pick a fight with anyone who buys ink by the barrel.”
[continue]
