{"id":1324,"date":"2008-09-02T17:20:22","date_gmt":"2008-09-02T21:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/?p=1324"},"modified":"2008-09-02T13:11:02","modified_gmt":"2008-09-02T17:11:02","slug":"the-tsas-photo-id-rules-are-useless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2008\/09\/02\/the-tsas-photo-id-rules-are-useless\/","title":{"rendered":"The TSA’s Photo ID Rules are Useless"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rules that the TSA has rolled out regarding photo IDs and their requirements for getting onto passenger airplanes are usless. In fact, you could argue that they are worse<\/strong> than useless, since they create a false sense of security – and they cost us a lot of money (both directly and indrectly).<\/p>\n

But don’t just take my word for it – Bruce Schneier thinks so, too<\/a>:<\/p>\n

…[T]he photo ID requirement is a joke. Anyone on the no-fly list can easily fly whenever he wants. Even worse, the whole concept of matching passenger names against a list of bad guys has negligible security value.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The bottom line is, the no-fly list – and the photo ID rules that go with it – are worthless. It’s all just for show – full of sound and fury, signifying nothing<\/em>. Why people still think it’s a good idea – or worse, that it should be expanded – continues to confound me.<\/p>\n

The no-fly list is a Kafkaesque nightmare for the thousands of innocent Americans who are harassed and detained every time they fly. Put on the list by unidentified government officials, they can’t get off. They can’t challenge the TSA about their status or prove their innocence. (The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided this month that no-fly passengers can sue the FBI, but that strategy hasn’t been tried yet.)<\/p>\n

But even if these lists were complete and accurate, they wouldn’t work. Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber, the D.C. snipers, the London subway bombers and most of the 9\/11 terrorists weren’t on any list before they committed their terrorist acts. And if a terrorist wants to know if he’s on a list, the TSA has approved a convenient, $100 service that allows him to figure it out: the Clear program, which issues IDs to “trusted travelers” to speed them through security lines. Just apply for a Clear card; if you get one, you’re not on the list.<\/p>\n

In the end, the photo ID requirement is based on the myth that we can somehow correlate identity with intent. We can’t. And instead of wasting money trying, we would be far safer as a nation if we invested in intelligence, investigation and emergency response — security measures that aren’t based on a guess about a terrorist target or tactic.<\/p>\n

That’s the TSA: Not doing the right things. Not even doing right the things it does.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maybe we should rename the TSA from the “Transporation Security Agency” to the FGSA – the “Feel Good Security Agency.” Or maybe the SBA – the “Security Blanket Agency.” Because almost everything they do it just to make us “feel better” about security, rather than actually making us more secure.<\/p>\n

Feeling<\/em> secure and actually being<\/em> secure are two VERY different things. The problem is that feeling<\/em> secure is easy to wave around come election time. Actually being<\/em> secure is a bit harder to brag about on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n

Sad, but true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rules that the TSA has rolled out regarding photo IDs and their requirements for getting onto passenger airplanes are usless. In fact, you could argue that they are worse than useless, since they create a false sense of security – and they cost us a lot of money (both directly and indrectly). But don’t… Continue reading The TSA’s Photo ID Rules are Useless<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"webmentions_disabled_pings":false,"webmentions_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[19,26],"class_list":["post-1324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-society","tag-government","tag-security","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pimUj-lm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":606,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2005\/08\/19\/no-fly-list-keeps-infants-off-planes\/","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":0},"title":"‘No-fly list’ keeps infants off planes","author":"Keith Survell","date":"August 19, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I understand that security is important,\" Zapolsky said. \"But if they're just guessing, and we have to give up our passport to prove that our 11-month-old is not a terrorist, it's a waste of their time.\"","rel":"","context":"In "politics"","block_context":{"text":"politics","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":796,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2006\/09\/11\/no-i-havent-forgotten\/","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":1},"title":"No, I haven’t forgotten","author":"Keith Survell","date":"September 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"No, I haven't forgotten what day today is, or what happened on this day 5 years ago. It's still a touchy subject with me, though. Traumatic memories don\u2019t become less traumatic with the passage of time \u2013 not for me, at least.","rel":"","context":"In "personal"","block_context":{"text":"personal","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":437,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2005\/03\/28\/tsa-lied-about-protecting-passenger-data\/","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":2},"title":"TSA Lied About Protecting Passenger Data","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 28, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Incompetence. Utter contempt for the citizens of this country, and their rights. ARGH!","rel":"","context":"In "politics"","block_context":{"text":"politics","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1523,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2008\/11\/29\/a-new-photoshop-trick-i-learned-recently\/","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":3},"title":"A New Photoshop Trick I Learned Recently","author":"Keith Survell","date":"November 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"First off, let me say that I am NOT that great with Adobe Photoshop. I can get by, and I know how to do some things, but I'm strictly in the \"amateur\" category. And when it comes to photo processing in Photoshop, I'm even worse. So I'm always excited when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pictures"","block_context":{"text":"Pictures","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/pictures\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"passaic river in fall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3140\/3061962630_77931c5475.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":881,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2007\/05\/08\/real-id-comments-close-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":4},"title":"REAL ID Comments Close Tonight!","author":"Keith Survell","date":"May 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"A national ID is wrong and is counter to the principles upon which this country was founded.","rel":"","context":"In "politics"","block_context":{"text":"politics","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6038,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2023\/09\/07\/behind-the-wheel-2021-lexus-ux250h\/","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":5},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2021 Lexus UX250h","author":"Keith Survell","date":"September 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"My wife recently got a company car, but there wasn't much to choose from (like, literally just 2 cars - one of which wouldn't fit in our garage) and so we ended up with this Lexus, and I have to say\u2026 I kind of hate it. Given that it's just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}