I said that I’d go back and buy little containers to put them all in and the disappointment was visible on her face. When I was doing that, she came over to my daughters who were waiting for me and conveniently ‘remembered’ that there was a post office nearby and that I could mail the stuff home (pointing it out at that point did no good as I was already gone to make the transfer into smaller containers).

Anyway, the bottom line is that I bought a ton of smaller containers and poured everything in them but kept the original containers and no-one said a thing about it when I sent the stuff back through! I could have easily then gone into the bathroom and poured everything back into the original containers! A terrorist wouldn’t even have to wait until he got onto the plane-he could just go into a bathroom and do it! Furthermore, when I was pouring the perfumes into the containers one of them was sealed (i.e. I couldn’t just screw the top off) so I said to hell with it and tossed the whole thing-a 8.4 oz. bottle-back into the bag. It went through with NO PROBLEM!

If the TSA does try and take your stuff, I’d suggest to pour it all down a drain somewhere before letting them take the stuff because there’s no doubt that this envious screener at the Atlanta Airport intended to keep my lotions and perfumes from Bath & Bodyworks and Victoria’s Secret-NO DOUBT!!!

I definitely don’t think that taking off belts and all the bottle baloney makes us one iota safer.

Like the rest of the Bush Administration, the TSA’s leadership is convinced of their own infallibility; they thus regard any questioning or criticism as tantamount to terrorism. Reasoned argument of the sort you present is pointless, since they’ll invariably dismiss it by insisting that rules and procedures that look arbitrary and stupid are sound and appropriate based on “robust classified intelligence.” Since disclosing the actual reason why it’s so sound and sensible would harm national security, we’re obligated to accept everything they say and do on faith. End of discussion (if you want to fly today).

As for the anger and inconvenience, I suspect that the TSA leadership merely considers it proof of their agency’s effectiveness. They seem to equate effective security with intrusiveness and inconvenience, so the angrier it makes passengers the more effective it clearly must be. I sometimes suspect that the real intent of the TSA checkpoints has more to do with acclimating Americans to accepting arbitrary intrusions from government “security” officials than with providing effective protection against terrorist threats to aviation.

We can only hope that the next administration will appoint competent Homeland Security leaders who will re-focus the TSA on effective and sensible security measures that promote cooperation rather stupid rules that promote resentment. But I wouldn’t count on it. I’m waiting for someone to ask the presidential candidates about the TSA’s very obvious problems.

There’s a reason I strongly dislike the TSA… not only does it make me grumpy, but it just doesn’t make sense or give me confidence in the safety of flying..

I used to travel with the nearly finished bottles I had of shampoo, moisturizer, etc, that way, I could finish them on the trip and toss the empty bottles. Can’t do that under the new policy. In fact, I had a client almost arrested over trying to bring 2 ounces of shampoo in a ten ounce bottle. (His desire to point out the illogical aspects of the policy got in the way of his sense.) In that vein, I am not sure about how this empty bottle thing will fly.

But, TSA’s logic is supposedly clear, they don’t want terrorists to have the bigger bottles so they can’t combine liquids as Ned wrote about above. So what happens when you go through security? All these places selling drinks in 20 ounce bottle!