'Idiot' barb gets passenger detained

[JEP]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/28/idi...gie/index.html

A Wisconsin man who wrote "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" on a plastic bag containing toiletries said he was detained at an airport security checkpoint for about 25 minutes before authorities concluded the statement was not a threat.

Ryan Bird, 31, said he wrote the comment about Hawley -- head of the Transportation Security Administration -- as a political statement. He said he feels the TSA is imposing unreasonable rules on passengers while ignoring bigger threats.

Classic..............

[EDUC8-or]

Oops! One of the parents from my wife's class (she's a 3rd grade teacher) works as a screener for the TSA and she makes as much as I do with a HS education. Apparently she's a little clueless.

Now there's nothing wrong with being successful, but with some people like this around I don't feel so safe.

[Toonces]

God bless Amerika. The most free country in the world. It's sad to think that the TSA superhero that had this guy detained, probably worked at Wendy's prior to working at the TSA. I am sure the TSA superstar probably makes more than alot of the pilots that fly the shiny jets the passengers fly in. USA USA USA. Where the hell is my flag

[jrh]

The other day I painted "Cops are pigs!" on the back of my truck. I got pulled over for speeding and the cop was super rude to me! Geeze! America's going down the tubes!



Seriously, does this guy expect to breeze through security with a statement like that on his bag? Sure, he's got a right to say whatever he wants, but that doesn't mean the TSA has to like it. It's not like he actually got arrested...he was detained, determined to not be a threat, then released. Sounds like the TSA finally did their job.

For all the talk we have in support of profiling, this seems like a classic case of good profiling. Who's to say he wasn't a little messed up in the head and was going to cause a scene on his flight? I'd rather have the TSA pulling guys like him out of line instead of somebody's grandma trying to get to El Paso.

[TheShortOne]

if i'm a little late to NJC, you guys will know why...

[sopdan]

Your cop analogy doesn't work completely... i.e. if you were pulled over for simply having "Cops are pigs!" painted on your truck, the officer would've been overstepping legal bounds as there was no cause for pulling you over.

The passenger didn't write "I want to kill Kip Hawley," he wrote "Kip Hawley is an idiot"... there is a huge difference.

Perhaps they should also detain anyone with an anti-Bush shirt or similar, as there may be a chance that they may cause a scene.

[Mahesh]

A lady from Virginia called into CSPAN in this morning's American Journal and said "the greatest threat to our national security is those people that criticize the government".

It's amazing how quickly democracy gets tossed out the window when people are in fear.

[Toonces]

Anything goes as long as the cowering minions feel a tiny bit safer right.

[JEP]

Originally Posted by TheShortOne

if i'm a little late to NJC, you guys will know why...

emily....there will be no writing on the bags. we need no one trailing you to the condo....

[mpenguin1]

Well, let's see what else the article says:

A TSA spokeswoman acknowledged a man was stopped, but likened the incident to cases in which people inappropriately joke about bombs. She said the man was "a little combative" and that he was detained only a few minutes.

And here is some additional information:

A spokeswoman for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said the TSA did call the sheriff's office to report an upset customer at the checkpoint. A deputy went to the scene, interviewed all of the participants, ran a wanted check on the man, and referred it back to the TSA after determining no crime had been committed, Deputy Darice Landon said.
Landon said the original call came at 2:21 p.m., and it was unclear how long the man was detained. There is no indication that he was combative, she said.

My take on the situation, this guy was looking for attention & got the attention that he desired.....

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by sopdan

Your cop analogy doesn't work completely... i.e. if you were pulled over for simply having "Cops are pigs!" painted on your truck, the officer would've been overstepping legal bounds as there was no cause for pulling you over.

The passenger didn't write "I want to kill Kip Hawley," he wrote "Kip Hawley is an idiot"... there is a huge difference.

Perhaps they should also detain anyone with an anti-Bush shirt or similar, as there may be a chance that they may cause a scene.

BIG Difference!!!!! The TSA idiots think they're a bunch of heros protecting the lives of America. BIG Joke is what they are.

I'd love to see many more bags going through security w/ that same line on them. That would be hilarious.

Look people. The whole "security" screening process is a joke! Anyone w/ any knowledge of how it works would realize you can EASILY get many different types of weapons through the "checkpoint" if you wanted too. I'm not going to go into details about it, but you are no safer now regarding the whole "checkpoint" process than you were 6 years ago.

[TheShortOne]

Landon said the original call came at 2:21 p.m., and it was unclear how long the man was detained. There is no indication that he was combative, she said.

that was from the deputy...

[TFaudree_ERAU]

Lets take a vote here. How many people think the screener actually knew who Kip Hawley was?

[mpenguin1]

Originally Posted by TheShortOne

that was from the deputy...

To be objective, I copied the entire quote, which said the TSA reported an upset passenger & the report Sheriff's department there was no evidence that he was comative.

Not sure how they went from upset to combative?.....

[AngelFuree]

Originally Posted by TFaudree_ERAU

Lets take a vote here. How many people think the screener actually knew who Kip Hawley was?

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking!!!

Oh wait...how can they not know who Kip Hawley is? They were personally interviewed by him when they got the job.