Commentary: Americans need to stop whining about air security

This article highlights the ineptitute of Obama and Democrats in general when it comes to national security. Unionizing any Agency responsible for our national security is anti-security. We've already seen the consequences when the National Treasury Employees Union successfully challanged the US Border Patrol who now can't modify security procedures without negotiating the changes with the union. In fact, supporting this nonsense makes me wonder whose side Obama is on. And why.

"The kind of attitude Americans have always had"? No, this is the "kind of attitude" that inept Presidents have always had. Before Pearl Harbor, before 9/11, and since January, 2009.

And why is it that socialist legislation can't wait long enough for Congress to read, understand, and debate it, or for the public to fully understand it yet national security measures like implementing the 9/11 Commission reccomendations have waited a year already?

Have your seen the scanned images? It's like looking at pornography 24/7. Get informed – you would like your wife or daughters be viewed by potential molesters & perverts.

The problem isn't the amount of screening or the invasion of privacy. The problem is that the security is primarily theatre. Let me show you the kind of genius we're dealing with:

I can't bring six ounces of baby formula on a plane in one container. But I can bring two 3 ounce containers of baby formula on the plane along WITH an empty 6 ounce container. Is that moronic or what?

I can bring a lighter on an airplane but I can't bring a pocket knife that has a three inch blade.

The pilot going on the plane with his proper credentials, in his uniform, is subjected to as much security as anyone else. Even though he can simply push the yoke and dive the plane into the ocean.

Personnel working at the airport, althought they are screened before hired, don't go through security to get into the gates.

After the Christmas bombing attempt, the US announced they would pat down people arriving from "problem" countries. Ok so all you have to do is travel from Nigeria to Canada and then to the US. Or get a passport from Francer, rather than Nigeria on the black market. Again, easily avoided.

It's all nonense.

Totally agree. I would support an opt-in situation where I an be scanned, puffed, or almost whatever. If people opt-out...they can take the personally padded line. If scanning will support my neighbors and fellow travelers, I'm good with it.

Roland, you can give up your rights if you chose.

I chose not to give up my right to fight any additional screening, TSA hassles, bogus threat to reduce citizen rights.

No amount of security will protect you or me if America doesn't change its foreign policy, economic policy to help indeginous people, surpressed people, and America exploits countries natural resources, it's wealth for its own benefit.

Thank you, Mr. Martin, someone needed to say this. I'd much rather that some random TSA agent that I'll never see again gets to intrude on my privacy a bit than to have them let down their guard and miss something important that kills hundreds of Americans. It's not worth fussing over, the potential danger is too great.

Agreed!! Safety first. Everyone quit your whining. I would rather be inconvenienced an extra 15-30 minutes than to have a feeling that not everything was done by security to ensure my safety. You have been in an airport; everybody and their mother knows to get their early for your flight. That way you won't have to rush around and pout and moan when the lines aren't moving fast enough.

Wow. This opinion piece is just a pile of fearmongering Nonsense.

" Maybe TSA should install photos at every security checkpoint of the World Trade Center towers crashing to the ground eight years ago. That is likely the only thing that will get the attention of passengers and get them to stop this “out-of-sight-out-of-mind” mentality"

Its this kind of attitude that leads to the destruction of civil liberties, and the creation of Big Government. The TSA people Ive seen are just a spot above the people working in the food court at most airports. And by spot I mean pixel. Half of them look bored to death, the other half look ready to verbaly berated people for not knowing everything, sometimes when those people dont even speak english.

To make a long comment shorter, Im not saying people should have every convenience made available, but these(to borrow a term from an article yesterday) Security theater attempts at security do nothing to actually secure us. It is impossible to really have full security. And to remove liberties and freedoms in the name of security is letting the terrorists win. They are terrorist for a reason. If they thought they could fight us as soldiers they would. But we are to big for them to actually harm, just annoy. So they blow something up, and suddenly we are making changes to our society based on a number of deaths that is smaller than the amount of people killed in car accidents every year in the US. And they win.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Thank You!!! Ya know, if people truly wanted to be safe when flying, we would outlaw airlines handling baggage all together and have to ship our luggage to its destination a day early via fedex so its waiting on us when we get there. No carry ons, just us walking through the scanners with no place to hide anything. That would make safety paramount!! My disagreement with your column, those TSA employees have a minimum requirement of a high school education yet get paid more than I do with three degrees under my belt. They sign up for the job and all that it entails! They should all undergo customer service training to deal with those that are annoyed but I think your right that by playing 9/11 over and over again at the gates would remind folks why they are there in the first place!! Great column again and my compliments!
Marc

You're right about only one thing. We should stop being in such a hurry. Therefore, those of us who are sensible enough to be upset about this latest attack on our personal liberties should choose to stop flying altogether and drive, bus, boat, or train instead.

Not only is the increased airport security a hassle, but it does not increase our safety:
-If there are scanners, terrorists will simply hide explosives inside body cavities.
-If there are more random searches, terrorists will just get better at hiding explosives in their baggage.
-If there is profiling, people who don't fit the standard profile will be recruited to commit bombings.

Fact is, no matter what we do to avoid terrorist attacks, bad people will always find ways around the countermeasures. Instead of wasting all of our resources on ineffective and extremely inconvenient tactics, the country needs to find other ways to keep people from having the desire to blow up planes in the first place.

There are going to be bombings and attempted bombings–thats just how it is. But one attempted bombing every million flights really isn't that bad, and its time we acknowledge that. There are much bigger problems for the country to worry about.

Mr. Martin apparently is under the misguided impression that the security benefit from more thorough screenings is worth the inconvenience and privacy sacrifice. It is not. I wouldn't complain to or about the government if a terrorist slipped through the cracks and caused a tragedy. Why? Because total security is not possible, and it never will be. The government is already too much of a "nanny" in our lives. Bad things happen, and sometimes very bad things happen. That's life. Abdicating your freedom to the government in the name of keeping you or others "safe and secure" is among the worst decisions we as citizens can make and, in many respects, already have made.

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!!!!!!!

I can get behind this article.
People are always looking for a solution that will not cost them anything.
Good luck with that one.

My wife, like many people our age, has a hip replacement. This has meant a wanding and pat down screening at each and every airport. I merely wait and move her belongings from the screening belt while she suffers that indignity. Last week, however, we both went through the millimeter-wave device at Albuquerque's Sunport. No wanding, no patdown, no scramble to move belongings off the belt. I agree with the "stop whining" comment. Just wait until you have hip and/or knee replacement. You'll appreciate the full body scanners.

So, by that logic, as a journalist .. when the police come and demand to know your source for a story, you'll tell them, right?

Papers please!

Air travel is just as safe today as it was in the 70s .. you're still hundreds of times more likely to be struck by lightning that be a victim of terrorism .. except that CNN doesn't talk about "near misses" with lightning for 6 weeks after it happens.

Typical response. This "reporter" is just one of many brainless sheep in the country who spout this "whatever it takes to keep me safe" rhetoric. Where does it stop? Answer: It doesn't.

Making all weapons illegal would protect people in the streets too, Mr. Martin, but we have protected rights that override what would otherwise be common sense measures of public safety.

I personally am not so body conscious that body scanners offend my privacy, but I fear that my attractive wife does not share this attitude. And that is her right. When a breach of privacy is needed in order to prevent the less-likely-than-lightning-strikes danger of airborne terrorism, a debate and cultural consensus must be made.

I thank you for putting forth the debate in our opinion column, but I do not agree that this is a non-issue, nor that the only concern is for convenience.

I completely agree. You really can't have it both ways, it's either inconveniencing but worthwhile screening, or convenience and lax security associated with greatly increased risk.

People with physical insecurities should NOT be a reason why a terrorist is allowed a method he can exploit to cause a catastrophe. I'd rather be safe than sorry, and if that means I wait an extra twenty or thirty minutes, so be it.

Those who trade freedom for security deserve NEITHER. Your opinion is BS in a FREE country. This country is being turned into the USSR by our version of the KGB, the DHS. Pretty soon, if the gov't keeps taking our freedom away, they will have to worry about a revolution by American Citizens. All these "security" measures which take away American freedom show that the terrorists have ALREADY WON!!!

Hey, Mr. Martin, you put your wife and children through the scanners so some pervernt can see there naked body.
The bomber was escorted past security with a one way ticket paid in cash, no passport, and no ID. There was a body scanner at that airport!

You put your wife in the naked body scanner bub.

"Yet what is truly perplexing about the aftermath of the failed bombing is the complacency among Americans who are quick to condemn security lapses but, when tough measures are put into place, act like spoiled children who don’t want to be inconvenienced."

I agree 1000%. Everyone wants their cake and be able to eat it too. You either have lax security and convenienced Americans which opens the door wide for further bombing attempts OR tougher security, a little inconvenience for Americans and we slam the door in terrorists' faces.

"Take the full body airport scanners. Civil libertarians are up in arms, saying it violates the privacy of Americans. But come on, folks, are they really that bad?"

From what I've seen of photographs, they look like enhanced x-rays. Sounds okay to me.

many many more airplanes have and will crash because of pilot/air-traffic controllers error and component malfuction rather than terrorism. Let's keep that in perspective on this occasion.

Roland needs to stop whining about Americans. Are the full body scans x-rays? Are there health concerns about being x-rayed 1000's of times in one life? Maybe George Clooney's role in "Up in the Air" will have a sequel about a man facing cancer years later. Or do you think there is no price to be paid for someone to see through your clothing?

Amen, Brother. TSA can spend two hours digging around in my underwear if it will help ensure that everybody arrives at their desination safely. Seriously...do what you need to do. Americans need to take a collective deep breath and be patient enough to make sure that we don't let these scumbag terrorists terrorize travelers any longer.

You said it very well. I want to be sure my kids get where they are going and return home in one peice, not an urn of ashes mixed with the rest of the folks on a flight.
I tend to think that the narrow minded re: flight safety are the ones who have never and likely will never, fly.

Great post! I cannot agree with you more Roland. I worked at the airport as a customer service agent from 2001-2002 so I have seen my fair share of passengers whom are in such a rush that a little screening can really tick them off because it is inconvenient for them. I think as a country we are in RUSH mode; everything has to be fast because we want to get things done quicker. I travel quite often and like you, even if I have to go through extra security three times in a row, although it is annoying but you know what? if that can gurantee my safety, I'm all game.

It's just a little sad that it's been eight years already and we are just now starting to expand security nationwide. This should have been implemented before 9/11 and after and yet we are just beginning to see these full body scans. Thank God that nothing serious happened this Christmas and that many lives were saved but who is to know when the next Al-Queda member is ready to harm us again? Like you said, we need more security and a little less complaining please.

Campbell, Roland – I disageree, as I heard stated today on CNN, that the American justice system cannot give an accused terrorist a trial he or she deserves. The interviewee, Bremer, said that only the military can try terrorists and extract intelligence. First, those are two separate issues which can be separated.
Secondly, when did the military become a fairer protector of anyones human and civil rights? That might be the most unameircan contention I have heard since the early days of Bush.
I also suggest that CNN producers and editors think about giving the defeated neocon opposition to Obama airtime to continue to progpagandize their very undemocratic agenda in the name of a news story or a legitimate discussion of what the current government is trying to accomplish. Protecting us is not politics - it is serious business. Their commentary offers no constructive suggestions - just the same old, cynical fear-mongering.

Screening Grandmas for knitting needles or shutting down an airport over honey is getting way out of hand. International flights from "profiled" countries should get extra attention, profiling or not. How about people of interest not getting visas or anywhere near our country. Lets not forget the TSA's failed miserably, even though passengers are listed as a last line of defense. We have a good eye on one another, airports will take even more of our rights away, they will get better, more expensive, more intrusive equipment, and never install it in the places it needs to be. We are tired of security tactics that are not for actual security, but a blanket for us to feel better getting on a plane. The sad part is, the next attack probably won't fail.

I appreciate your view on this subject. I think this article is well-written and the subject matter has been thoroughly thought out.
I would never want to go through a scanner. Yet, if the threat was REAL, if I had a higher chance of dying in a terrorist bombed-plane than of dying in a motor vehicle crash, I would do it. But, under no circumstance would I let my daughter be sent through a scanner. Period.

Great article. If somebody is complaining then I think they should be double searched–maybe they have something to hide!

Good for you!!! I ditto your comments.

I completely agree with todays opinon. Stop complaining already! Do you want our country to be safe or what? enough is enough. Deal with it. I will go through WHATEVER security check point is necessary so that my country and it's people are safe and free of harm!

While I agree with the assertion that there will be compromises with our privacy and time in favor of safety, that shouldn't mean that we should take it from behind, to put it eloquently, and accept any and all new rules blindly. We need to analyze these new rules and scruntize anything that looks out of place. Have you ever known the government to get these things 100% right ALL of the time?

Don’t take Americans for fools, per the “whininess” of a relative few (see “tea-baggers”). I’m just not quite ready for a TSA official to make me turn and cough.

What do any of us really have to hide? It is not a persons right to have access to flying on airplanes. Southwest, Delta, AA, or any of the other airlines have the right to refuse your business if you won't fly by their rules. If you don't like the rules to fly then don't fly!

Bravo!

You're ridiculous. The terrorists are always one step ahead. They will just modify tactics to get around this new system which serves only as a MASSIVE invasion of privacy.

Would you consent to a strip search every time you need to board a plane, Roland? By the sound of your article, you'd better. And that makes you completely out of touch with reality.

We have to appear naked before some TSA agent to move around the country now. News Flash: The terrorists won.

"If the scanners will keep weapons off planes, I’m all for it."

Scanners won't keep "weapons" off planes. They'll only make us "feel" safer. Even if the scanners are able to pick up the small amount of explosive substance needed to blow up a plane and the security personnel are able to stay focused enough to always catch it, this system does nothing to prevent would-be bombers from smuggling contraband aboard inside of their body cavities. Are you all for body cavity searches also?

I think everyone gets what your trying to say here. In my opinion the problem isn't in additional screening and safely measures it's the disrespect that the "customers" receive when flying.

The fact that the flying public are customers seems to be lost on everyone. When paying a large sum of money to go from point A to point B only to have to

- show up 3-5 hours in advance of departure
- wade through endless lineups like cattle
- pay extra for your checked bags
- have your flights delayed or canceled

Let security do all the screening they deem necessary but speed it up and find a way to treat the customers like humans. In the mean time I'll avoid US airports at all costs.

I agree with your call for more security measures, up to a point. Seriously though, does my 3yr old daughter or 90yr old grandmother need to be patted down, scanned, and have their purses or small bags gone through? I think it can be taken too far, and the last I recall we had rights to privacy in this country.

The point of terrorism is to terrorize, to make people look over their shoulder everywhere the go, for citizens to cancel vacation plans or be too afraid to go to work, and to get governments to overreact by heavily policing the citizens of the target nation.

The point of a free country is to be free, the freedom to get from point A to point B, to have the ability to do what you desire within the confines of the laws of the nation, and to do so and expect the governmnent to reasonably step in when needed.

I am all for sensable and proven security methods that don't unreasonably ihibit the freedoms I enjoy as an American citizen in my own country. In all reality the x-ray body scanners add nothing substansial to the current security methods that are in place. Had x-ray scanners already been in place, the terror suspect would have found another way to bring the explosives in (as they will now). What ultimately allowed the terror suspect to bring explosives on board wasn't a failure of the TSA but of our intelligence system (keep in mind that he was flying in from another country), so installing x-ray scanners in the US wouldn't have stopped this method of terrorism. Our failure was not putting in action the tools and methods we have available to us in counter-terrorism. The intelligence community was notified of this individual's participation in radical Islam. He purchased a one-way ticket to the United States, and nobody checked his visa status when information was provided, this is the breakdown.

I didn't put my life on the line for my country overseas just to be treated like a terrorist everywhere I go. I am a white American male, but even when I went to visit the Statue of Liberty this year I was screened TWICE (once prior to leaving Battery Park and again upon arrival to Liberty Island) and I'm still not sure how I would have obtained a weapon on the ferry ride over after I had been screened, that's the silliness of the system, they added a completely unecessary layer of security that doesn't keep anybody any safer. I travel all over the country in my current job, and I am very patient with the security measures we already have in place.

But I'm perplexed as to why I need to take my shoes of still to this day just because 1 individual unsuccesfully tried to ignite his many years ago. This seems a very silly and fruitless effort. At some point as free American citizens whe have to tell our government "no thanks." We are all aware of the risks associated with flight, both in terms of security and physics, but we do not need to be treated as terrorists and have new measures added everytime there's' a failed attempt. At some point it all just becomes noise and not a true measure of security. In the military we frquently alter our security measures to keep the enemy off-guard and guessing. TSA does not, I know exactly what they are going to do and when they are going to do it because they have been doing the same thing for years, so adding an x-ray scanner would just become the norm, and the terrorists will learn how to beat it.

At a certain point, we just have to draw a line. Are we just supposed to go along with full body x-ray scanners until somebody does a study 20 years down the road demonstrating it increase cancer rates in frequent travelers? Does living in American now mean that we have to give up our freedoms little by little for the terrorists? Does living in America now mean we have to sacrifice our health just because somebody someday might try to sneak something onto a plane? I don't think so.

So, they failed the first time and requested additional security to make us "safe". They fail again and request additional measures to make us "safe". At what point do we get to the root of the problem and get rid of the people that continue to fail? Or do you just enjoy regurgitating whatever nonsense comes out of the mouth of President Obama and the rest of the puppets?

What is the difference between this puppet and the last puppet? Obama is following the same failed policies of the last idiot that resided in the White House.

Thank God we finally have a voice of reason. Flying is not a right, it is a privilege. The government keeping its citizens safe is not a right, it is a responsibility. As a parent, I often have to usurp my child's desire for something they feel they have a right to in honoring my responsibility to keep them safe. The same is true in this case. Too many Americans act like children – whining and crying when they can't have things their way. They don't see the big picture, only what they want. The government must step in and say sorry, but this is for your own safety. If you don't like it, then don't fly. It is as simple as that. We can never allow another 9/11 to happen again. And, a great byproduct of this is if all those whiners stopped flying, the flying experience would improve dramatically for the rest of us.

Its all fun and games until someone dies! Roland S. Martin!

I agree 100% – I'm glad to wait in line, arrive early, and follow the rules if that means safety for all. Body scans – SURE. Pat me down – ABSOLUTELY. Because if it's done for all who travel, we're sure to be safer.

Get rid of the useless, untrained TSA. Use trained National Guard soldiers, if there are any left in the country, to work security in the airports.

This new security system will not stop future attacks. The same way all the other security measures didn't stop this latest attempt. These people just adopt new strategies to work around existing security measures.

Not sure why there isn't more outrage that you are now virtually strip searched in order to move about the country. Roland, by the tone of your article, it sounds like you would consent to mandatory, traditional strip searches also. When that system eventually comes into place, out society will be unabashedly insane.

I can't fly anymore because I have a principled objection to the harassment and invasive tactics of the TSA. The Terrorists, it seems, have won.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety."

-Benjamin Franklin

Mr. Martin,

You could not have said it better!!! screen me, search me, full cavity check! and check my kids, my husband, my dog, etc.

We all have human bodies, we all look the same, and we are all in this together.

If you dont want to be checked and would prefer to be blown up, then maybe take a train, private jet, boat, bicycle, helecopter, roller skates, or maybe a car.

In fact the crazy people that don't want to be checked, I realy don't want that type of lunatic on my flight anyway.

I am all for the scanners. Have a computer draw a naked picture of yourself or go "BOOM!". Seems like a no brainer. They could make you strip or pat you down but they are willing to let the cameras have first look. Seems pretty fair. If they are so up in arms about it they should give airplane passengers the choice "Express lane with the scanners or security lane without the scanners?".
Safety is more important then modesty.

Amen.

While there are many changes that could result in more sensible security, starting with millimeter wave scanners is a good place to begin.

Privacy concerns...you are in public. Trust me, the poor TSA technician who has to look at the rendering of your flabby butt and gutt on that screen has no desire to remember or share that image with anyone. You as an individual are not so special as to be singled out by a screener for embarassment or invasion of your privacy. Having something suspicious under your clothing will get you singled out.

If you don't want to experience real security, and/or the security theater...drive a car, take a bus, take a train...yes, Amtrak still exists...but please, save us the self importantance speeches about how your time is so much more valuable than everyone elses.

Mr. Martin, well said, thank you.

BRAVO, Roland!

I work for the TSA and feel your article is right on target. Unfortunately, most Americans do not share our sentiment. They demand convenience over security and then blame everyone but themselves when things go wrong. It amazes me that people are still opposed to full body scanning technologies. I guarantee those individuals will be first in line to demand explanations and compensation when something happens-very frustrating.

Bingo.

It's the "knee" jerk reactions that are getting people up in arms, and how QUICK they were able to deploy these full body scanners.... almost as if they knew this was going to happen... and were waiting for the opportunity.

I agree with Roland Martin. There are trade-offs to most things in life. Safety is more important than privacy.

I think part of the problem is our Puritan background. We abhor anyone seeing us "naked". Or touching us in a private place. BFHD!! Get over it and one with life.

one does get tired of whiners. and this really is NOT a civil liberties or privacy issue. flying on an airplane is a voluntary activity – if you don't want to deal with the security measures, get in your car and drive or take the bus or train. if you choose to fly, don't complain about the security.

Thank you, Thank you THANK YOU for a voice of reason. To me it has always been so simple: I would rather be delayed than dead. I love America, but Americans as a whole have got to be the biggest buch of cry baby's on the planet. Thank you Mr. Martin.

I feel like we are all ignoring that the reason he got on the plane is not because full body scanners were in place in Detroit or any other airport in the U.S. It was because he got on a plane in the Netherlands without a passport. I highly doubt that would have happened here in the US. I guess i just feel like with all these restrictions and extra security measures we have to deal with we are just letting the terrorists win by causing us to be more fearful and scared or you can just called it terrorized. This country has gone from being a land of the free to the land of the scared.

To the comment "Civil libertarians are up in arms, saying it violates the privacy of Americans."
I wonder what their reaction would be to dying in a terrorist attack – probably a lot more than just "up in arms".
Personally, the people who commit these acts fall into certain categories. If paying closer attention to all of the people who fall into these categories is called "profiling" – then I suggest we start profiling people who fly to or within the US. And....these profiles won't all be religious or race related – so relax everyone!

Bring on the body scanners. If you don't like it, don't fly.

People are "whining" because if the American intelligence system had simply done its job, NONE of this would have happened. Our friend the underpants bomber would have simply been another footnote in history, and when I fly into the country I could read a book for the last hour and a half of the flight instead of having to stare at the seat in front of me with nothing in my lap.

People are "whining" because the measures put in place after the failed attack are obviously ridiculous. The aforementioned cabin lockdown one hour out is pointless and totally ineffective at doing anything but pissing people off. What, a terrorist isn't going to blow up the plane one hour and one minute out? The full body scanners are nice and all, but they might not even catch this sort of attack.

Meanwhile we have a guy purchasing a one way international ticket with no luggage and a complaint filed by his father that he might be a terrorist. The failure to check up on these obvious warning flags is what needs fixing, not another layer of pointless technology, maddeningly stupid rules and political posturing. It's nice that Obama is promising to fix the real problem. But it would be even nicer if he ditched the ridiculous additional security theater and focused on doing necessary work.

I am a frequent flyer with NW and Delta, flew 8times international flights in 2009. I support this idea and we shall do more not less.

Stop wining! Or we got hurt

It's when I read the misguided "hooray's" in support of this dreck being passed off as reporting that I get really down. The breads and circuses have dulled the senses of the masses. That and coca cola. It's pretty sad when people stop thinking and allow their government to do it for them. These people get what they deserve. Unfortunately, I have to deal with it too.

You want to know why I am whining? let me count the ways:

1. Why should I lose my rights merely because the Administration and TSA refuse to properly check those that might be a danger - and not be limited (as they are currently) by the number of other similar people they have checked or because they wear a burka?

2. It doesn't work. There are currently any number of ways I can get liquids on a plane without being subject to a strip search.

3. How long do you think it would take for the scan of some celebrity to appear on a website?

4. Why is it illegal to strip search prisoners on a whim but permissible to do so merely because I wish to utilize my Constitutional right to travel?

5. Will the ticket agents, stewardesses, baggage handlers, TSA people also be required to do so and, if not, why not?

6 Why stop there? Why not have these scanners at every courthouse, every entryway into the country, the White House, visitors to Congress, the Supreme Court or any other popular site?

Thye list goes on. If the Administration were really seriou sabout security there are many actual worthwhile and helpful steps they can and should take before causing every person going on an airliner to strip.

Amen Roland. I agree 100%. Since we have the technology for these "full body scanners," then they should be mandatory for every airport. What good are your civil liberties (violated or not) if you are dead?

Until we give up political correctness and start profiling more and searching little old grannies and other groups that have never Hi-jacked an airliner, we have little or no hope of actually stopping acts of terror. The current system is so full of holes and error prone that it really has no chance of stopping the actions of a Heaven Bound Jihadist.

I COMPLETELY AGREE. HOWEVER, I NOTICED THAT YOU COULDN'T HELP YOURSELF WHEN IT CAME TO TAKING A DIG AT BUSH. HE MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO FORM THE INTELLIGENCE UNION BUT YOU MAKE IT SOUND LIKE IT'S STILL HIS FAULT. THIS IS OBAMA'S ISSUE NOW.

Instead of turning the country into a police state, where legitimate, law-abiding citizens continue to suffer more and more restrictions due to the actions of terrorists....why don't we focus on eliminating the terrorists? Or dealing with why terrorist want to kill us in the first place?

The terrorist are winning by turning this country away from the freedom it was founded on.

And Roland, stop talking bad about your fellow countrymen. Instead of calling us 'microwave mentality' people, why don't you focus on the evil-doers?

Roland Martin
I find the phrase "enough with our microwave mentality." in your article to be precisely the point of contention people are having with these machines. First of all they even look as if they're actually microwaving you alive, aside from every thing else wrong. You say your worried about your family's safety and that we in society are rushed around by new technologies our better senses can't keep pace with, yet this is exactly what your advocating here. Isn't a bit odd that in regards to this new contraption, we see you jumping on the bandwagon proclaiming it is so absolutely vital to save us when you admit that if only the systems already in place had been working this undergarment bomber wouldve been caught without need for a nude photo machine?
As far as your concern for yours and others families, why out of this self righteous piety to the mantra "whatever it takes" are you now willing to subject them to the personal intrusion of nude imaging which could be so easily sexualized and ultimately somewhere along the line will be? Just as we saw our troops intimate sexy phone conversations get a priority to be taped and passed around by secret wire tap agents and other examples such as the horrors of Abu Gahrib, you cannot for one moment tell me that pedophiles right now arent salivating at the prospect of being paid to scan your children, Roland Martin?
This may be a very extreme scenario but unfortunately I do not think your being as critically minded as you normally are, my friend. And I was surprised by the stance you took since usually you advocate a common sense, cool headed objectivism, and in this article you sounded, frankly, like a fearmongering Bushbot with a contract from an Israeli security firm peddling a lifestyle we don't want full of products we actually don't need.

Hear, hear. I agree with everything you said. Everyone should stop whining and embrace what TSA personnel are trying to do: SAVE OUR LIVES. Treat them with courtesy and respect. Appreciate what they are trying to do and thank them.

I understand the concern about losing our rights a bit at a time. I get that. At the same time, however, I do not want to be on a plane that is blown up or crashed into a building (or in that building for that matter). I don't want any of my family or friends to be either. For that, I'm willing to be subjected to searches because I know there's nothing for them to find. But, I also know, there is something to be found in someone else's things. If there were not, there would have been no 9/11 tragedy and there would have been no attempted Christmas attack.

One word...NetJets.

I've heard of other methods of detecting bomb substance like using dogs. To me this is an invasion of privacy and whoever just passed this law made a lot of money selling these scanners. Its easy for people who are comfortable with having their body exposed like that for another person to see to say stop whining. This is clearly biased and stupid.

I personally could care less if I had to get scanned. But I can understand why a female I travel with would not be comfortable with it. And I'm not ok with someone else having their rights and privacy invaded if they are not ok with it.

While you have raised some good points, in particular about the American obsession with convenience, I can't help but disagree with your analysis of Americans' responses as a whole.

You say, "Yet what is truly perplexing about the aftermath of the failed bombing is the complacency among Americans who are quick to condemn security lapses but, when tough measures are put into place, act like spoiled children who don’t want to be inconvenienced."

This implies that the Americans angry about the security lapse and the Americans who aren't pleased with the new measures being discussed are one and the same. I would wager that, by and large, they are not. Americans are divided in this issue (as we are in nearly all issues), and taking all of the varying responses together, as if they came from a single person, would make us seem like a nation of bipolar individuals, each and every one of us conflicted. It's an amusing mental image, but it's not accurate.

You also seem to assume that any individual who feels improvements should be made in security ought to accept any changes that are implemented in security. Because, hey, anything to make us safer, right? However, this completely ignores the fact that change does not equal improvement. Certainly, screening is important, but at some point, we do have to consider how effective it really is. Would the new screening techniques being implemented have caught Mr. Underwear? Since Mr. Underwear failed miserably, what are the chances that method would be all that popular anyway? How much have the full body scanners been tested? Can they find things that have been shoved up Ye Olde Backdoor (or any other available cavities)? I've read that they're low dosage, but are there any hints at all of a long-term health effect? Some people have to fly rather frequently. As for privacy, what measures are being put into place to make sure that the screeners never see the actual person, and that the data is subsequently erased?

Don't you think it's valid to question whether a security measure is there as genuine security or just there to make people "feel" safe? Isn't it pretty fair to ask whether the amount of security gained (hard to quantify, I'm sure) is equal to the time, money, effort, and potentially the freedoms we give up for it?

Let's do what we can to prevent death by terrorist/criminal, yes, but nothing will or can replace your own senses, your own intelligence, and your own civic duty to defend when no one else can.

As an aside, I must say I suspect that much of the real security happens behind the scenes, anyway, and that more attacks have been foiled than we'll ever find out about, but we only hear about the stuff that does happen or almost happens. One underwear attack and everybody flips their lid. "Anything for safety, right?" Yeah, right. What's the value of doing backflips to "ensure" your in-flight safety (from terrorists, nothing else) when you're not doing nearly so much to protect yourself from dying in a car wreck? If you were genuinely that obsessed with staying alive, you'd completely miss the point of being alive and lock yourself in a padded room. People just don't like being reminded that each day presents a new way to die.

My apologies for the rant. I'm rather tired of everyone overreacting.

How effective is this even? Because THEY didn't do their job properly the people now has to go through this kind of violation? Totally absurd!

THANK YOU for this excellent and sensible article. I am also a frequent traveler and am staggered by the whining and complaining about someone seeing an X-ray of my naked body for 15 second. So what? Believe me, looking at my sexagenarian body is more traumatic for a screener than it is for me Wake up, America – there are people all over the world willing to die and spending every hour of their waking days trying to make sure that as many as possible of us
die along with them. Yes, it is frustrating and infuriating to have to add 2-3 extra hours onto a trip, just to get through the airport . But it beats not getting to finish your trip because you have been vaporized somewhere in mid-air. I'll even happily walk through a machine on me that can find explosives in body cavities - because that's the next logical step. But I'd rather we were all screened by El Al security people, who are the real pros – when was the last time you heard of anything happening on an El Al flight from anywhere in the world?

Terrorist don't have to even get on an airplane. They can blow themselves up in a terminal full of people even before they see a TSA person and shut down an entire airport for weeks. Same thing can happen in a bus terminal, train station, cruise, stadium or theme park. Don't be short sighted and say that a full body scanner will solve the problem.

We need extremely well trained security people who can look people in the eye and read them and well trained dogs that can assist. A people and dog system is better suited for any kind of venue, not just airports.

This reminds me of a Ben Franklin quote:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

While perhaps a bit harsh and sweeping, it still bears keeping in mind.

The problem, of course, is that defensive technologies such as full body screening represent a static tactic which is easy to analyse and plan for. On the one hand, I have no problem getting a full body scan. On the other hand, each iteration of tactics used by these bombers costs them a few hundred dollars, while costing us millions to find a way to "defeat" it, only to have them adapt, as our defensive measures are far more visible than their offensive tactics. While I don't have a problem with full body scanners, strides need to be made to develop better, less visible defensive technologies. A good defensive technology is one that does not clue a person in to how he was caught, and we shouldn't have some big media blitz advertising how we're going to catch the bombers next time... that just makes the technology that much easier to overcome.

It should be a little hard and even inconvenient to get on an airplane. It's the times we live in, accept it. Any time I go to a sporting event or concert, I get patted down along with the 20,000 other people trying to get in. No one there seems to complain. So why is the TSA the Anti-Christ for doing the same job, with much bigger consequences if a failure occurs?

Suck it up, get to the airport early, thank the TSA agents as you go through for keeping us safe, and arrive at your destination in one piece.

/Overstating the obvious

Well said. I agree 100%. I am always ok with the extra time it now takes to fly anywhere. True it is an inconvenience, but compared to the possible outcomes of a terrorist attack, I'm willing to be inconvenienced.

Additionally, there is a great point in the article that should not be glossed over; the treatment of TSA officials. These people are doing their job...which just happens to keep you safe. They did not write the rules, they are just enforcing them. The way I see some of them treated by inconvenienced travelers is despicable. Maybe, if they were treated better (and maybe could unionize...thanks DeMint), they would be top-tier employees who do their job well. The improvement in TSA employee quality as well as avoiding the hold-up that comes with arguing and bickering about fluid-container size (just an example) not only improves security, but may actually speed along the lines.

As a final note on treating TSA employees well: I'm a scrubby looking guy when I fly. I rock the beard, disheveled hair and the most comfortable clothes I can find. I admit, based off how I look, I would stop me for a search (at least for pot or some drugs). But you know how many times I have been stopped? None. Why? Maybe it is because of the respect and friendliness I show to the TSA and airline personnel. Oh, and I always thank them for their hard work.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin"

When this quote was made, the idea of a hundred people being packed together to take a thousand mile trip in 2 hours was not even in the realm of imagination.

If we were to live in a world that relied on 200 year old quotes, not only would America no longer exist, but we would probably be a 100% Amish country. The sad part is I understand this concept and I'm a Conservative Republican.

Yea we have heard all of this before over and over again and it never gets fixed. You don't talk about the man who helped the underware bomber get on board flight 253.I doubt you will be allowing your sons or daughters to go through the new body scanners. So the perverts at the TSA can look over your wife anytime they want.Oh yea but lets stop whinning.This is about more controlI and more money for the likes of Chertoff to line his pockets with our tax dollars. The great people of the great country are seeing through the lies of Democrats and Republicans and the games you and the others in mainstream media " divide and Conquer". I bet you are a member of the Clergy Response Team ready to sell your people up the river for land and title from the kings of the world!

I agree with Roland. We have incredibly short memories. We need to quit crying about every little inconvenience in our lives and live in the very real present where we are under constant threat of attack. Don't get me wrong, I do not subscribe to the Bush doctrine of living in fear all the time, but we need to face the reality of world we live in. We cannot, and will not, prevent another attack sometime in the future. It is GOING to happen. But if we can delay it by putting common sense ahead of our own selfishness, then lets do that!

And while we are on the subject, what if the government starts using the body scanners without telling us? They do a bunch of other stuff to keep us safe of which we are never made aware. I'm all for government transparency, but we HAVE to grow up. There is no guarantee of privacy in public places, and the airpoprt should be no difference. The Constitution DOES NOT guarantee this "right to privacy" that we always claim.

dug up and old article from Martin Brown's past life.
It was called, "Americans need to stop whining about Joe McCarthy."
"I'll gladly give up my personal privacy if it means catching more communists! If you're complaining, you must have somethin to hide!" I agree; if you have to get naked in front of a TSA agent to get on a plane, the Terrorists have officially won.

Well said Mr. Martin. I agree 100%. When something like this happens, we all tend to blame anybody but us. But its really our fault. Nothing in this world is free. If we want security and it will only cost us alittle inconvinience, I'll gladly pay that price.

Boy a lot of hot air there, no need to read it the title says it all. However I couldn't disagree with you more. I think americans need to stop whining about terrorists. As long as we feel it's our god given duty to be the policeman of the world, we're going to have some people taking shots at us. Get over it. To whine about the terrorists while continuing to provoke them is silly. Now we're all of a sudden very concerned about Yeman. Surprise surprise there's another country full of people who hate us! Well golly gee!
This is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, oh yeah, that's right we killed all the braves many years ago.
I think we were scared of them too.

Sincerely, absolutely agree 100%! Too many are so into the "Me" mentality. And unfortunately too many have quickly forgotten and put aside the horror of not only 9/11 but other terror incidents against the US and other countries before and since.

Really like your clever description "microwave mentality". That says a lot of how we try to move through our lives on a daily basis. We tap our feet and sigh in impatient disgust wanting instant gratification whether waiting for food, waiting in line, waiting at an apointment or most dangerous of all, driving our vehicles. If we think about every instance during a day when we do that, we would probably be amazed and hopefuly a little ashamed.

Bring in body scanners and the terrorists will change tactics. Next year we'll be discussing body cavity searches because of the inadequacy of the scanners. I wonder if you'll still be eager to comply.

Yes search anything you need to search so I can actually get to the destination I want to get to. You people are idiots if your think people are going to stop doing what they are like blowing up planes if we don't do something more to stop them from getting on the plane in the first place. Everytime you build a mouse trap you get a smarter mouse to get out of it or avoid it all together.

Is it better to act like by starting a war in a foreign land and declaring victory just makes the rest of it go away?

It sucks for all human kind that there is evil in this world, but its true and that is reality.

You think that everyone that tries to blow up a plane is a rdical Islam? You must be ignoring all the Americans like the unibomber blowing up hospitals. If he wasn't caught he would have probably moved on to planes.

You have to take more security measures to keep our freedoms. It's not going to make sense to most of you but maybe all of you think that the afterlife is better than the life you have on earth and don't care that you get blown up. It won't matter about our freedoms if we are all dead so our children and children's children can't enjoy it.

The number of people for this astounds and horrifies me. The fact that people are willing to give up ALL privacy for the illusion of safety is uncomprehendable to me. Here is a news flash....you are never completely safe....anywhwere. Some TSA agent does not need to see me naked to help someone else's insecurites. It isn't about the "inconvenience" as Mr. Martin implies...it is basic human dignity and my right to privacy. Taking of my flip-flops to be scanned is crazy enough, full body scans are out of the question and shouldn't even be asked unless I've failed some other screening. What has happened to America? Maybe the terrorist really have won. What a sad day.

If you don't want to be screened, don't fly. If you want to fly, prepare to be searched. Period.

What else will Americans whine about if we stop whining about air security? I'm sure something will come around soon, but given that many people are sheep, you need to direct them to a specific issue.

"Well, I’ll take safety and security over rushing through the airport."

You'll get none of the above with the new methods. This security method will not be replacing any other methods, it will be set up in addition to other screenings, and any suspicious items will then lead to an additional security check. All this will add up to slower trips though security, not faster.

This screening will not detect explosives. That was the danger of flight 253, not a weapon strapped to the body.

Contrary to your opinion, not everyone is comfortable with this. So why are we about to spend tons of money for an additional security measure that will not only not keep us safer but will increase our travel times as well in the middle of the worst recession in a long time?

Don't bother I know the answer. To funnel money to connected businesses, while giving all the cowards in this country a false sense of security while eroding their rights. Go America!

A nation of sheep begets a government of wolves.

Excellent piece Mr. Martin – a agree with you 100% The fact of the matter is that the current secuirty procedures ARE NOT unreasonable. No one is being asked to strip naked, there aren't any cavity searches, etc. I don't understand the people who are up in arms because they are asked to walk through a detector or have their bags checked – what is the big deal???

Also, to those that say that the new security procedures are pointless because terrorist will just find a way around them – this argument makes no sense. If that is the case, then why have any security at all?? By your argument, we should just do away with all security procedures because terrorists will "just find a way around them"

You can feel free to give up your rights, but I refuse.

Whats next? You people for this are cowards. Why let the tsa put cameras in your home or just srip search you how much more of this are we the great people of this great country going to take. The government keeps taking more and more and never delivers on their promisies. The government is already listening to our phone calls reading our emails, making biometric scans of us, putting up cctv cameras everywhere yet they keep taking more of our money and for what our schools are in the dumps, our roads are falling apart, our militray is in almost every country there is, we are working more and making less, inflation keeps going up, the police are using UAV's to watch us but no lets scan everybodys body to stop terrorism yet our borders are wide open. Wake up! You are afraid to stand up and say no because then you to will have to fight this tyranny. Obama is a puppet just like Bush, Clinton,Bush,Reagan and Nixon. This is divide and conquer people the oldest trick in the book.

The problem with most Americans who complain about the body scanners is that they see the human body and its parts as being "nasty". You wouldn't find this kind of whining going on in many European countries where the body is just the body!

Scan away! If someone doesn't want to be scanned, they can be patted down completely. If they don't like that....then let them find another form of transportation. It's a free country!

"If the scanners will keep weapons off planes, I’m all for it."

That's just it, though: they won't. Metal detectors were supposed to keep knives off the planes. They didn't. Taking your shoes off was supposed to keep bombs off the planes. It didn't. Every time we guard against one more thing that's already been used, the bad guys will switch tactics to slip something through.

Meanwhile, we're stuck with a cost: let's say an extra 30 seconds of security going through an airport (and I'm probably being very generous). Multiply that by the millions of people that go through airports each year. That would amount to millions of wasted hours that could have been spent doing anything productive. (Not to mention the extra salaries of the TSA employees, scanner maintenance crews, and so on).

They can inflict all of that at a cost of a $5 knife or a $500 bunch of explosives or whatever other low-cost implement they try to use next. Even an "unsuccessful" attack will cost us millions of dollars worth of lost time. The miniscule amount of protection we get from those scanners just isn't worth the cost.

There are two kinds of scanners being used. The millimeter wave version is supposedly safe but there are reports that it probably wouldn't have allowed the underwear exposives to be seen. The other type is the backscatter machine which uses x-rays. There are still a lot of questions regarding the safety of these.

My big question is why won't they release the surveillance video in the terminal in Amsterdam that would prove or disprove the claims by witnesses that Abdulmutallab was helped onto the plane without a passport by a well-dressed Indian man? Witnesses also reported that just BEFORE he tried to detonate the explosives a man stood up and started video recording him. Witnesses also reported that another man was arrested after the flight because a bomb sniffing dog hit on his carry-on luggage and then authorities evacuated the area. These eyewitnesses/passengers are either not being interviewed by the authorities or when they are their stories are being ignored. There are far too many questions still left unanswered.

I find it interesting that under Bush's administration when terrorists had even more resources and capabilities than they do now we didn't have these kinds of holes. I agree with the general premise that Americans are quick to condemn and slow to solve but you are missing an essential point.

This new administration has CHOSEN to change the system that was working. When Obama entered office he was presented with a national security policy that was WORKING effectively at protecting the American people.

When he CHOSE to change that system he took responsibility for the positive and negative outcomes of those changes. I would like to answer a question you asked in your column.

"Here we are eight years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the scanners are just now being placed?"

Yes they are just now being placed. Because over the last eight years they weren't needed. The infrastructure placed by the administration in the 7 years post 9/11 effectively protected americans lives AND rights. The new administration can only protect our lives if we give up some of our rights.

Many people are overlooking the basic fact that we as Americans do *NOT* have a *RIGHT* to fly in an airplane. It is a privilege, and like many actions in life that are our choices, there are conditions and consequences that we have to accept. Similarly, Americans do not have the right to drive a car, but it we want that privilege, then there are rules we have to follow. A simple example is passing an eye exam – but I don't hear many people complaining that the government knows how good their vision is.
As a big big supporter of the right to privacy, I completely agree that no one should have to go through a scanner. And no one does. They can just find an alternate way of getting to where they need to go. Meanwhile, I am happy to go through a scanner, knowing that I did *NOT* give up any rights, but rather made a choice.

Being a frequent flier, I am all for better secuirity. In fact the TSA ius the worst of all the coutries we have flown to or from. So adding Full Boby Scanners can only be a plus, the same as the 100% X-Raying of check on luggage. Depending on TSA to find anything themselves is a joke. They dont even check names on passports and tickets.

If the libertarians, ACLU or anyone else doesnt like the scans, its simple, don't fly. I would rather know they did all they could, rather than hearing "I want no one to see my roll of baby fat". Scan away, read my email, and tap my phone, , and take my fingerprints, I have nothing to hide. Its those who oppose this I worry about, its a different world we live in now, with a much smarter enemy.

I'm' no tea-partier, and I've enjoyed previous writings of yours. So sorry, but on the matter of full body scanners and other such security measures, I beg to differ.

What you call a passive attitude towards security is what many of us call the desire for a reality check, as we seek to preserve our freedom and dignity, go about our business and otherwise do the things that honest and decent people do. Think about it: In the name of terrorism, we, the people of the United States of America, are now treated routinely as prisoners are treated, with body scans, pat-downs, removal of shoes and so on. So what happens when a terrorist uses a body cavity to smuggle something on to a plane? Do you then recommend that we all submit to body cavity searches as a routine precautionary method? Your logic doesn't hold up. And the fact is, no scanner was needed to stop this guy. In fact, none of the measures that we put up with when we travel would have been necessary to stop this guy. There are smarter ways to deal with these crazy 'blow themselves up' individuals and groups than the ways we're using. And it's not about whining or inconvenience on our part. We, the people, can see that what's happening doesn't give us any more security. And it is not wrong to want smarter people and smarter systems in place, instead of the reactionary 'treat all travelers like criminals' approach now in place. Ben Franklin wrote "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." I would add, those who would trade their freedom for the illusion of security will soon find they have neither. What's needed is a rethinking and refashioning of our security system in airports so that it reflects common sense and utilizes what we've learned about the scumbags who, because of our fear and poor reaction, consider themselves the winners after each such attempt produces more of these stupid and invasive countermeasures.

Sincerely
Rick

Why are the scanners going to used inside US the Crotch bomber was coming from another country. That is where the lapse is.

Being a frequent flier, I am all for better secuirity. In fact the TSA is the worst trained of all the coutries we have flown to or from. So adding Full Body Scanners can only be a plus, the same as the 100% X-Raying of check on luggage. Depending on TSA to find anything themselves is a joke. They dont even check names on passports and tickets.

If the libertarians, ACLU or anyone else doesnt like the scans, its simple, don't fly. I would rather know they did all they could, rather than hearing "I want no one to see my roll of baby fat". Scan away, read my email, tap my phone, , and take my fingerprints, I have nothing to hide. Its those who oppose this I worry about, its a different world we live in now, with a much smarter enemy.

"whining" LOL so now if you share you views your whining LOL.. How about this people Pro scanners stop your whining. I dont want some dirty old man looking at 5 yr old kids

Have they even said that had one of these machine's been used that it would have definitely found the device? I understand that we have to give up some of our privacy for security but where does it end? What is to stop one employee from saving a copy of a scan and posting it online?

Had there not been such a fundamental breakdown in communication then the would be Christmas bomber would not even have been allowed on the flight. This machine is still maintained by humans which means that it is not perfect. Until a full-proofed machine is in place I don't think that we should all be subject to this type of indecency.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. – Benjamin Franklin

What security does this really give? If a man is willing to "give his life" to blow up an airplane what can we really do to stop him? I believe we can't stop the most dedicated we can only stop those that have not planned well. Could he not place a bomb internally, say in his stomach or even surgically placed? What next...a MRI?
We spend more and more money protecting airplanes because that is that was last attacked. What about boats, buses, buildings, etc? At what point is the financial burden of security become too much? Will we destroy ourselves out of fear?

Americans (and News Media) are quick to point out the flaws in the system. So we tighen security to protect people. Then the people get mad because they are inconvienced. It makes no sence. The price of peace is eternal vigilance. Full body scanners need to be in place. If you dont want to be scanned then drive to where ever your going. These people that are against the scanning DO NOT HAVE the right to jeapordize my safety for thier privacy. Safety will always outweight privacy. I personally expect to board a plane with the confidence it will reach its destination.

Thank you so much I would rather have these screenings then be blown up!!

The airlines should have two flights for every destination: one for people who have been scanned and searched, and one for people who don't want their privacy or freedoms taken away. Which plane would you rather be on? Yes, the new scanners look like enhanced x-rays. Yes, the searches and random checks are a pain. However, it's not as effective as it should be if the necessary equipment still hasn't been installed or isn't working, or if the TSA doesn't perform their jobs with due diligence. Maybe they need something like the military Inspector General to provide unannounced inspections and exercises to keep them sharp and everything working.

It is sad when Americans want to willingly give up privacy freedoms for some 'hope' of security. I think this goes to show that the invasion of privacy that we have tolerated thus far really served no purpose because it was carried out by mobs of TSA highschool dropouts. The moral of the story should be that we should never willingly give up freedom to for any measure of security because invariably the abuse of such power will be in the hands of bureaucrats. A good quote by Benjamin Franklin says it all "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Freedom is fought for daily.

I totally agree – 1,000%

I'll take draconian security over what we currently have (it's a joke!) any day, and I fly almost weekly. Who cares if I have to leave the house 15 or 30 minutes earlier. I WANT to arrive and return safely!

People should be OUTRAGED, and should be calling for resignations, firings, and a total revamping of this flawed system! Do we really think for one minute that the terrorists are just sitting around drinking mint juleps eating dates?

During the Vietnam war, marches of a million people in DC were common. We can learn a lesson form those "self empowered" people from the 60's. I for one "AM MAD AS HELL AND AM NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE"! Political activism in this country is non-existent and we all just plod along listening to our i-pods and texting each other – to what end? WAKE UP AMERICA, we are at war with people whose only goal is to put fear in our hearts and wait until we give up! We'll, it looks like they've won already! God help us all!

The body scanners are a pedo's dream job i am sure if kids are forced to go thru these disgusting strip search machines then you will see pedo's applying for the job of screeners and you can bet 100% that thes images will end up on the internet,
this is a stupid knee jerk reaction for one failed attempt – anyone with a brain knows that terrorists will just try another method. I am sure that people around the world will now be cancelling their trips to the US because they do not want to subject their wives and kids to this rape machine whilst someone is looking at these pictures and drooling!!!! – the tourist economy will go down the pan.

Welcome to nude airlines where there is plenty to see and nothing to hide.

If they do not want to be screened, keep them off the airplane.

I have to say I am a bit stunned and dismayed to see so many people who believe "safety" trumps everything and the government should do whatever it can to keep us safe.

So how far do we allow the government to go to keep us "safe"?

There are approx. 10,000 deaths in America attributable to drunk driving. Mandating that every vehicle be equiped with devices to measure a driver's sobriety before the vehicle would start could reduce this number. If we're to be consistent in our belief that the government should do everything in its power to keep us safe, we should all be clamouring for this to be implemented.

There are approx. 11,000 homicides using firearms each year. Shouldn't we be clamouring to outlaw all guns and ammunition?

There are over 400,000 deaths per year attributable to smoking. Shouldn't we be demanding the government stop the sell of tobaco products?

There are almost 300,000 deaths attributable to obesity each year. Shouldn't the government force us all to lose weight, eat right, and exercise?

Reality is our risk of death by terrorism is miniscule compared to other risks in our daily lives. Yet, we let our fear over this possibility blind us from making rational decisions.

There are over 80,000 flights in the USA everyday. On one single day one person snuck some explosives on board in his underpants, failed at igniting the explosives.

This isn't something we need to be wiling to give up our individual liberties over.

Everyone should know from now on when your fly they are going to see everything you got with those new screening device's don't like it don't fly I want to be safe look away if you don't want to see my stuff..

As a veteran of OEF and one of the first teams deployed post 9-11, I am all for stopping terrorists but do not feel this does anything more than chip away at personal rights to privacy. Let me explain.

Are there any more attacks on planes post 9-11 than there were pre 9-11? There have been 3 attacks in 9 years and we are willing to give up rights in the name of safety, yet thousands die yearly from drunk driving and there would be an outcry if everyone in the country were required to put a interlock breath test analyzer on their car in the name of road safety. With the threat of dirty bombs being assembled in major metropolis areas, would you endorse police being able to "screen" all multifamily structures (apartments, hotels, etc) in the name of public safety? We do not allow our police officers to strip search random persons on the Brooklyn bridge because he/she might have a bomb or a sniper rifle in the truck. We dont allow Metermaids to stripsearch people parked illegally in front of large building despite the OKC bombing. So why allow TSA to strip search us prior to getting on an airplane? The common sense of the entire situation is lacking when weighed against other historical terrorist activities. If we are yelling for strip searches to feel safe, I also want to put forward that I think pilots should have to complete mental tests prior to each take off in case they are having a bad day and ejection seats with parachutes in coach and first class. Then I will feel safe. Absurd isn't it?

So before saying people are whining, remember that many of the people that are seen as whinning are not just worried about what this one screen does now, but what it leads to in the future. If you told someone 30 years ago that you would have to be exposed in the nude prior to boarding a plane would they believe you? Certainly not. But by slowly taking steps we get desensitized to it all until 10 years from now we are giving blood tests and ultrasounds to make sure we didnt swallow something to retrieve later during the flight. Dont lose sight of the reality. The reality is 3 attacks in 9 years is not an epidemic, they are anomolys. Be vigilant, yes. But don't trick yourself into thinking these procedures, or any procedure for that matter, make you any safer in the air. Bad people will always find ways to do bad thing. Period. Giving up freedoms doesnt deter them, all it does is make them pause to study the new procedure. Good day and thank you for reading.

Mr. Martin, the last time I looked the constitution says the government must have probable cause for searches and seizures. The dragnet was outlawed a long time ago. As far as I am concerned, the mere need or desire to travel does not constitute probable cause, and this entire security nonsense (and nonsense it is) is not making anyone any safer. I am totally opposed to whole body scanning, mandatory or random patdowns, etc. The fact is that all this airport screening neither prevents nor deters terrorists (or indeed anyone) from getting on a plane with weaponry. We have already been informed how to defeat the scanners: place the explosives in bodily orifices or, for those of us who are abundant, tuck the material in folds of flesh. No doubt we will now see Al-Qaida recruits being fattened up like sumo wrestlers in order to carry explosives. What then? All the overweight go on the no-fly list?

The fact is that the government had sufficient information to identify Mr. Underpants as a threat before he ever showed up at the airport in Lagos, never mind Schiphol. The government had sufficient information to suspect that the Ft. Hood guy was potentially up to no good before he ever opened fire. The 9/11 crew was on the radar well before 9/11. I would feel a whole lot safer if the government actually acted on the intelligence it receives. I do not feel any safer because some TSA employee is looking at elderly ladies' sagging breasts or little boys' genitalia. I do not trust the discretion of TSA employees like the one who wandered off his post and let a 'non-sterile' person get to the 'sterile' area, thus shutting down a whole terminal for a significant amount of time. We have seen hospital employees making improper use of patients' medical records. Who's to say TSA employees won't be snapping photos of people with, say, anomalous genitals and putting them online?

Let us do as the Israelis do: talk to the people in line in a friendly and polite way to determine who is forthright about their travel plans and who is evasive. I will bet that if a trained investigator had asked Mr. Underpants about his one-way cash ticket, Mr. Underpants would have crumbled. According to the news reports, he did in fact crumble as soon as he was confronted after leaving the plane.

Intelligence in every sense of the word is the answer, not looking at what's under people's clothes. These so-called security measures are a governmental scam, and Mr. Martin has been conned..

A British MP that used to work in airline security said it's arguable as to whether the terahertz DNA popper machines would even have stopped this guy.

Additionally, with regards to privacy, supposedly these machines blur out your privates, but that is not in fact true, and if it were true then how would that work when he's got it concealed in his underoos? Furthermore, these scanners violate British child pornography laws.

And to what extent are you frightened sheeple willing to go in the name of fear? Brain scanners? RFID chips? Flying naked? Full cavity searches? What if people resort to suppositories or swallowing balloons? Will you be willing to vomit before a TSA agent to prove you ate an egg mcmuffin and not something more sinister like a breakfast burrito?

And to what extent are you willing to subject yourself to technology that according the MIT's Technology Review can rip apart your DNA and create bubbles that impair your DNA's ability to replicate?

Even in fascist Germany, they only asked to see your papers, please!

Get a life, people.

You act like there willl be a split screen on the Jumbotron @ every gate in lobby - one that has a live image of you with clothes on and the other one with the body scan. The TSA personnel would not even SEE you or have even have time to "check you out." Though I suspect that at first they might furrow their eyebrows at all you Obama-haters and libertarians out there because at first your image would look funny with your head up your rear.

For as long as I can remember, every single person that goes through security is frisked at Indian airports. The men get frisked by men and the women go into a curtained off area and are frisked by women. People need to grow up and face reality, besides why does everyone assume that the poor TSA agent WANTS to have to look at everybody naked on those scanners, its his/her job and everybody knows everyone hates their jobs!!

This reminds me of another huge privacy infringement in our so-called best interest. About once a year I go to this office, where a uniformed woman tells me to undress. Then, a perv comes in and pokes around in my genitals! There's a certificate on the wall saying that the person is a "doctor" and supposedly is trained to do this, but everyone knows doctors just go to medical school so they can see people naked. And what's this for? To detect cancer at an early stage and potentially save my life? Forget it. I'm more likely to die getting hit by a bus than by cervical cancer. Bunch of pervs, wanting to see me naked. I bet all the doctors get together at night and talk about all the hotties they get to poke around all day. It's like pornography 24/7. I know I'm super hot looking, and 99% of Americans are super hot too. Who wouldn't want to see all of us naked? Sure, more than 35% of Americans are obese, but that just means there's more naked stuff to enjoy. Stupid pervs, doctors and the TSA, they're all alike.

"We all have human bodies, we all look the same, and we are all in this together"

Yes even sickos who will be working for tsa getting a kick out of seeing you child nude.

TSA has been in the news for stilling women's underwear. Yes lets trust them to not do sick things when they see us or worse our kids!

Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport. One word: Israelification.

To paraphrase B. Franklin 1756-

Those who would trade essential Liberty for essential Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Did anyone read the Time Magazine account of how the passengers were treated after the attack. The were treated like criminals for 5 hours afterword. The actual people who jumped the terrorist were treated like criminals themselves for hours. The security forces forget that we are Americans and will fight for out country and lives, come up with strategies that allow us all to work, not be treated like children who need protecting.

Mary, would you prefer your wife or daughter going down in a firely ball over the ocean?

The underwear goofball CAME into the US from overseas; our current airport security and TSA folks had NOTHING to do with this incident. Why are we talking about additional screenings at OUR airports??

And, stop talking about the inepitude of Obama and the Democrats. It was the Republican president GW Bush who ignored briefings about bin Laden's intent to attack America in Aug 2001. Never forget that 9/11/2001 occurred under the demonstrated inepitude of Bush and the Repubs!!!

There is an easy solution. If you don't want to be screened, don't fly. It is your right to not have to fly, you have the freedom to choose.

1.) the chances of you being caught in a terrorist attack is close to being hit by lighting

2.) this is not going to prevent anything at all. Intelligence and communication between departments in the government will foil 100x more attempts and save a ton more lives with the money spent on the machines.

i.e. 9/11 – because the different departments in NYC didn't communicate with the same channel vital information couldn't be shared and as a result rescuers couldn't get out in time and died.

When the security plays catch up, it will never prevent anything. Before we had the shoe bomer, so they started to scan shoe,
then they had a liquid threat, so they start to ban liquids.
etc...
Criminals that want to bring forbidden items on board will always find a way to do it. Play catch up and spending all this money on "security theater" doesn't buy any additional security (okay maybe against really dump and unorganized criminals).

What they need to do is spend more money on intel and communication to prevent the atks from taking place.

If you want to travel by air safely , stop complaining about the screening!! Otherwise, shut up and take your shoes off and step through the body scanners. I dont want to die when I travel. Do you????

Roland, not all of us who are opposed to security scanners are chronic whiners. Like most hot button issues, reason dictates that we take a pause to determine how to improve security. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars purchasing and deploying scanners may do nothing to improve security if the bad guys find a way to get around the technology, just as the German army did in World War II when it went around the Maginot Line defensive network to invade France.

Same with profiling based on appearance. There are over a billion Muslims in the world. Some are Chinese, African, Filipino and too many other racial and national groups to count. Can a TSA employee pick out all of the Muslims in an airport line? How about a Albanian (white European Muslim) dressed as a priest?

Bottom line – chill out before we put systems in place that can get bypassed that would do noting to improve security.

This is America, and that means we have choices, and in this case, the choice is made easy, if your worried about someone seeing some of your secret skin don't fly. Drive, train, boat, bike, run, walk, swim, hitchhike, crawl etc. It's your choice to fly, if you don't like this security don't fly. When did flying become a right?

Rock on Roland! I too am tired fo the whining about the "intrusiveness" of full body scanning. Pornography!!! Give me a break! It's a monchrome image of the body. WE ALL KNOW what a human body looks like. What's the big secret?

Never mind- let's just cut out the scanning. Of course, if a terrorist slips through, your body may be subject to much closer scrutiny–by your embalmer.

Some of the same people who complain about body scanners will prance around the beach in bathing suits too small, their cellulite laden flesh flapping about, their potbellies protruding and hanging over that place where a waist is supposed to be, or hustle their chubby way through WalMart in spandex meant for someone half their weight and width with a camel toe a camel would be envious of. But hey, that isn't offensive to them, only to those who have that vision forced upon them. Stop whining. And some people who have commented here are seriously disturbed as they fling about their idiotic rhetoric and their political agendas. I welcome all the security they can institute at airport check-ins. And if we want to go political, Bush and his cronies had 8 years to ensure that the agencies involved would be efficient enough to not make such errors, but clearly he failed.

I don't often agree with this commentator, however I think he hit the nail right on the head on this topic. I think the people deserve a choice, and that choice should be either (A) comply 100% with whatever screening is asked of them or (B) look for ground transportation. Being an American citizen does not give you the right to free access to air travel! It's often sickening to see the attitudes that people show during the screening process. Please take your bad attitude and leave the airport.

The chance of a terrorist successfully hijacking a plane is much lower thanks to a locked cockpit door, and the willingness of passengers to enforce security on the airplane. Passenger screening gives the illusion of security while always looking backwards at the last incident. Government paternalism comes at the price of subordinating yourself to its agents. Would I want no security screening? Of course not. Do I want complete screening, where TSA needs to know everything about me to understand why I need item XYZ? Definitely not. There must be a middle ground in all things, and in this case, the result ought to be a little closer to the side of liberty. Ultimately we are safer not because we trust our safety to TSA, but because we as passengers are willing to beat senseless those who attempt terrorism on our planes.

One thing not so funny about this is people do not seem to be seeing both sides of the coin.

The fact that the resolution is high enough to see all your body parts in full detail, especially children is not a decision in my opinion that should have been made lightly. Yes it has a chance of protecting us, but lets face it. Every system that functions can break down. Every security measure has a back door. I can think of about 12 situations how someone could beat that thing, most would only require a man on the inside. Not that I am saying trying to make us safer is a bad thing at all.

On the side of those afraid of our civil liberties being sacrificed I think we should all be wary of this. It was not to long ago upstanding American citizens with the right to free speech (whether it was dumb or not) had been locked up for no other reason than exercising there right to free speech, under the Patriot Act. The worst things in history have been done with the best of intentions.

Another point touched on is article is the American agenda for change and progress. This a huge problem in America. Its not just that these security systems are being put into place, its like hey people sorry we messed up and now your going to have to deal with. It know it will be difficult but you will get used to it.

This is unacceptable, not the system being but into place but that fact that this was not already on the drawing board for implementation or something the likes of it. It should have had prior feedback from professionals and common citizen rather than throwing it in our faces. I am always a little wary when someone in power says, this is the only way and we have to do it now or else.

A good question to ask is, would the TSA have been against spending the money if this was proposed prior to the incident? In my opinion yes. Not because they didn't care but because it was not in the ""budget"".

Whether it is the world or just us here in the US, nobody seems to give a damn until they see the hangman's noose. Then suddenly its a race to stop the ship from sinking.

"This nation can't afford another terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11." Really? What would happen? Do you mean we couldn't pay for one? How much do they cost? Not talking about unnecessary wars, just the cost. Let me tell you how much they cost; the cost the price of kneejerk reactions like the screening maching shoe shops did away with in the 1920's. They cost the high price of horrible decisions such as the Patriot Act. They cost the high price of common (or "good") sense of too many Americans.

So, let me get this straight, here's a terrorist- willing to blow himself to hell- and you think an x-ray machine will stop him? Did you ever consider that such an insane fool might be willing to take more drastic measures to beat a nude picture? I mean, hell, there are thousands of people in our prisions today who have figured out how to get stuff into where it shoudln't be. If someone is determined to do a terrible act, only awareness and dilligence will prevent it. Use the tools we have in place, and use them effectively.

What freedom is being taken away? YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FLY IN AN AIRPLANE.

Welcome to the post 9/11 world people. If you don't like the measures we have to take to make flying safe, then don't fly. I don't care who you are or what you look like, you have to be checked as much as the next person. I don't care if being thoroughly searched when I got to the airport means the terrorists have won, it's better than people dying needlessly.

I travel a lot for business and I'll quit complaining about the additional security measures when the people responsible for implementing them start doing their job well.

The latest terrorist got through because the security people didn't do their job correctly. Implementing more measures isn't the answer – just get the security people to do their jobs right in the first place.

For many individuals who fly perhaps a few times each year additional measures don't amount to much, but for someone who frequently travels on business it adds up to many additional frustrating hours.

RM,

Ben Franklin said it best: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

If you choose to hide in a hole, do so. Do not impose your cowardice upon the rest of us.

I LOVE the dolts who blame Obama and Dems for ineptitude.

9/11 was ENTIRELY the fault of Republicans. It was Bush's fault. The GOP can't keep a puppy safe much less America. If the GOP is in charge, might as well hnd the nation over to the terrorists.

I am not in agreement with you Roland. When making policies you must understand the psyche of a terrorist. The main purpose of a terroist is to terrorize its victim. One of their main focuses in winning "the war on terror" is to make Americans feel unsafe, which in turn will make Americans give up their rights to the government. If we play into this, we will eventually become so afraid; our rights will slowly begin to diminish before our eyes. I understand this is the year 2010, and technology must advance, but once we start doing this full body check, what else will it lead upon?

This event should have been avoided with better security measures from what we already have; we should not give up our rights because of the fault of the government not being able to catch onto this terrorist before his attempted strike. This war is more psychological than physical; you must always understand what the enemy is thinking to not play into their hands. We have to always remember it’s a win win situation for the enemy, because their job is to terrorize, if there is causalities in the process, then it’s a plus for them.

So no, I am not in favor, because I believe it will only lead to less and less privacy and rights in the daily life of Americans which results in us ultimately losing this war.

I think ever since 9/11, we're still pissed off and we don't need more of our rights taken away. Any extreme, brain-washed, idiotic, terrorist dumb enough to try and blow up a plane these days is going to get kicked, punched, or killed by all the passengers on board. I think ever since 9/11, we've all unofficially became deputized Air Marshals in some shape or form and we won't forget. This is vigilance. Next time someone decides that they want to set fireworks on a plane, they better be think twice because I think most of us Americans still have this sense of revenge just waiting for that opportunity to take it out on some numbskull who thinks that delaying our flight will be his greatest lifetime achievement.

If you can't deal with the current realities of air travel, don't fly. Problem solved.

It's Security Theater. The point isn't to make flying any safer, only to make you feel safer. Do you really think they'll ever find another panty bomber? No. Just as they've never found another shoe bomber. The "evil-doers" will now move on to something else. I imagine explosives packed into condoms. And then what? Strip searches for everyone?

Roland-

I don't mind the scrutiny (I travel several times a month for my job), but I guess I do not believe that the system the TSA has set up makes us any safer. Their repeated misses during internal audits do not make me feel better about flying. From everything I have read the Israelis have a good system that is both more secure and time efficient than ours. I think you can do both and they seem to prove so. This article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/08/burj-khalifa-base-jumpers_n_416564.html) documents pretty well the different attitudes that Israel has vs. the US. Whether headed by a Democrat or Republican our approach seems to live up to the "security theater" criticisms that so many have leveled against it.

Americans should whine about security measures, because most of them are ineffective or geared toward the last attack. Taking off your shoes? Please. What could you hide in your shoe that you couldn't hide in your underwear? Limitation on liquids? Picking an arbitrary size to limit on to a plane only means that a person either needs to hide additional bottles on his person or have more co-conspirators to carry the additional volumes.

There are really only a few things we need to do to have real security:
1.) Continue with X-ray and metal detectors, explosive detectors.
2.) Truly random bag searches, so no one can game the system.
3.) Use the intelligence we have. This Nigerian was not off the radar; no one took action on the intel. We should also leverage data mining techniques to see abnormal patterns (one way ticket paid with cash, trip coming through multiple countries, etc)
4.) Locked cockpit doors
5.) Alert passengers like the Dutch man who aren't afraid to take action when necessary.

We don't need body scanners or watch lists or even checking identification of passengers. None of them would have prevented 9/11.

Why even fly? Have you seen the type of passengers on planes these days even in business class. I remember when people dressed up to fly and you were treated like a customer. This is the most beautiful country in the world and I am not going to miss it sitting in airport!! I going to give my families consumer vote(my money) to RV companies not TSA and the airlines no matter how cheap the airfare gets.

Finally someone who has respect for the screeners who put up with so many rude passengers each day, and some very kind passengers. Unfortunately, many Americans have this everyone else is a criminal , not me attitude. Don't blame screeners for mistakes regarding intelligence. Maybe if screeners had access to records like customs agents do, more could be done.

Thank you Roland.. FINALLY someone with common sense has come out and said the right thing. we have become a country full of whiners!

no one wants to have the full body x-ray done, why? what is the machine going to show? a naked body? its a machine for crying out loud. you think a perv is screening you?? these same people would be the 1st in line to cry and blame someone for a plane being blown up.

it's pretty simple people, you either get screened or you get blown up..

Sorry, wrong link in the above comment: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-harris/what-israel-can-teach-the_b_408720.html

This article is full of comments to get your emotions going, to make us feel that we should automatically sacrifice our personal rights in order to contribute safety to for the masses.

Lets bring up 911 and planes exploding and people dieing, lets bring up something that gets peoples blood pumping, emotional triggers if you will... lets bring up Pearl Harbor.... oh wait, we let Pearl Harbor happen. GET EDUCATED before you form an opinion.

This whole topic reminds me of being in grade school. You have a school of 500 kids and one kid lets off a stink bomb in the cafeteria. Next thing you know, every kid is being treated the same and now they all have to get searched before they can go eat.

One kid ruins everything for everyone else.

You cannot base a healthy progressive society off of its weakest link. Dont treat me like a criminal just because some man from another country hates what our government has done to his homeland.

Fix the real problem at its source, dont just put a bandaid on it.

It just an excuse to increase security. Maybe someone needs to research how much money is made from security these days. Come on people, wake up... its all about money, power and control.

If the government cared about our safety they would outlaw alcohol and tobacco. By FAR many many many more people have died in America from Tobacco and Alcohol but you dont see our government trying to stop that.

Amazing how those in protest have decided that the TSA screeners are now perverts and pediphiles. They don't see your face and they don't keep your picture. They aren't there to oggle your picture no matter what you think about your body...

Thank you Mr. Martin. Many Americans should be ashamed of themselves. How could anyone pit being killed against having to wait a little longer in an airport or complain about a process that could save their lives? Just go have another Cinnebon.

If you look closely at the history of the past 10 years, you will note that each step taken in airport security gave a sense of security for a time. Prior to 9/11, you could take knives on planes. After that, you could not and all baggage had to be screened. Once knives were out, we had the shoe bomber. Now shoes are screened, so we had the liquid bomb plot. No shampoo-a guy packs explosives in his underwear. Now we are being told that very expensive machines will protect us. We are about to spend billions to try and keep what amounts to a few dozen determined people worldwide off airplanes (the reality is that terrorists who are willing to do this sort of thing are few in numbers). I think we need to do some more careful analysis here about this. We've spent billions trying to stop "bad things" and yet you can still travel with firearms in checked luggage. We need to focus on the "bad people" not "bad things" and stop making political hay about all this. 500000 people on a "watch list" means that there's no watch list.

I vote for "fly at your own risk airlines" where we bypass all this at our own risk, walk up to the terminal a half hr before the flight, pay and get on with nothing searched. Since my chances are less than dying while driving, I'm willing to take that risk. It should be up to us to have that option.

We should arm the cockpits, and leave everything else the way it was, gee, just a few years ago – remember.

Enough of this seige mentality. Lets have a better foreign policy that truly decreases our risk of being attacked, spreding demoncracy through education and support of democratic peoples and governments in any region. We need to stop this hunkering down and running our lives based on the lowest common denominators of society.

Roland I have no issue with going through a stringent security check if it will improve the safety of passengers aboard airliners. However, I've had enough of the inconveniences imposed on the general public when the freakin' government can't be bothered to do it's part. What's doubly frustrting is that WE ARE PAYING THEM TO DO THE JOB THEY WON'T DO! On the other side of the coin, however, is my realization that no matter what screening process we are forced to endure, unless passengers are required to travel nude (after a body cavity search) and immobilized while in flight so there is not even a chance of a passenger engaging in a fist-fight, we can NEVER be assured of our in-flight security. All that would be required would be for a would-be terrorist to stab a flight attendent with a pencil...yet we're still allowed to have pencils, right? Come on...enough with the total inconvenience of the civilian flying public when it's really all a show to make us believe we're safe. We may be able to stop 100% of the loons and perhaps 90% of the terrorists, but a truly determined, well-trained terrorist can easily wreak havok no matter what security screens we must be forced to endure.

Roland,

While everyone is screaming about the near miss, and not connecting the dots, ( I am beginning to hate that term), I believe that the main focus is being missed.

We were warned by his father and he still got on the plane.
He got on the plane and he carried explosives with him.
He attempted to light the explosives on the plane thus causing the fire.

This was not a near miss. He was successful, I repeat SUCCESSFUL.

The only thing that did not happen is the explosives were faulty and did not go off.

So what is being done about the fact that a successful attempt was made.

If the explosives had detonated, woudl the conversation be about full body screening.....I doubt it.

People, call your senators and Representatives and tell them this is unacceptable.

This was more that a close call. HE DID IT!!!!!

It is not that we don't want to be inconvenienced as is simplistically stated in this article, it is that, if we are going to be inconvenienced, it had better be to make us safer. Most of the silly requirements imposed upon us by under-trained TSA folks are simply inconveniences, not improvements in safety.

It has publicly been stated by TSA that X-raying peoples shoes doesn't find what TSA is looking for–this is for a very simple reason. X-rays detect density differences and what TSA is looking for is plastic explosive. Well, the soles of your shoes are most likely plastic, too, so their density is the same or nearly the same as plastic explosives. So why make people take off their shoes when it would make more sense to detect any explosive chemicals coming off their shoes as they pass through screening? Because it makes it look like they're doing something about the problem when they really aren't. This is one of many examples of how we are inconvenienced, but not made any safer.

The same applies to limiting access to blankets, electronics, etc. in the last hour of a flight. As many have pointed out, if someone wanted to do something 75 minutes or more prior to the end of the flight instead of waiting until the last hour, how would this make us safer? Answer? It doesn't .

It seems that far too many people reading this (and the one writing this) article fail to understand the difference between effective security and burdensome inconvenience. This "take away all of my freedoms and invade my privacy all you want, but don't let the terrorists win" attitude would make Ben Franklin spin out of control in his grave. And, if that is indeed the real attitude of the American public, then the terrorists have already won.

Personally, I think it's time to start openly profiling those travelling on airplanes. Why would we spend incredible amounts of money using excesive screening techniques on EVERYONE when only a select group are the real threats. We do not have the resources to complete a task this monumentous. Not all muslims are terrorists; this is obvious. But since 9/11, how many attempted terrorist attacks have been carried out by muslims? 100%. Why not play the numbers instead of playing the Politically Correct game of screen everyone?

What you need to understand is that Obama does not care about security or the war on terror. He just began saying publicly that we are at war with Al Quaeda after this latest attack was attempted. So, now that we are "officially" at war, why are we going to try KSM, a prisoner of WAR, in a civilian court. This schmuck has no clue what he is doing; but that is what you get when you hire someone with no experience to run your company. Now there have been 2 known couples to sneek into the White House with no credentials; the Salahi's and the Obama's. Welcome to the New World Order. Now I must get back to reading about these new Green Jobs, or maybe I'll read about the 2 new tennis courts in Bozeman, Montana that were paid for with $49,140 of stimulus money.... yea.

What a crock. Scanners are not the answer. This is just another ridiculous political bone to the masses to convince them they're safe to fly and to protect airline industry profitability (meager as it is). Red and yellow alerts anyone?? Officials have acknowledged that scanners would not have detected the underwear bomber. And a significant portion of suicide bombers are under 18 – and we don't plan to scan them. What sense does that make?

Israelis are the ultimate terrorist target but they have had airline safety since 1972 – 38 years – and are still opposed to scanners and have no intent to use them. Why? Because their answer to airline security issues is not useless technology but incredibly good intelligence that keeps terrorists off their planes and away from their airport. Instead of checking my Nikes or randomly patting down an 80-year old wheel-chaired grandma from Peoria, they already know who they need to watch for before they get to the airport. They also have an incredible system for using highly skilled and trained observers to watch for suspicious physical and behavioral cues throughout the airport. Can anyone honestly say that our airports and TSA are similarly prepared and know all they need to know about baggage handlers, food service personnel, maintenance and janitorial staff, and countless others who have access to our luggage and our aircraft?

Bravo–That needed saying and warrants repeating. Here's how it works: If you want to fly, you get body-scanned. If you don't want to get body-scanned, travel by a different means.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"
Benjamin Franklin

'Nuff said -

Good grief. I fly nearly every week in order to accomplish my profession. I chose my work as a result of the freedom we all enjoy, I build a life and a future for my family because of that freedom and I would hate to lose all of the benefits of living the American dream because we knowingly allow opportunity for terrorism. This isn't the sole solution but it is another deterrent. Flying this way is hardly a loss of freedom... it helps preserves it.

Nor would I feel it is a significant loss of privacy... get real and look again at those gray and white ghostly images...hardly provacative and very impersonal.

Finally, knowing that I may have played a role in losing someone close to me by advocating we prevent more effective screening would follow me the rest of my life. That is a very real loss of freedom.

Oh please. This is in no way a reflection of how the Obama Administration and the Democrats value the security of the US. What this shows is just how much of a joke airport security really is. It's a joke, and not a very funny one at that.

My worse "Airport security laps" story is when I traveled through 4 states and 3 airlines only to arrive home and find out I had a handfull of live ammunition in my carryon. I can't tell you how terrified I was that I even made it on the first flight, let alone all the way back home with no one realizing.

Mind you, I'm in the military and was a Rifle Marksmanship instructor at the time so live ammunition was everywhere. The rounds were immediately turned into the armorer for safeguarding.

YOU ARE ALL CRAZY...... the images do not look like pornography. They are a black and white outline and the person viewing in not even in the same area as you. In fact a swin suite shows more.

SECOND...... YOU DO NOT HAVE RIGHTS AS IT RELATES TO PUBLIC SAFETY.. THE RIGHT YOU HAVE IS NOT TO FLY. THE GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY HAS A RIGHT BUT IT HAS AN OBLIGATION TO PROTECT OUR CITIZES... GET A GRIP....

Screening will not solve anything! How will screening detect a surgically implanted explosive? Should we get rid of all security checks? No, basic checks for weapons should remain in place. The individual that blew up the CIA agents was a doctor! Imagine if instead of blowing himself up, he set up shop implanting explosives? The media needs to pickup a dictionary and look up the word terrorist. What if the terrorists targeted the long lines of people waiting to go through security checks instead? Air travel is disrupted and Americans lose more freedoms. What procedures were put in place after the OK city bombing to stop that from happening to other buildings? How would you like to park a mile and a half from any building with a predetermined occupant capacity? Sacrificing the freedom of 200 million Americans to protect 10,000 Americans only serves politicians. You know who else is terrorizing America? Car manufacturers! How many people die in automobile accidents every year in our country? Elect me to the highest office and I will be sure to cover them as well in the second Patriot Act.

oh my gosh. the whining has got to stop. the lady on the news this morning about the head scarf, did you see how much hair under that scarf, and people, that could have been more than hair. but she got her 5 mins of fame by whining. and todd do you think the person that is scanning your wife is going to run out to feel her up or something. give me a break. you whining people that just need some attention shut up, don't fly, stay home. then you can find something else to whine about.

It seems to me that the most deadly and most regular terrorist attacks involve car bombs and suicide vests. Funny, there is no screening for that, and yet how many do we have in the USA?

We have completely bypassed the concept of probable cause. The best deterrent is intelligence, period.

Allen D, Bob, and Curtis: You are all morons. Go back to your tea party rallies with the rest of your uneducated breathren. If you believe that Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin are compotent people, I feel really sorry for you and your children. Did they spit out the Ben Franklin quote you referenced? Pathetic.

Hank: You have it completely right. Amen to using National Guard or other military/uniformed personnel to man the security lines.

As a frequent traveler, I would like to see some effort put into creating a system that woul expedite the screening process for frequent travelers, little old ladies, familes traveling with children and others who are clearly not potential terrorists. It seems to me that a huge amount of effort and expense is being made to screen every person when we are looking for that one passenger in a million... We would all be better off if we could eliminate the screening for those who are clearly not terrorists.

Not oppose the full body screening or luggage checks. Cavity checks shouldn't be needed being that the same screening device should be able to penetrate to the bone. Furthermore, revealing everything from bugars to bone marrow.

Think of YOURSELF as a BOMBER: Well if I can't make it on the plane, I'll just blow up the 200 would be passengers in the TSA line.

Of course a bombers objective is to be as destructive as possible, but if one attack is blocked resort to the second most available.

Security should be implemented at the entrance of the airport. If not the property itself, at the first door that's entered.

Like a game of chess, stay two steps ahead.

Allen D, Bob, and Curtis: You are all morons. Go back to your tea party rallies with the rest of your uneducated brethren. If you believe that Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin are compotent people, I feel really sorry for you and your children. Did they spit out the Ben Franklin quote you referenced? Pathetic.

Hank: You have it completely right. Amen to using National Guard or other military/uniformed personnel to man the security lines.

I can't believe people actually complain that body scanners will be used for security at airports. As others have said, flight is not a right..its a privelege. If you think body scanners as a security measure violates your privacy too much, then don't fly! That's pretty simple. Essentially, isn't all of the current security measures some sort of violation of your privacy? You have to give them all of your personal information to travel including birthdate. You have to go through metal detectors. So should we do away with all of the security measures?? Sure...the odds of dying in a plane crash or from a terrorist attack are low however consider the fact that bombing an airplane can take out 200 – 300 people all at once..not counting the death and destruction it can cause on the ground where the plane crashes. Ask the families of the people who died in the 9/11 attacks if they think flight security measures should be more lax. I would say there should be scanners...and if you want to opt out of the body scan, you should be able to go to a private room with 2 agents to be strip searched. Or you can just not fly at all...your choice.

And for those of you who just want to quote Benjamin Franklin like that is the last authority on this subject, try to come up with an original thought of your own.

You whiners are ridiculous

How about these option:
1. TSA will train and recruit male and female doctors for this scanning and male passenger will be sent to male doctor's screen and females to females......will that be an acceptable options for the freedom lovers!
2. All airlines buy these machines and make it compulsory if you want to fly in their aircraft. Are the freedom lovers going to stop flying?
3. Or We as Americans change our lifestyles and stop hogging on the natural resources of other countries in Muslim world so that we do not engage in wars!

@Debbie

"If you dont want to be checked and would prefer to be blown up, then maybe take a train, private jet, boat, bicycle, helecopter, roller skates, or maybe a car.

In fact the crazy people that don't want to be checked, I realy don't want that type of lunatic on my flight anyway."

that is really going down a very very slippery slope.

consider this, if the next terrorist hides something inside of their body (stomach, private cavities). And the TSA's next check would be to probe those areas. You would okay with them doing a little "extra" checking?

if the next one then figures out how to use the human body itself (like hair, skin, blood vessels) to bring aboard explosives. Would you be okay for TSA to implement a full DNA, hair sample, blood test, X-RAY, MRI, etc... scan before you are allowed onboard?

Every "little" right we give up will lead to us losing all rights.

Roland Martin,
You are an idiot. So are the cohorts who fall for MSM fear mongering. Since you don't need your civil liberties, why don't we just go back to the 1960's? If you aren't going to fight for your liberties, then you do not deserve them.

How much does the US government pay you to espouse such anti-American propaganda?

Debbie you are even more of an idiot. I hope you do get a full cavity check by the TSA.

All people of your deficient intellect don't deserve citizenship, since you so easily renounce the basic rights afforded to you in the constitution.

"Debbie January 8th, 2010 2:47 pm ET

Mr. Martin,

You could not have said it better!!! screen me, search me, full cavity check! and check my kids, my husband, my dog, etc.

We all have human bodies, we all look the same, and we are all in this together."

When I was a child with my family in airports around the world, there were airports where military personnel with their full compliment of gear, including rifles, to secure the airports. Believe me, that is a deterrent. I am positive there was a standing 'shoot to kill' order for anyone that attempted to cause harm (not just customer complaints, the well trained military personnel aren't stupid) and I can tell you, one felt safe in the airport.

The point is deterrent...not ridiculously embarrasing tactics that infringe on our privacy and our rights. Why would anyone subject themselves to the personal scrutiny of a $10.00/hr TSA employee who is the lowest ranking employee in the TSA? Or any TSA employee for thaat matter? Body scanners are a stupid and totally knee-jerk reaction to a situation that will never end unless we simply stop flying planes.

Do you have your car checked for explosives prior to getting in it? Of course not, why??? It is impractical and uneccessary. Do you scan your mailbox for explosives before you open it each time? Of course not, even though you know there have been incidents of mail bombs.

The only people benefitting are TSA and the manufacturers of the scanners. Par for the course here, throw money at the problem, yeah that'll work...

Would you rather have TSA agents subject you to a full body search that involves touching you, stripping you, etc...?

Mary,

Yes I have seen what I would look like on a full body scanner. It looks like a dept store display without the cloths on. I've see people dressed in clothes at the airport that reveal more. Sorry, but I fly weekly and it this keeps our flying safe then it should be in place. If it bothers you you can still drive.

I think that most of you commentators should just drive..... Flying is not an human right, it is a privilege, and one you can opt out of. Nice work Mr. Martin.

I was hoping to see numerous responses quoting the great Ben Franklin. I have not been let down. I see I am not the only one who understands where this type of thinking leads... where do you draw the line between freedom and liberty, and useless, feel-good, "safety" precautions that do little to prevent what they were intended to? Full body scanners in every public building? Malls, schools, airports, bus/train stations? We should all just be patient and not worry about these small inconveniences, after all it's in the name of public safety. Besides, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about, right?

I have an idea, how about we train and arm flight attendants? After the first few times Abu-Hazak Mohammed and his buddies are artificially perforated while trying to light shoe or underwear bombs I can guarantee you the practice of attempting to blow up airliners will stop very quickly.

I'll quote it again for those who missed it:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." – Ben Franklin

According to some of the people posting here, our founding fathers were lunatics and, had they been alive today, should be banned from commercial flights.

What happened to this country? Where have all the patriots gone? The founders must be dizzy by now from all the spinning they're doing.

Jesus, the whole personal freedom argument is absurd since you really have none on the flight or in the airport, anyway. How about we send females to scanners with female viewers and men to the one with males and say thats that. I worry about the people who get so up in arms about a scan search trying to somehow make the connection that we're becoming 1930's Germany. That level of paranoia is scary.

As a guy with surgucal implants (steel) in a hip and femur, and an external brace to boot.....

I would welcome the scanners – explaining the "hardware" I carry to someone who can't see what it looks like is not a short affair nor always successful.... so bring on the pictures !!
And I agree, anything that increases the likelyhood of detecting contraband should be used if proven... (wonder if some of the complaining has to do with "other contraband" like street drugs ??)

Over reaction seems to be the main thing that comes out of each one of these events. The use of a bigger and bigger hammer to swat a fly is in operation here. Terrorists couldn't be happier with the outcome of these events – paranoia, over reaction. Meanwhile, little old ladies along with the rest of us continue to have to take off our shoes and have full body searches. And our super expensive security apparatus couldn't identify a guy, who was turned in by his own father. Kind of ironic.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Do you actually think these people can protect you? The government wants you afraid so you will be willing to give up your rights and protections in the name of security. Once you give up those rights, who is going to protect you from the government? They will be able to make you disappear at their faintest whim, and don't think they won't abuse that power.

lol at the people who are saying "the terrorists have won"–because apparently the terrorists have been blowing themselves up all these years in an elaborate scheme to get us to install better scanners at our airports.

Where does it end. No matter how strict, how high tech, how ingenious any security feature is it can be defeated. The point is you have to take the good with the bad. No amount of time, effort, and money will keep terrorists from bringing trouble on airplanes one hundred percent of the time.
The issue isn't that airplanes are unsafe, the issue is that there are people out there that want to attack them. That's where the money needs to go. Put those resources into finding the troublemakers and bringing them to justice. This check everybody garbage is one step closer to 1984. And if you're so scared that you'd be willing to humiliate your entire family for the purpose of a little bit of security, I feel sorry for you.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin

Whole-Body Imaging will not detect explosives if they are hidden in a body cavity, so the next logical step is for the terrorists to sneak stuff aboard in their colons. (This has actually already been done 1 time that I know of in another country)

The only way to combat this would be to have a full cavity search. Mr Martin, will you be so quick to bend over and take it (literally) when this finally happens?

"Tests by scientists in the team at Qinetiq...showed the millimetre-wave scanners picked up shrapnel and heavy wax and metal, but plastic, chemicals and liquids were missed. "

With the scanners we're simply trading off freedom for a false sense of security. The only two things done to improve airline security since 9/11 were reinforcing cockpit doors and making it clear to passengers that they need to stand up to hijackers instead of taking a passive role.

You are much more likely to be struck by lightning or die by falling out of your bed than to be killed in a terrorist attack. Terrorism gets news ratings though, and since people see it constantly day in and day out, they convince themselves that it's going to happen to them. You all better go out and buy lottery tickets right now, because I'm positive you're all going to win.

I think the millimeter wave scanner is a good replacement for these invasive procedures.

As long as every TSA employee who operates full body scanners also has to be screened, I'll be happier with it. They can see each other's bodies and maybe appreciate most peoples' trepidations, shyness, modesty and concerns for so-called invasion of privacy. And I think the media should report on it so we know. Those who call it an "inconvenience" need to check their egos with their luggage. TSA could save some time by doing the body scanning between the first security check-in person and that supernaturally boring wait at the conveyor belts!

The new airport scanners would not have detected the bomb the underwear bomber was carrying.

@author:

Inconvenienced? Inconvenience has nothing to do with it but has everything to do with an unconstitutional virtual strip-search which is completely undignified. The only reason this is happening is because a "bomber", escorted by a man in a suit was able to convince someone, after the first failed attempt when talking to the ticket taker before entering the plane, to let him on a plane without a passport while, mind you, managing to get through security/customs without a passport while wearing "bombs."

No, in all reality, we Americans shouldn't succumb to the type of lunacy that has bewitched so many ignorantly uninformed citizens of the US and abroad to go through with such an unconstitutional measure. Obama needs to spend less time spending money (the 1billion he's investing in these cancer-starting DNA-destroying machines) and doing exactly what he said he wouldn't and more time trying to fix our economy instead of ruin it.

It is unlawful for anyone to undress you physically or virtually here in America. Americans should respectfully but stubbornly decline to adhere to TSA regulation requiring American citizens to participate in these forms of "security measures."

Respectfully,
Sky

Roland, I am glad that someone finally wrote up something about this. I can't believe how pitiful people have become with this whole privacy thing. People say they have rights, which I agree with, but at what expense. As for potential molesters looking at the pictures, your Family Doctor could be a "potential molester," but until they prove otherwise I believe these people have pretty clean criminal records. And yes, I will allow my wife and daughter to be screened by these machines and people, because after oh maybe 10 people, max, all human bodies will look the same, just like they do to your Doctor.

As for rights, whatever. I believe the airports should have their policies and the intense screening should be at the top of the list. If you don't like it you have a lot of other rights. Like the right to take a train, right to take the bus, right to take a boat. In fact, assuming you are traveling within the continent you have the right to DRIVE! This is the ultimate, because you have 100% control over your own vehicle and can take and do almost whatever you want inside of it.

If you come to my work and don't like a policy you have the right to leave and we would politely ask you to leave, the airlines should be no exception.

If the airport security made us safer it would be one thing but that did not happen on the flight into Detroit and adding an air marshal would have done nothing if the bomb would have gone off other than add another death. It is not just about the things we take on the planes but who we at letting on the planes and into the country. We need to control the who and not as much the what. Having millions of Americans take their shoes off everyday in the name of security does not make us safer. If that was true maybe we should all remove our underwear now. What is next body cavity searches?

James

Those who are expressing "Privacy concerns" are absolutely ridiculous! They all should be given a simple choice:-
"Do you mind if some stranger took a look at your privates, OR do you want the same parts to be blown to bits by a bomber ?"
Right to privacy should not even be part of any security equation!

Another main stream media attemp to prime the sheeple that we are safer by losing more of our rights and having some weirdo in a TSA uniform gawking at you through a hidden window. TSA is worthless and have done nothing to improve airline security. It was the passengers who stopped the failed shoe bomber and it was the passengers who stopped this latest attempt. I guess the full body scanners are the next best thing to taking off your underwear along with your shoes and placing them in the grey basket.....

Every time we change our lives because of a terrorist act, we are letting the terrorists win. That is the entire point of their strategy, to cause violance to enact change. And they have succeeded, with the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, the Protect America Act, and all of these useless security procedures that add little to no actual security to America.

So congratulations Mr. Martin, you are helping the terrorists win with your 'opinion' piece.

– January 8th, 2010 2:45 pm ET
I agree 100% – I'm glad to wait in line, arrive early, and follow the rules if that means safety for all. Body scans – SURE. Pat me down – ABSOLUTELY. Because if it's done for all who travel, we're sure to be safer. –

The catch to the above statement is that it does not mean safety for all, and it does not mean that we're all going to be safer.

That is why this is a problem and that is why the colonists wanted independence from Great Britain.

People, stop, take a deep breath, and instead of giving in to your fear, and the fear that keeps coming at you from the nightly news, and from the media. Lets look rationally at what is happening. What are the odds that you will be killed in a terrorist attack? You are far more likely to die in a car accident, die from the flu, or accidental drowning then you are a terrorist attack.

I understand that it is shown hundreds of times on the news and every one talks about it non stop which in your mind creates a false sense that you are more likely to be killed in a terrorist attack, but giving up your rights, and your freedoms based on a horrible loop sided risk analysis is not the way to go. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" actually does have meaning. Stop giving in at every turn in the name of false sense of safety, please before my children look back at the at us and say what were you thinking giving up my rights.

"...the complacency among Americans who are quick to condemn security lapses but, when tough measures are put into place, act like spoiled children who don’t want to be inconvenienced."

Just like how everybody is ranting and raving that this administration isn't doing enough to fix things, and when it does it requires money to be spent which people then scream about because they don't want to have to pay higher taxes.

We are a spoiled, selfish, arrogant, instant gratification culture that has completely forgotten about the idea and concept of patience AND sacrifice.

Time to move past our childishness and start getting along and working together like adults to get things done to help the people of this country; not the politicians and corporations, the people! This goes for many things other than just airport security!

And for the record, I think we overreact way too much to things like this, but also recognize and understand the need for tighter security measures....that's just common sense!

Thanks Roland!

If the authorities dont even run my name why should I subject myself to a search of any kind. What is going to happen when a bomb is smuggeled on a plane in someones rectum just like the drug smuggelers are doing with cocain. Will we all have to have a body cavity search after we take off our shoes and get body scanned?

I heartily agree. Stop grumbling and recognize that the TSA is in place for YOUR protection. They are not getting on the plane, YOU ARE! I would advocate for a separate, voluntary security checkpoint with full body scans, explosive sniffing dogs, or whatever new technology is deemed useful for those who choose the option. Perhaps this could be a "niche market" for a new airline or certain flights that have all of the passengers scanned as a requirement to fly on a safer airline. "United, we scan, because divining, we fail" No violation of privacy or modesty for those who object. You are free to choose the other line. No delays in implementation of the process, no lawsuits or tax dollars spent on legal challenges, etc. Those of us who choose the "invasive" techonology will be on our way to the plane without delay. The others will have their civil rights left intact. Seems simple.

Yea...it must be all Obama's fault. You people are just plain stupid! All of the security started with the Bush administration and is getting better. If they had done their job the "dotss" would have been connected which was Bush's plan, but they never got that together...so they did not connect. I guess that a lot of you agree with that moron from Texas who blamed Obama for this 'cause he was distracted by healthcare. Are you people just the most ignorant jerks in the country or do you have another agenda...since all of this spewing of Obama's socialism why don't you tell all of us what has changed so much in your little lives since he's been in office. The answer will be NOTHING! Your dumb lives are the same as they were last year...and things like the US Mail, Police, Fire Department, public schools and yes medicare are all social programs as is social security that have been in place for years. Get over this b.s. and stop blaming Obama for everything...just go through the scanners. I'd rather give up a few rights at the airport then to be blown up by some angry moron from the mid east...or another angry moron from the mid west like Timothy McViegh.

Bob and Allen D. said it all. One single quote says all. You want to be safe? Just stay home and don't go anywhere. That is a exactly what terrorists want. Us living afraid and in terror. For all accounts, they technically won.

They don't even need to blow one single airplane ever again. They just need yell "boo" and we will keep giving up more liberties.

If you're so interested in security why don't you suggest that we make everyone fly naked! We could give people their clothes back at the end of the flight. Then we'd be really safe....

We just have to come to a rational decision as to what trade-offs we're willing to accept.

9/11 was horrific, no doubt, but we suffered an equal amount of carnage on the public highways in the thirty days following. Thirty-eight thousand deaths a year are the price we're apparently willing to blithely pay for the freedom of the personal automobile.

A 9/11 type attack is unlikely, but are we willing to suffer two or three bombed airliners per year, a thousand deaths, for the freedom and convenience of boarding swiftly with little intrusion? As with the automobile equation, maybe we are.

Folks look at it this way; anytime there is major war for the US, there is an upheaval in medicine and technology. We are just in the development stage of revolutionary technological (and political)practices that will enhance the future of everyone. So suck it up through these rough times, things will get better and stop hatin' and complaning and thinking selfishly. ME ME ME.

If you are one of those neo-con Obama haters, YOU try to do something....oh... it Bushy and his 8 years??? now THAT waas a joke. Stop hatin and start appreciating. Grow up or shut up.

Our intel people should be doing a better job - their lapses, in this case, were pathetic. Not that anyone on a watch list should be barred from flying outright - rather they should be individually scrutinized the way this is done on El Al flights - it's a system that works. But blanket measures that eat away at everyone's liberties should be avoided, especially when they are not effective or can easily be circumvented. The ban on fluids is stupid and a serious health hazard for people prone to bronchitis and dehydration. The body scans would not have prevented the Christmas bomber - at the most, use this as an option for passengers specifically flagged for additional scrutiny. Come on, America: grow a set! Is this the land of the free and the home of the brave? Or the land of the lawyers and the home of the wimps like Roland Martin! If a few bombers get through - well, it's sad when people die, but we cannot guarantee eternal life - and even with a few crashes every year, flying is still the safest way to travel. Live free or die! I vote to stop subjecting everyone to pointless security measures and instead beef up our ability to flag individuals for special scrutiny.

So let me get this straight: Roland Martin and like-minded liberals considered the stripping of Abu Ghraib prisoners to be criminal, and condemned the entire United States as a nation of torture as a result. But US citizens who stick up for their rights not to be stripped are whiners?
They quickly condemn the greatest civilization that has ever graced the planet based on the actions of half a dozen people on the night shift at Abu Ghraib, but if we call Maj. Hassan of Ft. Hood a terrorist, or suggest that we actually focus on the people who blow up innocents instead of shampoo and toothpaste, we are racist.
Political correctness is racist, and it is destroying the United States of America.
Roland, and the rest of you liberals: Give up your freedoms if you choose. I am sure the government will keep you safe, and provide you the exceptional medical care, etc. I simply want my rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Don't tread on me, please!!!

The logic is this "article" is so flawed, it's hard to figure out where to start to comment. People "whine" because they are intelligent enough to see that having some TSA punk confiscate a 3.1 ounce bottle of shampoo from a carry on does not do an ounce of good to prevent a terrorist attack. People feel "inconvenienced" because they are aggravated because they know while some high school dropout is rummaging through my underwear, some TSA agent is abandoning his post at Newark Liberty Airport and letting someone bypass security by entering a terminal through the exit. People are "up in arms" because every time we take away yet another personal liberty, we play right into the terrorist handbook. Richard Reid failed. This underwear idiot failed. Or did they? How many millions of dollars do we lose every year due to delays, missed flights, etc. cause d by increasingly invasive security measures that are hardly more than window dressing?

This "whining" isn't the passive attitude Mr. Martin. Yours is. You should be demanding that answer isn't to impede on the civil rights on our citizens but it's to focus on better intelligence gathering and sharing to identify threats well before some nutjob is at the airport with PETN in his underwear or stuffed up his butt. By then, even if the body scanner or the cavity search or who knows what else detects the problem, it's already too late.

Sad but the truth is we just need to profile. I do not see any Irish Nuns trying to blow us up, if you are from a terrorist country or look like are, then we should search you. The police do that on the streets, why not take it to a higher level? Oh thats right the ACLU would have a heart attack, LOL
I hate being American sometimes, we just do whatever we can to please and not too offend. We need Obama out of the office FAST.

To those that say they will not subject their daughters or mothers to a scan I can certainly see your concerns. To those who say the terrorists will simply find a way around any new measures I can see those concerns as well. What concerns me me even more is when the terrorists use a brainwashed mother and her daughter to smuggle explosives onto a plane. These idiots think they will die and be surrounded by virgins. Which is the greater indignity to women? Pornography? Perverts and pedophiles? These screeners see a vague outline and have zero access to those being screened and the machines allow no permanent capture of images. Can the same be said of your family pediatrician? How many times do children fly? Most very infrequently. How many perverts are on the street leering at them as you walk your child through the park. Get real about things and quit saying I dont care if it happens to you but it damn well better not happen to me.

I agree that flying is a privilege that you purchase and any purchase has conditions. If you don't like those conditions then you can drive or take a train or bus. Disrupting air travel is the goal here because of the devastating affect it would have on the world economy. If they were targeting a particular fast food chain on a regular basis you might be subjected to a pat down before you could get a double cheeseburger.

The answer in my opinion is to subject every single air traveler to intense screening. No profiling, no random pulls out of line. Every man, woman and child. You may say that means the terrorists win but I say that we stop what we can stop. Nothing in this world could stop someone from strapping a bomb to themselves and walking into a mall and blowing it up but lets at least understand what these people want.

Mary, would you and your children rather have someone feel all over your body? The people viewing the scanners are in another room and do not see the face related to the body.

If the scanners will keep us safer, then I am all for it. There has been too much human error in this administration. If the WH isn't safe how can the rest of the country be safe? Anyone trespassing on government property should be prosecuted to the extent of the law!

Anyone in the CIA, FBI,TSA who isn't doing their job to keep Americans safe, they should be fired!

We are never going to be totally safe, and to instead continue to reduce our civil liberties in order to "keep up" with idiots like the underwear and shoe bomber basically advances their jihad against what America stands for (including civil liberties). Wiretapping "doesn't bother me", and getting full body scans "doesn't hurt me", but whether or not I am inconvenienced is beside the point. As others have said, you are more than welcome to give up your civil rights and liberties, but I will not, because I refuse to allow myself to live in a police state, even if it does not seem that way yet.

Bravo! But why fuss with special cameras? Let's just outlaw clothing in airports altogether. It's genius! We'd be fully protected. How does that sound, Mr. Martin? You'd certainly be safe and secure.

This is simply one more of the many invasions of privacy inflicted upon the American people that are becoming commonplace. I, for one, am distgusted by even the idea of these cameras and am honestly shocked that so many readily support the idea. The concept that the choice is either being blown up or exposing your nude body to a stranger (as my fellow commenter Debbie implies) is completely ridiculous. There are alternate means of security that don't involve public pornography.

Dear Roland,

I'm not being passive. I'm being assertive. When/if the proposed measures go into place, I will change my lifestyle to avoid flying altogether. Actually, I am close to that now, since i don't trust the yahoos at TSA. I am one of those people who "looks like" he could be a terrorist, so guess what . . . Frankly, I can understand being blown out of the air by an enemy and am willing to take my chances on that (someone calculated that I am twenty times more likely to be killed by lightning anyhow). I am unwilling to be harassed, insulted, and pushed around (literally) by a "friend."

Debbie – a cavity check? Seriously, I think you would actually have a problem with that if that were proposed someday.

I agree with the gentleman who said the terrorists win when we start whittling away our freedom little by little. I also agree with the gentleman who said the airline industry needs to make more of an effort to treat customers like human beings and less like cattle. It sickens me to pay thousands – yes, sometimes thousands – of dollars to travel economy from point A to point B and receive the most deplorable service imaginable during my 10 or 15 hour trip (much of which is spent at the airport, not in the air). The industry takes my money, my sanity and now even my dignity (with full body scans) – the least it can do is treat us with some measure of kindness following all the stress that comes with air travel these days.

As a TSO in a cat X airport, I thank you. There are so many misconceptions about the work we do at TSA. People often forget why we exist, and the reasons why a TSO steps up to take the oath.

I've been verbally and physically assaulted, degraded, demeaned, etc. all while performing my duties to serve my country. The irony here, is that people bring a lot of the inconveniences on themselves. I hate wasting time on a citizen acting like a 4 year old when I could be looking for dangerous behaviors and devices.

The most common complaint people give has nothing to do with the WBI's. Believe it or not, its almost always over liquids. See, the WBI and devices like it, are a CHOICE in this country. You are not required to step in one, you can elect a pat down as an alternative. Don't want to be patted down? Tough! Flying is not a right, it's a privilege.

I think if the security screening was worth it's weight in salt, then I certainly would not gripe. However, the TSA is an almost useless organization that needs to find better employees and pay for them. Also, we should have Air marshals on almost all flights. I know that is a very expensive idea but we can find the money.

Also, have courses for regular passengers who can help with security if someone is in the act of attempting to hijack the plane. They can intervene, due to sheer numbers, and stop most any plan for taking over an airplane. IMHO.

I agree to a certain degree but as the recipient of numerous screenings since 9/11 (4 in one trip) I'm sick to death of the TSA. I am an American citizen (since March 1957) who happened to be born in Ireland. Everytime I fly I'm dragged out of line for additional screening (a body scan at Heathrow). Since when are the Irish third world terrorists? The inspectors overlook bombers but target a grandmother from Seattle, gee, I wonder why Homeland Security doesn't work?

Where do we draw the line to stop the erosion of personal liberty? What happens when some terrorist finds a way to spoof the full body scanners? Do we then decide to take the next step of strip searches? (All in the good name of public safety, of course!)

We need to be proactive, and find these terrorists BEFORE they get to the check-in counter at the airport. The intelligence community already knew of the individual who attempted to blow up the airliner over Detroit. For heaven's sakes, his own PARENTS were alerting people that their son was a threat, yet NO ONE took action.

Now, to cover the failures of everyone charged with airline security, we the passengers (we the PEOPLE) have to pay for their shortcomings.

Welcome to Amerika!

To all of you nancies worried about your wives and daughters going through a scanner:

Come on, do you really think the screeners are getting off from brief glimpses of thousands of images of scanned human body profiles?

If so, do you really think there is any reason to believe the proportion of perverts among airport screeners is any greater than that of the general population?

I'm in total agreement to this article. The TSA should use any and all technology available to keep us safe! They are here to protect us and they are constantly being stopped by the people they are trying to protect. This whole liquids and gels restrictions started because of a threat involving explosives of the same substance and what did we do? We demanded to have our shampoos in our carry on bags! That was just allowing another way for the terrorists to get a bomb on the plane! And for all the people who put up that Ben Franklin quote, ya he didn't have to deal with planes being hijacked and flown into buildings. Besides I've nothing to hide and I let them do their job with as little hassle on both ends as possible. I say the people who object to all of this have something to hide.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm sure if asked, any of the people killed during the attack on 9-11 would have gladly gone through a full body scan to spend just one more day with loved ones.

The sad fact of it is that we live in a time when we must give up a few liberties to keep everyone safe.

Great article... but if the security measures that were taken and implemented after 911 didn't help this one, how do we just stand here and say "Yes, lets spend more money that we don't have on something that "MIGHT" work".
If you recall, the government didn't help this situation, it was actually the passengers on that plane. The only message I got from this was "fellow citizens, lets protect each other because the Government officials who don't have to fly with us are still sitting around trying to figure out what's going on".

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind having all of my luggage checked, taking my shoes off and not carrying liquids, but I feel even more safe knowing that the Civilians flying on these planes will stand up for each other.

January 8th, 2010 2:44 pm ET
"Thank God we finally have a voice of reason. Flying is not a right, it is a privilege"

The airline companies gave up their right to hold this service as a privilege when they failed to:

1. Run their business without government aid
2. Deal with union and employee issues without government aid
3. Protect passengers without government aid

Flying now is no less a right than driving on public streets. If you pass the qualifications (e.g., drivers license, paying for a plane ticket) then you reserve the right to certain amenities and to file complaints since many of your tax dollars have been spent. By your logic, people should not complain when their car is destroyed by a 2ft pothole.

Anyway, the suspects OWN FATHER warned the government that he had ties to Al Queda. If a terrorist's own father cannot persuade airport security to take a special interest in a certain airline passenger (especially one without a visa) then no amount of anonymous screening will help. All it will do is frustrate the passengers, who in turn will fly less, which will decrease profits of the airlines, which, of course, will lead to more government intervention.

Really, if a body scan turned up a dark spot in this kid's pants, can any of us honestly say that was going to be the piece of information that got him caught. I certainly don't think so.

In sum, if bag checks, shoe checks, background checks, passport/visa checks, metal detector checks, random screening checks, and common sense checks (hay, foreigner flying 1 way with no passport/luggage/paid cash) can't keep us safe, then do us a favor and leave the scanners at home.

Yes we can!!! Yes we can!!! Yes we can!!! Roland is fat.

The whiners are pathetic – which would they prefer? Their ghostly private parts being seen for a second or being blown out of the sky at 35,000 feet? I'll walk through that device naked if it means I can avoid a high altitude death. The world has dumbed down and become pampered.

Another 9/11 will not happen. In the past it was known that hijackers would land the plane somewhere and then demand money. It was more dangerous to fight back. Now it is known that hijackers might crash the plane somewhere. You've nothing to lose by fighting back. Note that in the cases of the "underwear bomber" and the "shoe bomber" there was a vigorous passenger response. I don't recall reading anything about security measures (including the air marshals) intervening. That was just people like you and me. Is that an unsettling thought – that you might have to stand up and defend yourself?

The truth of the matter is that no amount of scanning can prevent the smuggling of every type of weapon or explosive. What we have fits the definition of a security theater in every sense. Have you ever accidentally but successfully passed through airport security with filled water bottles? I sure have. Have you ever wondered about those stories of people's laptops catching fire, and considered that someone might be able to blow their own laptop up (or at least start a fire) intentionally?

The other thing to bear in mind is that more people die per year from many other causes than they do from terrorist attacks. If we're talking about saving lives, is spending money on airport security really the smart way to go? Especially when terrorists could simply kill people some other way (you know, not involving an airplane – use your imaginations).

I don't mind being inconvenienced, but this is a big-time waste of money. Worse, it's perpetuating a culture where people are too afraid to stand up for themselves; to do something and say something if they see something wrong going on. Let's not go overboard here. Every time you step into your car you know that someone might crash into you, and you're on the alert for erratic drivers. Nobody is clamoring for the state to implement stricter driver's license laws, or to implement controls in cars – they know the risks and they're willing to do what they can to avoid a crash if the situation arises. You can waste all the money in the world and get to the point where we're flying naked, and you're still going to have to live with the fact that some extremist may have a bomb somewhere in or on his or her body. If and when that time comes, I hope you'll be doing something about it instead of thinking "see, I TOLD everyone else that we should have had even stricter security..."

The most important thing we need to do is switch up the screening process and most importantly don't let the general public know what is going on. If we go down one particular route it is very easy for someone wanting to do harm to simply work around the system.

The systems that show anybody with radical Islam ties shouldn't be allowed to travel anywhere, force them to travel on a boat with an oar.

i think that may hav been the worst article I have ever read. Boring and Pointless. If I'm not mistaken the 911 terrosrists didn't use bombs and almost anyone if they really want to can sneak some type of weapon on an airplane. And it was the airlines and not the people of Americas fault that the airline COMPANIES allowed the cockpit doors to be open giving access to the pilots. So why the hell should honest hard working Americans have to be hasseled and harrassed at airports??? That's just a short opinion coming from a White man's view on American stuff.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin
Hey Bob, if you feel that way then understand that you have no absolute right to get on an airplane. My suggestion to all of you that object to your privacy being invaded is, take a Greyhound or Amtrak. I'm with Roland on this one.

"Have your seen the scanned images? It's like looking at pornography 24/7. Get informed – you would like your wife or daughters be viewed by potential molesters & perverts."

Mary, it seems you need to get informed, and step off of your superiority bible-thumping complex. Screeners MUST BE of the same gender of those being screened. The images are only onscreen until the next image appears. They are not saved. I have a wife and daughters. I do not have a problem with a machine that will keep our country's citizens safer. Take your fear monger back to your church group.

Roland, Roland, Roland...

I'm not even going to get into the discussion of increased or decreased security – you're mind is made up, i disagree with you and neither of us will budge.

What i am taking you to task about is your use of 'near miss'.

How does an incorrect term like this get past your editor? Reporters need to stop using the phrase, "a near miss" to describe airline issues. When two planes nearly collide, they did not nearly miss...they missed! Otherwise, we call it a crash! "Near miss", by it's definition, would mean that the planes almost missed each other, but decided at the last moment to crash anyway. "Whew, that was close, we nearly missed..."

"But come on, folks, are they really that bad? "

Yes.

"The only peace of mine I need is knowing that I’ll get to my destination alive and see my family,"

It's "peace of mind," Roland.

It's clear that you'd rather be safe than free, but please don't act like those of us who disagree are kooky and weird. Everything in life is a risk, and we cannot stop bad things from happening. Increased airport security theater will not stop bad things from happening. These scanners don't make us safer, they only make some unintelligent people feel safer.

And you, apparently, are one of those people.

http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/terrorism/assets/backscatter.jpg

Now imagine this is your little daughter instead, and a TSA agent, with some unkown history to you, is getting to take a peek...

It's not the body screening that we should be concerned about. It is the caliber of people that the TSA employs. Take a good look next time you are going through security. Do you trust theses individuals with your privacy? Remove the people and let the machines do the work. If an alarm goes off..you get a pat down from a same sex TSA employee.

I agree entirely with this column. In fact, I would add that the people in Newark who were trapped in the airport because a man decided to buck the security should be mad at him instead of the security force for shutting the airport to make sure everyone was safe.

Modern Americans have been lucky in not having wars on their home soil. Times are different and we now join other countries – especially those that are free democracies, in having to protect our way of life right here at home.

We need to find the good ground between being victims and vigilantes. We need to rekindle a sense of national purpose that say each and every one of us is responsible for our behavior and we hold everyone else responsible for their behavior as well.

give me liberty or give me death.... remember that america...this country is full of whimps............i will never walk through those scanners........they are a violation of my privacy..........also i travel everywhere with cannabis, so if i walked through a scanner they would see a fat sack in my pants.........so those scanners gotta go

24/7 pr0n? not quite. you can't really make out anything about it and not the faces and the images are not supposed to be stored. i personally have no problem. it's a lot better than having your wife or daughter committed to a strip search.

I often disagree with Mr. Martin on his views. But this time he got it exactly right !! Maybe we need two flights for every destination... one for those those of us willing to go through extra screening to arrive safely... and another for everyone willing to jump on board with whoever.

Not one of these 150 new scanners would have detected what is causing all of this knee-jerk reaction. Not a SINGLE one. I felt safer flying before 9/11 than I do now for one very simple reason: the airlines were doing security and have a vested interest in that plane not being blown up. TSA has absolutely nothing in the game as evidenced by this week's Newark incident where the guard was only moved to another location instead of being handed the walking papers.

As a reply to the TSA agents having to "put up with" the public, they didn't get forced into the job. If the TSA agents would smile once in a while and pretend that they enjoy it, then I might have sympathy. As it is, I have none. Once the TSA can actually say that the security experience is the same in ALL airports, they can be considered doing their jobs. As it is right now, that is not the case.

Really this article is astonishing in its shallowness. Security experts themselves have expressed doubt that those scanners or pat-downs would have detected the underwear bomb. So tell me, do you think that you should go through an exam only your doctor with a very good reason should give you at airports all in the name of "security"?
Are you really willing to give up all your rights and freedoms, one by one by one, as this terrorist does this and that terrorist tries that?

What about the day they attempt to store and carry explosives in body cavities? And that day will come, do not doubt.
Will you then right an article telling us that we should submit to cavity searches at the whim of airport security?

There will be no end to it and one day we will wake up and realise that the terrorists got exactly what they wanted – they destroyed your way of life, your freedom; destroyed it and they will be the winners.
They will have turned our societies into exactly what they want them to look like.

Since they will not draw the line, we must.
What is the illusion of safety worth to you, absolutely everything?

What a fallacious argument.

Breathalizers installed in every vehicle and daily required drug testing would reduce the possibilty of getting hit by a drunk driver to near zero, but would you submit to that kind of government scrutiny?

And yet terrorists would need to down two fully-loaded commercial jets every week to equal the same number of fatalities that drunk drivers cause.

In the same fearful mindset that you propose we sheepishly submit to these ineffective screenings, habeus corpus was suspended and illegal wiretapping allowed, a prison was set up where suspects were neither granted trials nor representation – all in the name of security. Every inch of freedom we gleefully surrender brings us a mile from what it means to be American. There was a time we were called the land of the free and the brave. I don't think we can lay claim to either of those words today.

If you feel like submitting for a strip search every time you fly so you can get a pat on the head, by all means go for it. I refuse to forfeit my right to privacy to give you a false sense of security.

I completely agree with Mr. Martin. We know the system is broke and it’s not going to change anytime soon, so we should all just slow
down a little, think about what’s at stake (human lives) and plan for the extra time. Has our society really come to the point where we
can’t stand in line for an extra hour in order to potentially save lives? There are parents who will wait in line for > 24hrs. to purchase Hannah Montana tickets for their children’s entertainment, and those same parents can’t stand in line for an extra hour to assure that their child isn’t a victim of terrorism....what gives?

Has anyone taken one of these pictures and put it on photoshop and hit invert? Try that and then tell me its still ok to use these scanners.

HAHAHAHA!! I love listening to all the people complain about what Mr. Martin is saying and throwing their opinion out there that they probably formed from reading what some other journalist wrote! Keep Benjamin Franklin out of it..that was said at a total different time and does not apply to what we are facing in the world today. The only thing I would ask is that the TSA employees are screened to the hilt! Make them go through a rigid academy like cops do. That will weed out the bad apples and ease the minds of travelers.
Of course no one wants to be inconvienanced. Our society today is full of people that wait till the last minute to take care of their responsibilities and then blames someone else if they get help up. People cant even take the time to stop at stop signs anymore.
For all the people complaining about your rights..you gave them up along time ago when you voted in Bush! People sat on their butts and turned a blind eye to what the white guy was doing while in office, now you are unhappy that there is a black man in office and you find your voice? Please! Give it a rest.

TO all the idiots ..they scan kids and grandma's because the adults can put things on them , hoping that they will not be scanned..if you do not want to comply, then keep your kids they can watch the travel channel ... Your right to privacy ends once you leave your home!! Crazy people also have privacy..so we need some type of security in place to protect the intelligent people from the fools...Yes to scanners ..ALL the idiots stay home!!!

Flying is a privellege not a right. If you don't want to be possible screened by scanner or pat-down then walk, drive or take a bus.
Otherwise, shut up and follw the rules.

I see many saying that the inconvenience is worth preventing the risk to human lives. I'd be curious to see if people would feel the same way about requiring cars be installed with regulators at 60mph to reduce traffic fatalaties.

Terrorist attacks account for a miniscule, though emotional, number of American deaths. There are many other risks that we have accepted as a fair trade-off for our freedoms; I find it curious that "not being looked at naked" is not a freedom we're willing to pay for.

Mary, There might be a pervert in the TSA screener group but I feel sorry for the rest of them that have to look at all those fat American ___ all day long everyday.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin

I would rather be subjected to screening than have the plane I am in blow up. Yes, I am married and have daughters. They can be screened as well.

Yes, I've seen the images. Yes, they can be a bit provocitive. No, I don't think they are pornographic.

If they save lives I am all for it.

Great piece, Roland. I often don't agree with you.
Those screaming "Freedom" should be reminded: Flying is not a right guaranteed in the Constitution; you can walk there if you like.

And, as there are very few of us that are good-looking I pity the agents who have to stare at us 'naked' for hours at a time–how do they not gouge their eyes out? They're probably too numb to notice your hoo-ha. If it is that special you can make big bucks off it.

Pictures of the WTC would do a lot to settle people down at screening points–if they still want to fly. If not: more room, lower prices, and easier screening.

I – and probably tons of other americans in generation "sexting" – couldn't care less about a naked scan of myself. At all.

What I care about is the precedent this sets with personal privacy.

We're not far from brain scans – reading minds – being reality... is that going to be OK too?

Words cannot express how disgusted I am that a journalist of all people doesn't understand this. So much great literature written on this topic; so much of journalism predicated on the protection of rights... Someone above put it better – what about when the government (or corporation, or others) wants to know your sources? When do we declare Thought Crime?

Do you really think this stops at being able to see my naughty bits? I don't. We spent eight years of an administration that spoke of "family values" – some of them even equating being gay with terrorism. These are the people writing the bills about these scanners... Is the next step scanning for bad thoughts? We can't profile race – but most states in the country think sexual orientation is fair game. What about other so-called perverse thoughts? When will that prevent you from getting on an aircraft?

Any trained combatant can injure an aircraft with materials already on the aircraft. Take your seatbelt buckle and puncture the window. You don't stop terrorism with a nude scanner. You can't.

Why stop with scanners? If you people are so concerned about getting where you're going safely, why aren't we all flying naked? Really. Check your clothes at the gate, get your complimentary hospital gown... oops, wait, you could strap a bomb to your chest under that; never mind. Just naked. Why not ban all electronics on the flight? Why not ban any carry-ons; make all of the luggage checked.

You know what? There's ways around all of this. Why aren't we flooding the cabin with sleeping gas? Mandatory anesthesia, that's the only real way to make flying safe. Until someone slips through the backdoor of the airport, because TSA Bubba was too busy picking his nose, and puts anthrax in the gas canisters.

Don't you see? Nothing in America is safe from terrorism, and never will be. The only reason the TSA is using these scanners and not outright asking for strip searches is because disrobing and re-dressing would be too much of a logistical nightmare. And while I have no problem showing my naked body to people I want, being forced to in order to travel is a step too far for me. Like someone pointed out earlier, what about the health concerns of these machines? If they were 100% harmless, I feel like we'd have seen the technology used in other areas by now.

I can't beleive some one said make weapons illegal and every one would be safer. Here's a thought criminal/terrorits are already breaking the law and endangering peaople. What would they care if weapons are illegal. Just another law to break. DUH!!!

Give me a break. If the federal government was overspending to fund research to improve technology in airports like we do for defense and medicare (It is a proven fact that Medicare overpay for medical equipment) then we would have been able to bring non-invasive puffer technology for the detection of explosives to the point where it works well enough to use in the airports. Not to mention the fact that by only adding those terrorist who might be a danger to the no-fly list made absolutely no sense. Just because a terrorist isn't isn't willing to carry out a suicide bombing now doesn't mean he won't become a possible threat later.

I should like to raise my voice in debate, good sir.

The "heightened security measures" are invasive and ineffective. Anyone truly wishing to penetrate security will have no difficulties doing so. It is my opinion that we are collectively fools, dancing to the tune of the terrorists.

When we are told we cannot go to the bathroom on a flight in the last hour, cannot read a book...for safety? This is no longer security, this is security theater, designed to make us feel safe, not to be safe.

It is foolish of us to roll over and show our bellies over and over again. It would be far better for us to collectively, as citizens, be aware of our surroundings and unafraid to report danger. Instead, we assume we are cared for by protectors, we fear causing a scene, we fear reprisal by lawsuit if we report.

It is beyond time for us to wake up, and keep our liberties from being swallowed by a collective desire to be just a bit safer. Down that road lies an incremental death of the very way of life we hold dear. You may find it silly, but imagine a time when we are not allowed to drive cars, because they are too dangerous. Sure, it seems far-fetched. But this is no more ridiculous than having to remove our shoes at the security checkpoint.

That being said, I actually do support the scanners themselves. However, it is a crying shame that they will not ease other restrictions after emplacing them...each crisis will provide greater restriction until we realize that we are no longer free to travel.

I think this is the first thing Roland Martin ever said that I agree with.

What we have is not "air security" – it is security theater. Can anyone explain to me why we're still taking off our shoes? Or putting liquids in a bin right next to where all the passengers wait? The head of the TSA even stated that the liquid bin was OK because they knew the liquids weren't dangerous – WTF?

For that matter, a suicide bomber hiding explosives in his rectum nearly killed a Saudi royal a few months back. When can we expect the mandatory TSA cavity searches to start?

The solution is simple: If you don't want to be put through a full body scan, then don't fly and you can drive yourself, take a bus or train, cruise ship or walk to your destination – YOUR CHOICE! But if you want to fly, step into the booth please. Those should be your options. If you don't want to improve MY security by being scanned then get off MY flight!

Before searching my underwear, I think America needs to take a hard look at this foreign policy and why is it that many are pissed about it.

Oh! CNN forgot to mention that.

Also, do you know whether those scanners emit more or less radiations than say a CT-scan ?
Well, we know it doesn't emit any X-rays. It only cooks your insides like 5 seconds in the microwave.

They can pat me down and strip search me – I'm not going in the microwave...

I just don't get what all the screaming is about. There ARE terrorists out there! The screening WOULD make us more safe. Would you not go to the doctor or let your wife/daughter get a doctor's exam because the doctor might see your/their private parts? Neither the doctor nor the TSA worker cares about what you body looks like. They only care if you have explosives or not.
Yes, you can see the outline of the person's body on the screen but you can not see details or even the person's face. Who cares?! It would speed up screening and from what I read, it can detect small amounts of explosives that they might not even detect on a pat down. I would much rather be screened by someone sitting in a separate room who cna not see my face than be patter down in front of everyone.

Well spoken Debbie! There are trains and boats. And yes, I don't want screening objectors on a flight with me!

Has anyone checked El Al's screening and security methods? Good track record......

if places like prisons which have intense security can still have drugs and weapons smuggled into them, what makes anyone think that any of this nonsense will stop someone will the resources and the will to do something like this again. It won't. But there's no reason to stay up worrying about it anyway since you're more likely to be killed by a lightning strike than to be killed in a terrorist attack in the United States. It's the usual knee jerk reaction without any logical thought to probability versus cost. Are we going to implement these multi-million dollar machines in approx 400 airports to minimally reduce risk? I know there are people saying "well if you don't want to deal with the screening don't fly" how about if you can't accept the small risks associated with flying, don't fly and don't force me to be a part of this security theater.

Roland, you are right on. I just wish folks would give President Bush some credit due for having the right attitude in that we are indeed at "war" and need to reinforce that frame of mind at all levels. I believe President Obama is seeing the reality of the situation after a year in office and will make the adjustments to keep us safe.

Mr. Martin, I am glad you brought up this topic, but I seriously disagree with you. Maybe I have a different perspective because unlike the overwhelming majority of citizens of this country, my family has actually been here since before it was an independent nation, and I am a very proud descendant of multiple individuals who actually fought in the Revolutionary War, and risked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, to gain for us the freedoms and rights we (supposedly) have today. Maybe the vast herds of sheep who came belatedly, after all the work of attaining those freedoms and rights was won, can't fully appreciate the gift those patriots gave us. I grew up in the 1970s, during the Cold War. I remember the indoctrination about how horrible life was in the Soviet Union. Yet here we are today – a bunch of frightened sheep willing to meekly surrender those rights to freedom, to privacy, that were won at such great cost. There are no guarantees in life. Bad things happen to good people. Big Brother cannot protect you. Only you can protect you and yours. Remember Katrina? The people who suffered were, by and large, those who refused to take responsibility for themselves and get the hell out. Who stopped AbdulMutallab? Citizens.

For me I reallyhope that the money is spent on the full body scanners rathers a lot of money spent on many alternate methods. The full body scanner is tome the most definate and absolutely means of detection.

If they implement this idea; I think it would only be humane to execute scanning is to have a woman TSA officer scanning the women, and a male to scan the men. There would have to be 2 separate lines. In my mind its the only way.

You are unfairly representing what the issues are with full-body scanners. Privacy and longer lines are not the only concerns with full body scanners.
How easy are they to circumvent (why can't terrorists just hide their explosives in body cavities)?
What are their false positive, false negative statistics under real world conditions (scans are difficult to interpret, just as a doctor who specializes on mammograms and they get way more training and time than the TSA can provide screeners)? If we scan all boardings and these machines are 99.9% accurate that still means tens of thousands of passengers will be subjected to pat downs or strip searches due to false positives.
What are the health effects of repeated body scans? X-rays are known carcinogens which have a cumulative effect over one's life, will subjecting hundreds of millions to increased x-ray exposure raise cancer rates enough that after 30 years you are more likely to die from the cumulative effects of body scan than in a terrorist attack in a plane?
What about unintended extra costs beyond the cost of the machines and operators? If there is even a small reduction in air travel what will this cost the world economy in reduced economic activity? Who will pay for lawyers fees and possible awards as all the lawsuits that will inevitably come as false positives lead to some extremely humiliating episodes?
It seems that either the author is so simple minded as to truly think that really the only possible issue with these machines is that some people might feel embarrassed that their body figure is being revealed to a random stranger; or he is being disingenuous about what the considerations are when adopting such a policy as full body scans for all.

"Take the full body airport scanners. Civil libertarians are up in arms, saying it violates the privacy of Americans. But come on, folks, are they really that bad? "
OMG... this guy sounds like he want us to be slaves again to our countrty..
To give up your liberties because of fear is stupid!!!

"Congress should also get its affairs in order and rather than funding the members’ pet projects, ensure that the critical dollars are being spent on bolstering security at the nation’s airports."

Let the people who fly pay the extra cost for extra security, why should my tax dollars go to ensure the security of people who fly, those cost should be paid in full by the airline industry and the customers who need to there service.

I think we could settle this debate easily
A: Have two different airport/airline systems. One with TSA security, screenings, scanners, pat downs. The other with no security at all.
The first set can fly wherever they want at the cost of any inconvienance of getting through security. The second can also fly anywhere, as long as it does not fly over any citys, towns, villages, civilians, or anyone who could be hurt or killed if terrorists do bring the plane down.

The security measures used today may not stop every attempt, but what most don't mention is that the victims of 9/11 were not just the passangers of the planes, but the people in the towers as well. It isn't just people on the planes who's safety is being protected, but everyone just sitting at home, or at work, who just happens to be in an the wrong place.

Sure, terrorist are, must to our dismay, a very intelligent species. Anything we use to stop them, they will think of a way around, but does that mean we should stop trying to stop them. Sure, no one things scanning a 3yr old daughter or 90yr old grandmother is right, but do you think terrorists are not above using a 3yr old or 90yr old as a weapon? They'd strap explosives to an infant if they thought they could kill americans.

And please everyone stop making this about politics/republicans and democrats/obama/etc... This is about what makes us Americans safer. When I fly a plane, I leave my shampoo at home, I don't argue with the screeners, and I get to my destination in one piece. A few extra hours won't kill me. Going back to security pre-9/11 can kill me. Please put that into perspective.

Allen D has the idea right!!!

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety."

-Benjamin Franklin

Well, I don't think we should stop at backscatter/millimeter scanning. It would be more thorough to have each person step into a private room with an anonymous TSA screener looking through a mirrored window (sort of like an interrogation room) while the attempted passenger strips naked and stands in all sorts of positions to prove they're not carrying anything illegal. If the screener is not certain that the attempted passenger is not a threat, they can easily do a more thorough, physical search of the person in question. I mean, we all need to be safe, right? Obviously, I'm being sarcastic. Those that support these scanners in the name of safety might say my comparison isn't equal at all. Actually, the only thing different is the fact that A) the machine allows you to be viewed naked much more quickly and efficiently than if you had to go into a room and strip down and B) that, as far as I know, a physical search of a naked person doesn't happen.

If a child goes through this machine, does that qualify as child pornography? Can any private business owner require customers to pass through a machine like this and be viewed naked before entering their place of business to ensure they're not a "bad guy"?

Just because I've got nothing to hide doesn't mean I want random people seeing me naked to prove it, all under the guise of security. I'm quite certain many of those that support this wouldn't submit to this kind of "security system" to go out to eat or go to a sporting event.

Sounds like typical left-wing liberal whining from many of the responses. The good news for those of us whose employers require us to frequently travel, is that the lines at the airport should get shorter, if those of you who say you won't fly stick with your beliefs and drive or take the train or the bus. The solution is really quite simple; if you don't like the rules at the airport, AMTRAK and Greyhound are anxious for your business.

If you have an issue with the screening, start driving. The safety of myself, my family and the rest of America who utilizes air travel should be everyone’s primary concern. The moment you exclude grandma or anyone from the screening you open a hole for those who wish to do us harm. Furthermore if you are unhappy with the current screening technologies, go get a degree and develop an alternative that suits your concerns and delivers the security Americans deserve.

Please, if anyone can find it, is there any independent study as to if/what the long term health issues are associated with the full body scanners? Not only have I not found an independent long term study, but the companies that make them do not have in-house, long term studies to review either.

These scanners would not have stopped the man from boarding flight 253 as his explosives were in his crotch. That area of a man is supposed to blocked out so the reviewer does not see it. He got onto the plane because several other high end red flags were either ignored, or were not communicated correctly. And yes, people should have been fired over the grievous lapse in security.

Psycho-social evaluation of flying passengers works quite well... It works in Isreal. Well, they are a country that connect the dots at least.

We need to get outside the box of traditional security and move on to an area which terrorists cannot control – their own mental/physiological condition. Every form of tangible security we come up with, they have their people working to find ways around. Let's do an end route, cut to the chase, and beat them on OUR terms.

Besides, do we really need to give up more civil liberties? Do our grandmothers, sons, daughters, and babies need to be viewed naked? If the TSA and other agencies can't get their people to function correctly now (and have on occassion, hired felons), how can we possibly be assured that every closet pervert in the country isn't going to get hired to look at naked people all day.

Not sure how this implicates Democrats alone, since Bush put the "security measures" in place.
Sorry, but it's supposed to be land of the free...I am firmly against full-body scans. Doesn't make me crazy, doesn't make me a revolutionary, just means keep your mitts off of me. There's plenty of other methods of tracking the crazies in the world. And I would say "crazies" includes any group who derides and judges others just because they don't share their viewpoint.

BB! BB! BB! Get a clue. "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin

Here, Here!!

Difficult to believe that all of you sheep that think you are being"protected"

http://www.rense.com/general89/amer.htm

So what you're saying is the system failed. Granted.

You ask that people ignore the systemic failure and just trust the government to do the job, that the systemic failure proves, they are not doing. That's akin to ignoring Enron or trusting the pedophile to babysit your kids.

You ask "Are the scanners really all that bad?" I don't know, was the whip all that bad considering the slave had free accommodation and food? That's a rhetorical question by the way.

If this is a war on terror, then the government should be doing everything to remove terror, fear and suspicion: instead it is declaring that everyone is suspect: turning state against citizen, and citizen against citizen as we question the motive and security of the fellow traveller.

You state that the complains at security are all about the inconvenience of long line ups; that people are impatient and their complains are illegitimate because they are based on impatience. I submit people's complains have to do with their reticence to slavery: slavery to both terror and the state for protection. Something, you of all people, should be sensitive too. People are complaining about the chains, not that the chains slow them down.

You state that the "only peace of mind" you need is safety and you're willing – indeed eager – to capitulate to whatever constraints the government puts in place with the promise – albeit proven ineffective promise – that they will keep you safe. As an american you have the right to determine this balance. However, I quote a great american from years past, Patrick Henry: "Gentlemen may cry: Peace peace, but there is no peace...Is life so dear, or peace so sweat, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it...give me liberty or give me death."

The essence of your two positions is the evidence why he is a Great American and you are simply an american. If you were alive in his day you would be capitulating to the King of England rather than fighting for independence. I dare submit your president would be too. Actually, neither of you would; you'd be slaves. But it's because of men of Henry's character than you and your president can enjoy the freedom today to be both master and willing slave. Is life so dear, or peace so sweat, as to be purchased at the price of terror?

I totally agree with Mr Roland. I would be willing to do whatever for airport securtiy. I really don't understand those who are screaming about giving up our rights and freedoms. We are not giving up anything. We still have the freedom to travel by air or not. For those of you who are saying terrorists will still find a way to smuggle bombs, etc, on board, yes, I'm sure they will. I do believe we need to be more proactive and less reactive. However, a flawed system is better than no system. And as far as this added security means the terrorist have won because we are reacting, that's just silly! If we stop flying all together, then they have won. By adding security we are saying that we will find a way to go on with our lives and not run and hide.

i love ben franklin, but he didn't have to deal with modern warfare; and i don't understand why all AMERICANS can't remember 9/11--i look back and remember wondering what the passengers on the hijacked planes went through–do any of us want to go through that???? or have a relative/friend go through it??? STOP WHINING AMERICA!!!! the europeans and everyone else have had to deal with war and terrorists on their soil; WE HAVEN'T -until 9/11–and now we're –as a society, more complacent than ever–don't let the tsa or safety rules slow us down–dear god–who's life will stop if we have to wait an extra 30 minutes to go through security?????

I agree with the underlying message of this article. But as in most publicly depated topics, there is a middle ground. Too often the knee jerk reaction is a bit overkill and not well thought out. I agree that added security measures need to be implemented, but are scanners the optimal solution? I don't know, but I trust the right people are looking very closely that this....and doing something is better than doing nothing. Keep up the healthy debate, and bring both sides to the table, because that often leads to the optimal solution.

How about a 3 month trial run offering two lines? One with the added security and one without? Let the people decide what they are comfortable with.....personally, I'm going through the scanner line.

It's people like you that might end up turning the USA into a less free place.

No, we don't need to stop complaining, whining, or anything else concerning airline "safety". We need to be treated like honest people and not like criminals. Airline security has done little to improve airline safety. How many attempted bombings have they foiled. By my count it's passengers 2 and TSA 0.

Frankly, I don't complain about the TSA or airline safety, I don't fly. Amtrak gets me where I need to go. They treat me like a valued customer and give me the freedom to put my hand, computer or anything else in my lap. Currently, I think their ontime record is better. I know the food is.

If you're worried about being screened then don't fly. They are going to do what they have to do to keep our country safe. Too worried about the inconvenience or worried about them seeing you through x-ray vision, I'm sorry, they arn't taking pictures of them and laughing at the size of your junk, its to stop from strapping stuff to your underwear and blowing up a plane. IF you don't like it, no body is making you fly. I'll take it to stop innocent people from dying. I love our country and it makes me sick when people try to ruin our country and what we have.

Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither. – Ben Franklin

Sorry, but I don't want my children or my wife being electronically stripped searched by some perv working for the TSA. Last time I checked, I don't know of any little old lady underwear bombers or 4 year old girls from the Midwest with plastic explosives in their shoes.

The terrorist we are fighting are muslim extremists and its about time we stop all this political correctness and we start profiling and have separate lines and screening for people who fit the profile of a terrorist.. ie male, muslim, 12-40 from a middle eastern or African nation, is it really that hard????. And if the terrorist start recruiting females, then we screen for them as well, but guess what, if the terrorists have to start recruiting females or white men, it will be that much more difficult for them and we win a small battle.

If the muslims don't like it, then maybe they will put pressure on their government and religious leaders to clean up their act. Why should millions and millions of Americans have their rights violated and time wasted just not to offend a few terrorists. Every time we impose more restrictions on Americans that don't fit the profile of a terrorist, every time we waste more money on procedures and technology that doesn't work, the terrorists win! That is what they want to do, they want to bankrupt America.

We need to do what if best and most cost efficient for America, I really don't care what the rest of the world thinks of us. America has to look out for itself if this nation is going to survive.

Pericles said: "Flying is not a right, it is a privilege"

When did traveling become a privilege?

i pesonally dont like ethnic proviling,but if it comes to being safe to fly or being out of the air.dah.everybody should realize all these precaution are for everyone.

for those who don't want to be scanned the answer is simple.....lots of cabs out front to drive you to your destination

Maybe we can all arrive to the airport the night before for interrogation, strip to nothing for cavity search, change into disposable outfits in front of the TSA, check everything we own, have catheters placed in our bladders, get locked to the airplane seat and stare out the window for hours of flying the friendly skies.

Where does it end folks? At some point they'll just switch to shopping malls or movie theaters. Anyone interested in getting x-rayed to see Up in the Air?

agreed

"I'm Mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

I wish everyone would go watch the movie "Network" and see how sinister these people really are! Relinquish your freedoms, Relinquish your freedom, it's all about what sells!! All these people do is prey upon your human morals and use them to help justify their agendas!! Hold the TSA accountable or perhaps the Government, instead of stripping whats left of my rights.

pretty disgusting that there are people around the world waiting months for an X-ray or an MRI. I wonder how the market for helping one another is doing this fiscal year? Will you at least let me know if I have a tumor in my head Mr TSA official???? or are you just giving me one???

Wow this is absolutely ridiculous that people are so against these full body scanners. I'm Canadian myself, but looking at this from a 3rd party perspective, there's so many unbelievably ignorant people. The US has been at war with Iraq for almost 10 years now, countless people have been sent into this war unwillingly, lost their lives, and all from the result of one major incident that your security systems are trying to prevent from reoccuring, and you're worrying about who's going to see your private parts?

Grow the hell up, your health and well being is SIGNIFICANTLY more important than your privacy. You're more concerned about your kid's and family members being scanned by complete strangers, than their safety? Some of you need a serious wake up call. They're not stripping you in the middle of an airport for everyone to see, they're not taking photographs of you to put on the internet. They're doing this for your protection. If you're offended by scans at airports or refuse to participate, i wouldn't want you anywhere near my plane because you're just as likely to be a suspect as the participants in the horrible 9/11 event that's taken so many lives.

It's real simple, flying is a privilege NOT a right. If you don't like the security measures, DON'T FLY!!!

And as for the "perverts" viewing the air scanned images. You have a 90% chance someone you know, or somenone in your family is the real pervert that will attck your child. Don't be afraid of the security guard that has one of the highest security levels in the U.S.

I too am all for full body scanners– if (and only if) they could actually prevent weapons from being brought on the plane. Problem is they won't be successful. People will still figure out ways to bring weapons on a plane.

Mr. Martin

Your completely right, and people have to realize its not a mandatory thing to fly. Its your choice to fly and therefor you are accepting the concequense's and actions that come with it. I dont care that TSA agents have to see the image its potecting my safety. If you that worried about someone seeing the so called 'porn' then dont fly? No one is making you and no one wants to hear you complain about it either.

I hope people get the point and move on to bigger issues.

Thank-you, and God-Bless America

Chris R. ~ Thanks for your service, and your thoughtful, intuitive comments. Well done! We must always remember, many years ago people lost their lives so we could have our civil liberties. In fact, the basis of our current civil liberties was the Bill of Rights. A set of rights so important they make up the first 10 Amendments to our Constitution.

If you really want to be "secure" in this way...tear up the Constitution and give up Democracy for Fascism. Just to note I am not saying Nazism...just Fascism. The definition below is from Wiki...but it suffices for my meaning. You can all give up your rights as quickly as you wish and say its just temporary...just remember governments never give back power once they have it. I think Income tax was supposed to be temporary too wasn't it? But really...think about this then...how many scanners are being bought? How many airports are there? Are they really buying enough for every airport in the US? Its doubtful...so how safe do you feel now? All someone would have to do is find an airport that doesn't have that scanner and problem solved. How about everyone just strips naked once you enter the airport and you aren't allowed to bring luggage...that would stop all weapons and the majority of drugs. Are you willing to give up that much of your freedom? The responsibility for stopping criminals, which is what these terrorists are really, lies with intelligence agencies and investigations...not random searches. Search everyone or no one. And if you are opting for the former...be prepared for all air travel to stop or tickets to go through the roof to compensate for the hiring of thousands of screeners. But this is all summarized by Allen D's quote from Benjamin Franklin.
Fascism is a political ideology that seeks to combine radical and authoritarian nationalism with a corporatist economic system, and which is usually considered to be on the far right of the traditional left-right political spectrum.
Fascists advocate the creation of a single-party state,with the belief that the majority is unsuited to govern itself through democracy and by reaffirming the benefits of inequality. Fascist governments forbid and suppress openness and opposition to the fascist state and the fascist movement.

I agree 110% with this article. Scan everyone every inch! If you're worried about potential molesters looking at the photos, don't fly! The images aren't saved so whatever. As for taking pictures with a camera or something, it's a risk you've got to take.

There is only one thing that can be said:

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

So Roland and Campbell,
This is another slide on a very slippery slope. By your logic of "whatever it takes", Will you object to screening prior to getting on a bus or train (London, Madrid). Will you object to strip searches and body cavity searches.

Here's a solution to the self righteous "Liberty nuts" and their ilk... if you don't like it, don't fly! You have options. Drive. Take a train or a bus. Better yet, don't go anywhere. Wrap your heads in foil and hide in the basement from the Government's satellite's mind-control intrusions into your psyche. Oh, and "Hank," the same "inept TSA" folks are the same types of people who sign up for the Guard; Average American folks.

Just returned from a trip to Mexico, dealing with the rude, overpaid federal employees at immigration. The hour long wait to get back to the US caused us to miss our flight, and the mindless wait, with stupid employees screaming at foreigners (why do they think that screaming makes a foreign language more understandable) was an embarrassment.
Airport "security" simply delays the millions of law abiding citizens for searches that are meaningless. They examine my wife's lipstick (causing another missed flight) while missing my son's pocket knife.
I don't feel more secure. The greatest loss from 9/11 was our loss of freedom.

Full cavity check? Check your sanity, Debbie.

Look at the posts here. This alone is why this country is doomed. You are all idiots.

Roland you are so wrong on this, how do you consider people lunatics just because they believe these scanners improper? Remember that old guy? I think his name was Ben Franklin, you probably aren't familiar, but he had a very interesting point of view in regards to safety and liberty-look into it. Oh and you spelled 'helicopter' wrong...

Hey Steve in VA

"ineptitute of Obama and Democrats in general when it comes to national security"

By the time Bush (and the GOP) were this far into the presidency the World Trade Center was in a pile and THOUSANDS were DEAD.
So far all Al Qaeda has been able to accomplish under Obama is talking a kid into setting his crotch on fire in Detroit.

"ineptitute of Obama and Democrats in general when it comes to national security".....That's your own groundless opinion

For safety sake, screen all you can!! I am willing to be scanned, patted down, or whatever it takes. If you want to fly then be wiling to be screened. If the Nigerian man had completed his mission by blowing up the plane and costing a whole lot of lives, we would all be saying screen all you can. If it catches one terriorst, it is worth it!!

Would children have to go through full body scans? What would be the cut off age? What gray area does that create? For an average person it could be quite uncomfortable to look at hundreds of naked children all day. Alternatively, it could be a pretty coveted job for a closet pedophile.

The reality is that this is a strip search, just a lot quicker cuz you dont have to fumble with garments. And the reality is that the way people (think prisoners) circumvent strip searches is by hiding things inside their bodies. I agree with others' comments, where there's a will there's a way.

When the rights of a certain group are taken away, that's discrimination or racism. When the rights of everyone are taken away equally, that is justice and delivers safety?

Pitiful. I hate the word "sheeple" but that seems to be the only word that adequately encapsulates the mind-set being displayed here. These are our freedoms at stake and while it may only be the airport now, it's going to spread and pretty soon you won't be able to go to the grocery store without a full-body scan. Wake up America, WAKE UP! Multiple reports are out there that state that the full-body scan would not have prevented the X-mas day attack. Stop giving the terrorists what they want by treating Americans like criminals. Dismantle the DHS and the TSA.

First full body scanners then as AP has reported mind scanners to read your brainwaves. I'm so tired of these overly-opinionated anchors telling us to stop complaining about the loss of our rights. Roland Martin is a clown. A loud mouthed moron who will go along with literally anything his President says no matter what.

I think putting these stupid scanners in are going to hurt the airline industry.

To all of those who claim they don't want to give up their right to privacy – don't fly. It's a choice and a priviledge to fly, not a right. If you don't want to be searched or screened in a manner that will help ensure the safe arrival of air travelers, you can drive. It's America – you still have a choice, but your choice should never include making my life and those of my family less safe. I fly 150K miles a year and would happily submit to more checks if it means I have a better chance of making it home each week.

First of all, I'm an interdependent, that's first and where I come from, this is a collectivist neighborhood. So I see everything from an interdependent point of view which in essence, those who are interdependent are more likely to self-criticize themselves than Independents. For example, use this security here, those who are Independent are more likely to influence their opinions based on goals or expectations, of themselves whihc of an Interdependent is more likely to influence their opinions based on situationa extroversion than self-expectations. So we(interdependents) might blame this on the external, like Terrorism for the reason and cause and why the dots were not connected. That's the difference between me and you, understand?

Second, I'm in favor of rights and the law and I agree, the security breaching is just too much and out of this league. But there's an explanantion to this. There's a theory, the there's a theory when our fears are being salient, or our morality fears are being salient(for example), we come accross our own cultural beliefs. In other words, you better believe in God cause if you don't, then why you should be afraid? And in this case, the American people have spoken because their own fears are being exposed to such extremity. So in essence, it depends how people's beliefs structure is in ones concept of how this argument is made. A lil complicated but that's a fact.

I said it before, this is no excuse, no excuse no rationalizations, nothing, nada, zip!! I don't need you to misinterpret what has been done in the past and what hasn't work in the future, is unacceptable and uncalled for, do you understand? It makes no sense so while the American people have a right to be upset, they also have a right that it is ourselves who is influenced by these external forces we cannot control.

"You have come into a hard world. I know of one easy place in it, that is the grave."

I've been randomly searched at an airport before and I totally understand why. Vigilance – that's what they were doing and I had no problems with that.

Using advanced technology to find possible bombs on terrorists is a wonderful idea. I don't like dying for some radicals warped thoughts. The fact that terrorists were able to slip by our current technology already shows that they're ahead of us. It's time for us to catch up.

Those who don't want to fly because they feel it encroaches on their liberties, there are trains and automobiles. Boats can carry people across oceans. Problem solved.

There is no God-given right to fly. I want to know my family and I are on an airplane FREE of terrorists. If you don't want to be scanned then you can choose other forms of transportation.....drive, take the train or a ship. You people who are whining about screeing and having your "privacy" invaded need to get over yourselves. We are at war with terrorists and we need to protect ourselves. What a bunch of pathetic crybabies!!!

OMG!! You people who are so worried about "personal freedoms erroding", etc. have got to be kidding. Your body, seriously, is not that different from anyone elses. NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE cares what your body looks likes when you go through the scanner. You are a nameless body that the person looking at the scanner could care less about on a personal level. Do you really think that Roland wouldn't want his wife to go through the scanner. Get a reality check people...you are not that special. If the scanner can find one person with something they shouldn't be taking on a plane then congratulations...you just saved a plane load of people. When in the world did we get so sensitive and take this to the next level that now all of our freedoms are being taken away by this president. Hmm, didn't the increased security start after 9/11 under Bush. I guess the lack of "freedoms" were OK then...but not now.

"But one attempted bombing every million flights really isn't that bad, and its time we acknowledge that. "

Really? I wonder how you'd feel if you or your loved ones were on that one in a million flight? This is the same attitude that allowed 9/11 to happen to begin with. We've become a nation of people that are lazy and complacent. God forbid we should have to spend an extra couple of minutes in a line having our bags searched to prevent another terrorist attack. There are still people who arrive at the airport 10 minutes before their flights are scheduled to leave and then scream bloody murder because they might miss their plane. Here's the deal. Everyone goes through the same level of security, whether it's the body scanners or being frisked or whatever. Every carry-on bag gets searched. NO EXCEPTIONS! Don't like it? There's always Greyhound.

First, what did Franklin really say?

Come on, people! My privacy is not violated by some stranger momentarily seeing an outline of my body.

If it really bothers you, don't fly!

I would rather accept the possibility of some people dying on an airplane(especially considering that, with current security methods, which are mildly invasive as it is, it hasn't happened since 9/11) than face the guarantee of continuing erosion of privacy and rights in this country. Especially considering how much of a slippery slope the latter is. Every right that we let them take away, every search that shouldn't happen, just makes it easier to justify the next.

Hello, people...wake up!! You don't want to put your 3 year old daughter or 90 year old grandmother through a scanner because what harm can they do? I'll tell you...as soon as you exempt one group of people because of age under the assumption that they can do no harm, terrorists will start bringing thier kids and grandmothers along for a ride. They are willing to die and take lives...do you really think it's going to bother them to hide a bomb in one baby's diaper??

Remember how 9/11 happened...box cutters. War is a game of escalation...it's not going to get any better and whining about it like a bleeding heart pansy isn't going to protect you. Scan away TSA...me, my daughter and my son!!! If I ever get tired of the so called "invasion of privacy", I'll stop flying.

I'm with you. Those that talk about rights? How about my right not to be killed by some brain washed fool? Stop crying people. You don't have to fly but if you do I want my rights for safe travel. If that includes YOU and I getting scanned then that's the way it is. If you don't like it drive, walk or stay home

Oh, and please stop with the inane repetitions of quotes by Franklin. He didn't live in a world where buildings were brought down by planes. Com'on, drag yourselves into this century...you can do it.

If only American airports would scan people based on logic and not always trying to be PC, we wouldn't have to body scan nuns in wheelchairs. Come on people – it's about time we start employing tactics that have worked for years at the airport in Israel – start TALKING to people at various stages of the check in process – don't worry about whether their nail file is 2 or 3 inches – you think talking to each individual traveler before they board or at various stages will take time? I can guarantee you that the security process is 10x faster at Ben-Gurion airport than at any other airport in the US. And 10x more secure at that.

read for yourselves: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744199-israelification-high-security-little-bother

Just a quick thought. You said:"You want to pat me down and check for weapons? Go right ahead"... yeah, well, can the TSA agent touch your "balls"? Because in the Detroit case, the explosives were hidden there!

It does nothing to improve security, if you think it does, I have a bridge to sell you.

Christmases failure was one of intelligence agencies not talking to each other. The camer failure was a TSA failure pure and simple. Fix those things. Don't invade my freedom or privacy any further.

The problem is that our security agencies didn't cooperate to monitor this person. That's what happened in 2001 and it will continue to happen again and again regardless of what kind of scanning technology exists. Fix the PROBLEM, not the SYMPTOM. The ONLY thing that longer/more detailed security checks will accomplish is to make flying less convenient. When we bend over backwards in the name of "security" the terrorists have accomplished their goal.

I'm sick of my rights being curtailed for the freedom of some terrorist. I mean come on if you are on a watch list you should be denied travel. I'm so sorry. But hang around w/bad people and pay the consequences. Also we should take the fight to them. Hit them at their origin so we can stay free. I know I sound hawkish but its the only real way to win. Otherwise this will go on for ever and our government will think of how to throw zillions of dollars at security and we won't be any safer. Which I think is the real plan.

You people who are affraid of a machine that can take the psudo-naked images need to reexamine what's truly important in life. Every one of us knows what the human body looks like under all our clothes. Do you really think for a moment that some fat, middle-aged pervert will be fondling themself in the isolated booth where the images are shown? Rediculous!!!! And that somehow you are "offended"? WHY would you be offended???? Your body is NO MORE SPECIAL than the next, and contains NOTHING that could be considered news-worthy, and therefore something to be "offended" about because your "secret" was discovered. There are NO SECRETS about the human body - It's well documented!!!!

Those poor TSA folks simply don't want to have 200 families blown to bits. That's all they'll look for – things that kill - things that MURDER PEOPLE. Why not simply pretend they're a doctor???? - Looking for things that are wrong with your body?? Last time I went to the doctor for a checkup, I had to be completly naked. Nope, I wasn't offended or embarased in the least. And I felt better that I'm going to be o.k. until my next checkup, and that my years with my family & friends won't be cut short. And you know what? I want ALL OF YOU to be o.k., too.

This may sound a little cheesy, but I consider my fellow human beings – my fellow Americans, my extended family. I may not know you, but I hurt inside when these animals deliberately target airplanes to commit mass murder. I shed tears when you smash into a building or onto the ground into hundreds of unidentifiable little pieces.

Sad fact: There WILL be more planes taken down. What if...instead of 5 that explode in the next 100 years, we could make it only 2? And what if technology allowed that to happen? The problem with this is we will never KNOW that it WOULD HAVE been 5 if it weren't for technology such as body scanners or some other yet to be created tech. Yes, there will still be the ultra-smart criminal who will stump us all and take down a jet, but there will also be the dumb ones who will fail due to such technology and good 'ole people power. I don't know about you, but I'll take 2 planes down instead of 5, any day.

The war on terror aside, what we have here at its core are criminals wanting to commit mass-murder. I look at body scanners as a tool to FIGHT them. I WANT TO WIN! So instead of looking at this technology as "invasive", "offensive", and "infringing on my privacy", how about we collectively say something like: "See, mr. murderer - just look at what we can accomplish when we come together as a nation - We will fight you to the bitter end with every weapon we have. Weapons we Americans won't be affraid to use! You think you can take our vanity and use it against us? Watch This!"

At some point, security concerns get in the way of convenience.

Statistically speaking everyone on a plane has a far greater chance of dying at the hands of pilot error than at the hands of a terrorist.

Sure security is great, but honestly..... Not even the full body scan would have ID'd the explosive in this guy's underpants.

here's an idea:
-one plane for those who do not mind being body-scanned and baggage inspected,
-another plane for those who don't want security measures at all.

let's see which plane gets knocked out of the sky first.

I think that saving people and keeping weapons off the plane is really important. I mean a scanner will just check you for any illegal items or weapons. It's not really violating the privacy of Americans. One of the posts by Mary said that it is like looking at pornography. As far as know it's like a baggage checking machine at the airport.

On a video that I saw, it showed the scanner. It looks like you're wearing a blue cloth which only shows items in black.

If the government is trying to help us so that we can be safe, and we keep on whining about things like that, there might never be a solution. The main message is, cooperate with the government.

I think, unfortunately, that the author of this article is missing the point. Most people that I've heard "complaining" about these new scanners aren't complaining that they're inconvenient or that they take 5 – 10 minutes longer than the current security checkpoints do. Those who are upset are upset because they feel that the full body scan images go too far into bodily detail and therefore are concerned about their privacy rights. Furthermore, there is still NO PROOF that scanners like these would even be able to detect bombs like the underwear bomb that this man tried to detonate. It's a bit ridiculous, in my opinion, to spend that much money installing these scanners when officials don't even know if they could detect every bomb hidden on one's body. So if this man had gone through this scanner, and it had failed to reveal his underwear bomb, what good is that anyway?

I'm not saying I'm against these scanners, but until security can guarantee they detect all potential threats, I don't really think they are making us safer.

I don't "complain" when I have to put all of my luggage in those bins, take off my shoes, take out my laptop, and keep my checked baggage unlocked (which is required at some airports, and does bother me). I don't complain when I have to take off every piece of clothing that may set off the metal detector. I don't complain when I need to zip my tiny chapstick in a ziplock bag. And I don't think that Americans are mad that they can't be impatient and "rush" over to their gates where they most likely get to sit and wait for boarding for an hour or more. That argument doesn't even make sense, sorry to disagree.

I've been against the current "security" since the beginning as it is a useless sham. The only reason it is there is to make the traveling sheep believe that the government is actually doing something about their safety. The more inconvenient the process the safer the sheep feel. It's offensive to be treated like a criminal and having to prove your innocence to a GED toting, minimum wage, immigrant worker. I used to believe that it would only keep out the incompetent terrorist, but recent events with the Nigerian nincompoop proved even that minimal confidence wrong. Any determined and experienced terrorist can eventually outsmart the entire cadre of TSA employees. With 9/11, Richard Reid and now Umar, the cave dwellers are 21-0 for getting aboard planes. The airport screening process has not caught one terrorist in the act, though many of the TSA workers themselves have been arrested for a variety of felonies. They even admit the sham by broadcasting those inane messages about not leaving your bags unattended in the "sterile" side of the terminals. If their security is so good why is that necessary? I detest empty symbolism and the airport security is as hollow as it gets. Full body scanners are just another silly attempt at putting lipstick on the pig. It’s just a cool toy that the TSA gets to play with and will not make anyone any safer that they are right now. Once those are deployed, the only options will be to submit yourself to the TSA’s voyeuristic enjoyment or an unpleasant full body massage by a goon that needs to brush his teeth and take a shower; some choice. I’ll be taking the train.

My suggestion is that we the traveling public, begin to travel nude, simply solution to a hundred issues. reduces waiting in lines, no more x ray, or pat downs, no more shoes problems, and we can all see that we are mostly safe, except for pilot errors. Those who don't want to travel nude, don't travel on public transportation. Drive your own car, where the likely hood for accidents is much greater than flying. I just imagine that if we all showed up, naked, the TSA, and the fellow travels would feel relaxed and safe. Forget about your beautiful wife or children being looked at, we would all have our eyes looking down, due to the fear that we would see someone looking at us. Simple, safe, straight forward, and changes the idea of first class, business class, and tourist, doesn't it.

If people don't want to be scanned by these machines, there is a simple solution. This situation is analogous to submission to a blood-alcohol-level test while driving. Flying, like driving, is a privilege, NOT a right. If people do not wish to submit to blood alcohol tests, they don't have to. They have the option of not driving a car (not the law in all states, but it is in some). If you wish to be free of blood alcohol testing, then don't drive a car. the tests are necessary for the safety of all drivers.
The same should be true for traveling on planes. If you feel that a full body scan violates your civil liberties, your definition of civil liberties is warped. NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO SUBMIT TO THE SCAN: YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO REFRAIN FROM AIR TRAVEL. If you don't fly, you will not be scanned. Flying is a privilege, NOT A RIGHT. The government CAN, CONSTITUTIONALLY, regulate interstate travel SAFETY. Take a car: No one will give you a body scan. AND: last time I checked, TSA wasn't seeking perverts to view the images (as a ridiculously ignorant post on this article suggests).

You're an idiot if you think the body scan will make you safer. In fact, you're an idiot if you think any of the inane hoops we have to jump through just to board a plane make you safer. Do you think that a would-be bomber would not scope out the security area before an attempt? If the scanners are there, they'll just do something else. In the meantime we all get strip-searched like prisoners.

Last time I checked, it was not a constitutional right to fly on an airplane. So, if you want to fly on an airplane, then you should face more intense screening. If you don't want the additional screening, then find some other way to get there.

Act Two: Security Theater

This provides absolutely no additional safety. We are now relying on the thought that these scanners will make us safer. Keep in mind that it is the TSA sitting behind these monitors evaluating the scans. This is the same TSA that left their post and shut down Newark for 6 hours. This is the same TSA that allowed a baby to be x-rayed.

I would take one 9/11 style attack every year if it meant we put all this security money towards researching our real killers like cancer and heart disease.

As proved by the Amsterdam/Detroit flight, we are exactly no safer 9 years after 9/11. 9 years of "improving our intelligence communications" 9 years of Orwellian tactics to remove our essential liberties. 9 years of extraordinary rendition. 9 years of enhanced interrogation.

I travel out of country twice a year. I am ready for the new TSA Manta.

Open your shirt sir, Thank you.
Drop your pants sir, Thank you.
Drop your shorts sir, Thank you.
Next!

I really do not want to take a 12 hour flight without proper inspection of any possible bad guys even if it involves me.

STOP YOUR WHINING especially if you are not flying....

Pericles – I must be mistaken but I thought freedom (travel) was a right. Take the lawless off the streets and then you have free unfettered traffic. But now millions of us are inconvenienced by a few thousand lunatics. War is changing. But the vigilance we need for freedom has not changed. This unconventional warfare is being waged against civilians. We must strike the enemy in their homeland and be done with it. I don’t think it’s asking too much to want to walk in an airport buy a ticket and fly somewhere in the lower 48 without feeling like you are going through Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.

The so called "terrorist" was escorted AROUND security without a passport, thus avoiding any potential body scanner! How will looking at me and my kids naked stop someone with an inside connection from circumventing the security line? Answer: It won't!

This is just another control grab by a government gone wrong, nothing more.

You are exactly right! What ever it takes to make us safe. It still kills me when I hear and see people complainint about the inconveinance's of travel these days, I for one am thankful for the efforts. As for one responce blaiming this on the Obama administration, one of the people trying to block the scanners is a Republican rep from Utah. He got really upset when he was subjected to the scanner, saying things like "Do you know who I am?". He went as far as submitting legislation to block these devices... US Representative Jason Chaffetz (R),

Roland,

I have tried for weeks now to get this point across here on CNN and my thoughts never seem to make it on the blogs.

My whole thing with this underwear bomber is this...

Why are we making such a fuss over OUR safety issues???

This disturbed young man came from the Netherlands with a Bomb in his BVD's. THEY are the ones who missed it, NOT US.

Should we be concerned???Absolutely.

But until other countries do their part to take care of ALL terrorist threats – the people of the United States will be AT RISK.

Think about this...

How many domestic flights have been hit since 9/11??? NONE.
Why??? Because we took care of the threat and BEEFED UP security.

International flights from other countries need to be beefed up... Not us.

It's amazing how many of you "Don't take away my rights" people will be the first to complain when an incident occurs. I can hear the news now- The government didn't do enough to protect me.
Please make up your mind. You don't want profiling, screening, luggage searching etc. but you expect the government to magically ensure your safety when flying. Wake up an smell the explosives people, Radical Islamic terrorists want YOU DEAD. They will take advantage of this country's liberal PC leanings to achieve their goals.

It is incomprehensible to me how humanity could have reached such an apathetic low. Not only are we willing to be stripped naked in front of someone we don't know, but we haven't even asked the simple question about how a supposed "terrorist" was able to get on the plane without a simple passport. Oh, yes, he had a handler who flashed some sort of credentials at the gate...we all should be so lucky! By the way...while we are at it, lets hurry up and get the taser bracelets and lets give DNA samples upon check in...What exactly do you people think is going on here?

This is disgusting. This article is insulting Americans for wanting to maintain their own privacy.

These bioscanners can see your entire body buck naked. Women, children, all the way to the buff. They show clear images of genitals and everything and to say that it is perfectly ok to be using usch technology in this country is an insult, not only to our own privacy and liberties, but to the very concepts in which this country was founded on. Now you people at CNN want to INSULT the American people? Just sit down and shut up, is that it? You aren't allowed choice or freedom anymore, none of you. Because a very few people happen to do crazy, harmful things, now we'll just treat you all like criminals. Is this the way America should be acting? Lay down and take whats given?

NEWSFLASH – There always have been, and always will be crazy lunatics willing to do unthinkably cruel things for seemingly irrational reasons. THIS CANNOT BE CHANGED! It is a sad fact of existance that not all of us are good to one another. All this is doing is criminalizing the entire populous of the America. How dare you condone such acts.

This is the reality of the situation. Terrorism is a fact of life, but just because one idiot fried his balls off, hell even if he had succeeded in blowing up that plane, this doesn't give the government the right to allow strangers to see me or my children stark naked, just because we would like to travel for the holidays.

This is a disgrace. Absolute brainwashing propaganda, just sucking up to the administration. You call this journalism? It seems like you people just want us to give up what few liberties we have left, just because of a couple EXTREMELY RARE events.

So let me get this straight. This is what you fascists are trying to sell to people. Appartently, we have two choices if we want to fly. One, give up our privacy completely and allow random strangers to see every passengers genitals freely, or get blown up by some madman? We mind as well have Nazis running our airline security and just make everyone completely strip and have a full cavaty search before getting on a plane.

This is completely degrading, and an insult to every true patriot of this country, and anyone who wants to say that I am unAmerican for not allowing strangers to see my genitals, the same people who say that I if I was a real patriot, then I would just let the government do whatever in order to catch a psychos, you need to realize that what you are sacrificing to catch this idiots, is the very foundation of our nation. Keeping America safe, will no longer mean anything when you no longer have the freedoms that so many of our soldiers have died to defend. Don't just give up everything, and allow the administration to walk all over your rights as an individual. At that point America is no longer America at all. It's just a shell of a once beacon of freedom.

These clues did not stop the terrorist:

1. He bought a one-way ticket for $3000 in U.S. currency minutes before departure.

2. He had no luggage.

3. His own father, one of the most respected men in Nigeria told the CIA at the U.S. embassy that it was likely that his son had become a terrorist.

So please explain how viewing my daughter's genitals at an airport in Fort Wayne, IN is a better clue than those three listed above.

We should worry about the very lightly policed personnel and baggage on the tarmac.

One more comment, Archie Bunker said it best.

Love it or leave it!!!

I am not a US citizen but I never has whined about the security screening at the airports. I have been told that I am selected for screening more often than others but that is not an issue.
Peoples' actions are based on experiences and the experience is that people of my skin color and looks had behaved inappropriately in past so the TSA needs to concentrate on them. I don't mind.
The security screening is helping me as well. I don't want to be blown up mid-air.
Also, these images are not pornography so stop complaining abt it. The way people dress are more provocative than these images. Although, I do not mean to say that there should me a strict dress code either.

Hope people do not take my words in a wrong way.

For every person who agrees with the use of scanners, there will be another that has their nose out of joint about the loss of privacy etc.

And in the near future, the scanners will detect items in body cavities as well. Think, no bombs, no drugs and no smuggling, and you won't have to get undressed each time you go through security.

I say, add the scanners, and let those people who want to use them use them. Those that don't can step aside to the snail paced lane and be physically patted down, body searched, and any other form of manual search they can devise.

After two trips of waiting over an hour to get through security, some of those 'liberalists' will jump lines and use the scanners and then they'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

I just wish they'd abolish bag charges for the first bag, and cut back to one carry-on bag. To recoup the 'lost revenue', start charging people to be manually searched.

If somebody wants to get to you badly enough chances are they will.

Obama a person who campaigned on bringing change, has done nothing but continue to build upon what Bush and Cheney have laid out. More people are realizing he is just a politician who says one thing, then does another.

We have bore witness as the gun that is national security is now being turned against us. We are ALL suspect in this "New America". Guilty before being proven innocent. This is like something out of George Orwells 1984. An encroaching police state. Up is the new down. Wrong is right. I wonder how long it will take before it is a crime simply to speak out in protest?

Forget the fact that this "Underwear Bomber" was ushered on a flight without even a passport. Forget that fact that people who developed "Full Body Scanners" even said they couldnt have caught this guy. Forget the fact that His own FATHER contacted National Security to give warning. Or the fact that this suspect was already on a terrorism watch list and should have never even gotten near an airport.

If we do not speak up against this now. We were never deserving of the freedoms our forefathers fought and died for.

How much freedom are willing to sacrifice for the false sense of "security" When this incident is either proof that all the security in the world doesnt work. That our security is both toothless and ignorant. Or this reeks of an inside job.

"Verr are your paperz zitizen?"

I guess the Commies won afterall.

Why should I give up my liberty for the perception of safety? This has got to be the lamest excuse for granting too much power to the government since GW Bush rammed the Patriot Act through Congress.

And Debbie, if your sick thrills are getting probed and prodded by pseudo-Nazi guards, get help.

If anybody actually believes images cannot be offloaded from the scanners, they're fools. Even a low-tech cellphone camera would work.

Roland, I dont even see how you have a job writing about your stupid opinions, if this was the old days you would have def been working in the house with all the scratching and rollering you do

At what point in time, did air travel become a right. Last time I looked, only those with the means to pay for a flight, could fly. Quit your whining. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You do have the liberty to chose to fly, or take a train, or boat . . . . But when do your liberties mean that I have to give up mine. I chose the freedom to travel in safety.

And why is everyone in such a hurry. Fast food, fast cars, quicker lines at the airport, why is Obama taking so long. On that last one . . . it is a lot faster to build a new house that to fix a broken down home. be patient and let him work. He is the best thing to happen in decades.

This is for Mary from crazy town USA, since when is an outline of a body pornography? yes I've seen what it will be like, you have been terribly missinformed. So go and get your private jet sweetie because this is the future. But I do feel sorry for the person who has to view the morbidly obese.

We should never carte blanche let the government or government agencies do what "they" feel is needed. Of course, precautions are always needed as long as they don't go beyond what is really needed. To virtually "strip" a person goes beyond what is necessary.

Three points:
1. You are absolutely right Mr. Martin about the rush attitude exhibited by Americans. It's out of hand, and I mean everywhere – roads, stores, sporting events...we want it, and we want it RIGHT NOW. A litltle more patience, a lot less rush, and a longer-term view of things would do wonders for our society as a whole.

2. Something to consider for opinions on both sides to remember: air travel is a PRIVILEGE ..not an ENTITLEMENT. Just like $4.00 milk at a convenienvce store, vs. $2.50 a the grocery store, you WILL pay for the convenience. You want milk at the lower price, make the special trip to get it. You want air travel? Be willing to pay the price in our current world environment, or shut up and find an alternative. No one – not even your boss – can tell you you HAVE to fly...

3. And I'm confused...for those of you who are complaining about the scanners, let me get this straight: You won't let the TSA agents scan you, your wife, your daughter because it amounts to 'pornography' or 'child porn'....but you WILL allow those very same professionals (and keep in mind, you just got through labeling them perverts or child molesters) ... to PAT THEM DOWN?

You state: "You want to pat me down and check for weapons? Go right ahead. Do you want to swab my bag for explosives? Sure, knock yourself out. In fact, when TSA personnel conduct random searches of bags at the gate, I’ll toss my carry-ons on the table in a heartbeat."

But how about this...

You want to keep my pretty 18 year old daughter starting and stopping in the metal detector again and again and again, looking her up and down, then laugh when you finally let her through... Finish that sentence Mr. Martin.

And how about this one.

You want to refer to me as "stupid" and as "an idiot" in front of my daughter and dozens of other travelers because I leave my laptop in it's case when I put it through the scanner, just like I did on the other leg of my trip... Finish that one too.

There's no accountability when government employees screen passengers. Our most justifiable willingness to be submissive to screeners amid the very serious threats of terrorism leads to a climate conducive to serious abuses by TSA employees. The abuses that have become commonplace are totally unacceptable. We REALLY need to solve this problem. Maybe it's hiring practices. Maybe it's privatization. Maybe it's something else, but it needs to change.

Airplanes are already safe enough... too safe, I say. It's a huge drain of money and resources, and in the end people just feel stressed and much more paranoid. Let's focus on preventing the causes of death that are more likely to kill us.

It seems to be complete lunacy to be so "outraged" that a plane ALMOST blew up, yet all 150 or so survived, while millions (that's 150 x 100 x 100+) around the world are starving to death or succumbing to AIDS and other diseases – where is the outrage there? Looks like we all want to feel protected and insulated in our own bubble while also maintaining the perception of individual "freedom".

Roland, I disagree with almost everything you said.

The people that scream when mistakes get made in security are never the same people that scream about what a ridiculous inconvenience the poorly managed TSA process often is. Those are different people. The public is not just one person, in case you didn't know.

Saying that "congress should get its affairs in order and yada yada" is trite and ridiculously simplistic. If it were that easy to fix congress we never would have let it become such a horrible impediment to the common good in the first place. Having a plan to improve homeland security that includes "fix congress" as a step is not a plan at all, my friend.

Also saying that "if this keeps a bomb off a plane, I'm all for it" is an argument supporting anything at all, whether it improves security or not. Have us all pray each hour on the hour that no one takes a bomb on a plane today? If it keeps bombs off a plane your all for it. Well, the rest of us still may not be all for it.

The fundamental question of whether a particular technology will actually keep bombs off planes, and do it better than less expensive or invasive measures (we should start with nothing at all and work up from there), is one that you conveniently, and absurdly, ignore.

And finally, the real issue for most people that actually travel often and understand simple math well enough to know that we are already extremely safe, like myself, is how poorly managed the TSA, and how far down our actual safety seems to be on their priority list. And how much further down the priority list efficiency is.

My problem is not that someone somewhere is going to see me naked, but the potential for abuse of this procedure. Humans are fallible and like it or not, this screening procedure will be abused. The abuse of this procedure will amount to a serious breach of privacy. Especially with the screening of children and high profile individuals.

Also, terrorists have proven that they are good at adapting. They will find a way. They will just find the next weak link in security and exploit it. They already know that they can only breach a security flaw once before we jump on it, so they just start planning their next attack through another security flaw. Trying to patch up these holes in security one by one after they have been breached is accomplishing nothing. We are essentially following behind the terrorists playing catch-up while slowly, or maybe not so slowly, taking away our rights and freedoms.

The terrorists real victory is not the hijacking and bombing of American lives, but the paranoia they have created. We are slowly but surely backing ourselves into an isolated cage of fear. Each step we take away from what makes America America is another win for the terrorists.

Being a transgendered person, I am obviously concerned about the proposed scanners to be used at airports. Private pat downs are commonplace for a person like me that wears prosthetic forms.

But that said, I'd prefer to have the piece of mind that i'm safe in my travels, and that i will be able to live my life as I want. The small indignity I suffer each time I travel is worth that.

All of you who discredit and think this country is really turning socialist, USSR, etc. are welcome to use your right and move out of this country.
Face it, Bush's idiotic policies (these are his security policies) left this country the laughing stock of the world. When nothing happened after 9/11 you were praising these policies.
So pack up your guns, pickups, and wife beater shirts and leave.

When you add the time consuming and ineffective screening on top everything else wrong the airlines do it is frustrating. I personally never fly unless it is absolutely mandatory. I fly maybe once every 5 years or less. As far as I am concerned it is way, way too often.

And the airlines wonder why they have less and less passengers???

Complacent or concerned?
Would you accept an inconvenience to arrive alive or skip the precautions and arrive dead?
Choose your mode of transportation based upon this criteria and forget the whining.

A tour in Iraq taught me this... (among other things)

Want to fly? Put up with the bull crap screening. Otherwise use a different mode of traveling.

No matter what you or any other agency does to 'try' to make flying safe from terrorists, they (the terrorist) will adapt and find another way. Our Countrys' bureaucrats will do what they think is best for you, so put up with the screening, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Of course if you're man or woman enough to really want to do something about it, why don't you head down to the recruitment station in your hometown, sign up and help me and my "brother's (and sister's) in arms" actually do something about it – on their soil, instead of ours!

Well if you want to be secure, then they should ban all electronics(laptops & cellphones) as well, Mr. Gadget. I can't imagine it being that difficult to turn something like that into an undetectable bomb.

I thought you were a man of true faith, yet you only seem to be praying to Big Brother. When it's your time...

I shouldn't have to waste my time or be inconvenienced due on your mental insecurities. Don't fly if it bothers you that much! Because at the end of the day it, I get my nail scissors confiscated when the next guy may stab someone in the jugular with their ink pen.

Last I checked, a camera that is said to be "working, but not recording", is actually "not working".

This is exactly what the problem in America is. Giving up our privacy for security! I don't care about the molesters and etc. it's just the fact that giving up our privacy just to be "safe" is not okay. We are getting closer and closer to 1984 with everytime something like this happens. Big brother is watching all of us. I'm not some crazy nut. We are now our own thought police now. Watching what we say and do just so we don't stand out in airports. I'm pretty sure twenty years ago if someone would bring this up we would shut them down pretty quickly.

The problem is not security, total security is not possible, any engineer or security professional will tell you this. I suggest we rid our selves of the problem by eliminating terrorism all together. Make it such a horrific crime with devastating conquences. They bomb us, we vaporize a country including the innocent civilians! There should be zero tolerance of a threat like this, no country should have to sacrifice any of our freedoms that we have bled and died for. After all every war has causalities; this is something we came to expect during the Cold War/WW2. Honestly I wonder how many countries it would take before all terrorist give up or are wiped of the face of the planet.

The terrorists have won, big-time. I can picture OBL in his coffee bar in Pakistan, howling with laughter at what he's managed to bring us to. We're so terrified of his pathetic minions that we're willing to get naked in front of strangers in order to fool ourselves into believing we'll be totally safe. (Not that we will be safe; the terrorists' methods just evolve like the swine flu virus.)

This willing subservience, here, in the land of the free and the home of the, er, brave! I can't believe it. I'm glad my parents aren't still around to see just how low we've sunk.

Wake up American people. How soon do you forget (911). Or maybe it's because it wasn't your mother, father, sister , brother, cousin, neice, nephew, grandmother, grandfather, son or daughter that was killed in the aftermath. Or maybe you are the person that's so selfish and only think or yourself. How would you like to have been on that flight bound to Detroit. I'm sure if you would have been on that flight your whole attitude would be different. Thank God none thing happened, but emotionally some of those people are still going to suffer. So get a grip on yourselves, and stop whining all the time. I hope President Obama, make it mandatory that all individuals pass through the full body scanner. Yes! MANDATORY and NOT an Option. Either you pass through the body scanners or you don't fly. SIMPLE AS THAT. Its not about one or two whining individuals its about the safety and welfare of all the innocent people who board an airline in one piece and want to get off the same way.

This is paranoid nonsense.

What will make people safer, and already has made people safer is for everyone to just generally pay attention to their environment and take some responsibility. If somebody is acting strangely around you then be prepared. From the fourth plane on 9/11 most airline attacks have been thwarted by level headed passengers taking responsibility for their own safety.

We can scan every inch of everybody who gets on a plane and we won't be even slightly safer than we are now. To travel by plane is to assume a risk, if you are not comfortable with the risk, don't fly. We have the right to fly, if we choose to, we have the right to drive. There are no guarantees with either of those mediums that nothing can hurt us.

Americans need to understand statistics and realize that the odds that a terrorist will get any one of us are so staggeringly minute that it isn't even worth considering. We like to be scared and feel persecuted because it makes us feel important. For 99 % of the people reading this, the terrorists don't know who you are and won't bother with you. If you want to worry about things that are statistically dangerous, stay away from your car, avoid ladders and your bathtub and stop eating high fat foods as these are massively more likely to kill you faster.

For 8 years the TSA has been responsible for screening our bags... have they ever caught anyone or stopped a plot? No.... YET, we've had the shoe & underwear bomber BOTH make it onto planes despite our security measures. The problem are the LOSERS we have working at TSA.

TSA has 49,000 employees. 22,000 work without background checks. 1,208 screeners fired even after thorough investigation. At JFK airport alone, 50 security screeners had criminal records. TSA figures revealed that in 2002, U.S. screeners failed to identify 70% of knives and 60% of false explosives put on the X-Ray belt... by testers. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2003/nf20030825_5134_db039.htm

Why can't there be a scanner for women, and a scanner for men, and a woman TSA person monitors the women gate and the man watches the man? Heck, why can't we get a robot to do it? i'm sure computers could check for things that shouldn't be there.

Mr. Roland,
I agree with you to a point.

Being a middle eastern makes me and my family a screening target everytime. We walk in with a great attitude (we too like to travel and arrive alive, thank you very much), and teach our very young children to cooperate, and hop around to face front and back. We build the extra time prior to flying, and the only time we had a time issue was between connections with the first flight 3 hours + late.

OK with body scans.
In principle, OK with manual searches. However, I cringe every time any security personnel uses the same gloves they have used on a 100+ more passengers when touching our undergarments, be it in the USA or anywhere else in the world.
Frankly, there is no fool proof system. I am starting to prepare myself to the inevitable start of full body searching of my little ones – I mean without clothes – ... I guess I would not want them to do that outside direct parental supervision. I am not sure all security employees are properly screened as to how to handle little ones modesty, not to mention the ever present suspicion of pervertness.
However, I hope and pray someone will read this and address it delicately before it becomes an issue.

Debbie wrote on January 8th, 2010 2:47 pm ET:
"You could not have said it better!!! screen me, search me, full cavity check! and check my kids, my husband, my dog, etc.
In fact the crazy people that don't want to be checked, I realy don't want that type of lunatic on my flight anyway."

People who object to this invasion of privacy are definitely not lunatics. Do you really want a potential pervert looking at your children with these pornography devices? I fail to see that is the only way to guarantee safety. I am sure there is an easy way to defeat these extremely expensive pieces of pornography equipment. I hate to think of the cost to maintain them, let alone purchase them.

I have had total hip replacement and get searched every time. I love the body scanners because it is quicker and more thorough. Geeze, no one "sees" you. They are in another room and can't put a face to the body, no matter how thick or thin. And, I have to take off even a lightweight overshirt though it isn't bulky at all. So, anyone who complains about being searched or asked to remove head gear is way out of line. Stop folding to radicals and make it consistent across the board. Allowing your face to be covered for drivers license photos is ignorant and wrong. Leaving bulky head gear or whatever unsearched is just as wrong. Not that I feel terribly safe flying because of overall security issues, but fussing about the body scanner and wrapped up heads is way off base.

'who are quick to condemn security lapses but, when tough measures are put into place, THAT ARE TOTALLY ARBITRARY AND HAVE NOT BEEN PROVEN TO WORK, act like ADULTS WHO ARE PAYING FOR A SERVICE AND who don’t want to be inconvenienced.'

There, I did the job your editor should have, so your ridiculous assertions are more realistic.

Of course, your kind isn't concerned about security THAT ACTUALLY WORKS, as evidenced by your total failure to address the issue and complete misunderstanding of the objections to "security theater".

And as an aside, telling me to "stop whining", especially when I have a legitimate concern, is childish and pathetic.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

I'd rather have some potential sexual deviant stare at a digitized model of me than have my flight blow up over the Atlantic.

I enjoy reading the posts of people that have taken a moment to educate themselves on this issue.

But it is tiresome to read about "perverts and molester" viewing body scan images. These images are viewed like live TV, are not recorded or stored, and only one person ever sees the image. I would imagine you are more likely to be uncomfortable with the way your doctor is touching you during a checkup, since there is no feedback going on in your presence during a scan.

As for blaming the current administration: Since the TSA already had a near-miss with the shoe bomber, why wasn't this problem fixed during the Bush administration?

But that's just political finger-pointing. In reality, the TSA is a bureaucracy that sets policies and runs the day-to-day processes that try to keep us secure. It's unreasonable to think that the head of the administration should be micromanaging each bureau. Yet it is so much easier to get angry at politicians, since voters can try and convince each other to stop electing them.

First off, I agree with the author given the circumstances. All the folks on here spouting off about liberty and what-not, there are solutions for you. 1) Take another mode of transportation. 2) Submit to additional screening for the collective safety of your fellow passenges. Individuals exercising their "rights" in this setting can have a direct negative impact to others by those actions, in particular being subjected to some radical idiot's desire to pursue martyrdom by destroying the aircraft you and many others happen to be riding in.

To those spouting off incidence staistics about lightning strikes and such, it's certainly convenient to do that... unless it's you or your family member whose body parts rain down from the sky amongst other airborne debris. I magine that would change your tune, and you might even be sensitized enough to take offense when some other person claiming his ir her "rights" stands in the way of securing the safety of passengers aboard aircraft. The stats argument to me sounds silly because what you're really saying is that you're happy to roll the dice with the sense that the odds are with you. That works fine for your individual behavior, but once your choice has an impact on others, we as a society tend to regulate such behavior. You could make the same argument for drinking alcohol and driving; if you feel the odds of a vehicle crash are sufficiently low, then why not exercise your God-given right to intoxication?

Finally, for those quoting Benjamin Franklin, define an "essential liberty." The right to bear arms? Certainly. The right to peaceably assemble? Absolutely. The right to petition the government for redress? Definitely. The right to fly on a privately-owned aircraft without being searched to place yourself at risk of life and limb as well as fellow travelers? I don't think so. I just have a feeling you are the kind of people who sat watching the Twin Towers crumble to the ground on CNN resulting in the bloodletting of thousands of your innocent countrymen and said, "Well, that didn't hapen here, so I hate it for those folks." Thank God you people weren't around when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Mr. Martin, I would imagine you hear an enormous amount of complaining from the CNN staffers who are frequent fliers on the time drain they are now being forced to undergo in America's airports. Perhaps you'll have first hand experience at the health problems associated with frequent full body scanning.

I regret watching yet another of America's libertys and freedoms being removed under the 'guise' of a war on terror.

All American domestic phone calls including cell phone calls are now monitored and legally wiretapped.

Bank records are now all legally able to be accessed by various governmental agencys without warrant nor any legal reason.

Private homes are now legally able to be entered and searched, regardless if the occupants are present, informed or not without warrant nor any legal reason.

Private conversations are now legally being recorded in America's library's without warrant nor any legal reason.

American's do not feel safer, they feel like they are living in EAST BERLIN!

Dude, you forgot to mention one thing about full body scan. These machines can not and could not detect these types of explosives.

Goodbye Fellow American, Hello Comrade. Whatever happened to LAND OF THE FREE?

I have a very serious question that the people who are so eager to foist extra security upon us need to answer

1) what proof do you have that your extra measure will work?
2) why do extra security measures ALWAYS ALWAYS involve a significant degradation of customer service principles?

There is no NEED to be rude and inconsiderate while you're servicing the customers by providing them extra security.

Neither question will ever be answered.

For all the folks who are complaining about "harmful x-rays" from the scanners, you need to educate yourselves. They don't use x-rays. It's a different type of radiation. And you get much more radiation/exposure from the electronic systems on the plane (all those wires running above/below you, RADAR and radio antennas, etc.) than you do from the scanner. Just google it and you'll see.

The military uses a similar system for scanning entire vehicles and it's a radiation in the RADAR range of frequencies, not x-rays.

Personally, I think the body scans will be a minor inconvenience. I'm sure it will be done in a way that is impersonal enough not to be uncomfortable.

It's the comments on this article that sicken me the most. While I'm not uncomfortable with the idea of an anonymous person looking at my naked body, I in no way think that these scanners should be implemented.

Our government has sacred its populace into submission once again. This incident has allowed them to legitimize our disgusting foreign policy while possibly expanding the war on terror. It is an excuse to yet again increase defense spending. Most worryingly, it shows how willingly most Americans will lay down and let their personal liberties be taken from them. All because we're scared.

Whatever happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave? I'm sorry to say this, but those who fear death by terrorism and are ready to live in an oppressive society for an assurance of safety are cowards and fools. Statistically, you are much more likely to be killed by lightning than a terrorist. Open your eyes and use your brains! Are terrorists really that much of threat to you personally? 'Land of the oppressed, home of the COWARDLY' seems like a much more accurate way of describing our country.

AMEN!!!!

It's as if Mr. Martin took the words straight from my mouth. Exceelent article about how people should come to their senses about "privacy" in this regard. Ask any of the families of those who perished in 911 about "privacy" and I believe those who are complaining would be subjected to a very sobering perspective.

I think the body scanners are a fantastic idea and look forward to the day they are the norm.

Great article.

Look, I fly internationally all the time. If I happen to be unlucky enough to be on a plan with a terrorist, then so be it. I am more likely to be on a flight that crashes due to technical failure. Either way, it is a risk I accept every time I go into the air, and still lower than the probability of dying in a car accident.

The TSA cannot make us safe from terrorists, they only provide the illusion of safety at great cost to us as a society. They have no right to effectively strip search you. We are not cattle people, but we're behaving like it. Wake up and stop listening to the leaders of your herd before they carry you off a cliff.

If we wanted to improve airline safety, about the only thing we can do is what they would do on a private jet. No searches at all, they give the FCC a list of passengers, and that list of names is screened for potential threats.

We can do the same thing on commercial flights. No same day bookings or standby. Give the FCC a list of passengers and have it screened, properly. You still won't catch everyone, but it would have caught the most recent terror threat, which the body scans wouldn't.

I wonder what kind of ignorant people would oppose more screening when the threat is so real.

Changing the foreign policy to make air travel more secure from terrorist attack is a long term idea and would not produce immediate results and what if its not a terrorist threat and some psycho fancies about the idea of blowing up a plane thousands of feet up in the air?

Even though air travel is considered statistically safer than road travel, its a necessity and nothing else can replace it. Even when air travel is safer, factors like lightning, birds, mechanical failures and human error add to the risk. Why add another risk to air travel especially when you have nothing to hide?

I would like to ask people who are opposing more screening, if they would prefer air travel with NO screening at all?

IMHO, more screening is needed and rather than pushing back on it, solutions for current problems people are having with additional screening should be thought about.

Some solutions:
1. Female TSA officers examine the screened images of females and same for males. If you can go for a full body pat down during a random additional screening from a person of same sex without worrying about their sexual orientation, someone looking at a blurry screened image of you shouldn't bother you so much. There can be a one way glass between the TSA officer, where the traveller can see and be assured that no male is looking at the screened images of their daughters, mothers or spouses.

2. Most people live around electromagnetic waves (cell phone radiation, WiFi etc) anyway why bother about a very short exposure to some additional radiation when it could make air travel safer? I believe scanners based on millimeter wave technology are much safer than X-Ray based.

My 2 cents.

I am writing from Canada as a Canadian citizen who has travelled widely through the world as well as the USA.

You might not be aware of the absurd level of "security" that has been suddenly put in place in a "knee jerk" fashion as of late December since the terrorist attempt. These new rules have been applied to and affects all flights from Canada to the USA. Do the people (US Govt officials who demand these security measures from the Canadian Govt) actually have some common sense? How much is enough?

We are now told to arrive at the airport 3 hours ahead of our flights to travel to the US. (What is the incentive to take a holiday in the US? And you think your economy is bad now? Wait til the tourists stop coming because of the hassle factor)

We are told we cannot bring onboard ANY carry-on bag. Only a list of very specific items are allowed to be carried on. At one point, one can't even bring a book or magazine to read!!!

Everyone goes through metal detectors and have their limited carry-on item go through X-ray but IN ADDITION, every passenger is now patted down and all carry-on are searched once again just before boarding at the boarding gate!

For a while (some of these rules might have been relaxed now), one was not allowed to watch in flight satellite TV (disabled), in flight GPS was also disabled. One was not allowed to leave their seat during the last hour of flight. Nothing can be on your lap during the last hour.

Come on! All this because one person tried to commit a terrorist act?

Like I said, who makes these decisions anyways? Where is the common sense? Keep this up and your travel and tourism industry will also need a bail-out.

Three points: 1)It is a mistake to continue to laying blame for failure at the feet of the Bush administration. 2) I agree with your main point, we should stop whining about security requirements - when they are sensible and effective; 3) I disagree with complaining when security requirements are ineffective, pointless, or unnecessarily intrusive.
And here's why: 1) Obama's administration has very publicly put substantial efforts into restructuring the handling of Guantanamo detainees. Did they simply not bother, Mr Martin, to try and make any improvements in counter-terrorism operations? 2) Enough said. You make a good point. 3) Compare our frequently ineffective and often poorly staffed operations with Israel's. (Talk about a place with terrorist threats!) Why, for example, did we ever find it necessary to pull eighty and ninety year-old travelers out for special screening? This is simply a costly form pissing in the wind. There are more effective approaches. And how about allowing US-born female passengers the option of screening less invasive methods?
In short, there still are some things worth complaining about, but your point is well taken.

I agree whole-heatedly with this piece. Today, before I read this article, I was asking my wife why people are going crazy over whole body scanners and the 'images.' Your doctor will see x-rays and scans that will show outlines of skin, and the TSA employees are not out there looking for physical features. They're looking for potential safety hazards. Try going to the mall for an hour and counting every red t-shirt... after a few minutes you stop noticing funny hair, giant moles, ugly handbags and you start seeing red/not-red t-shirts. And to the management and employees of the TSA: complacency kills. To the United States: suck it up and plan ahead. I've sometimes looked forward to having a few hours with my cell turned off because I'm at the airport. That break from the world might help you relax a little.

Why not just strip people naked when they enter a secured box and to be blatantly observed by security guards? Might as well get a tip everytime I enter airport security naked room...Since when do we, American, abandon our Rights? our Freedom to choose? our human dignity? What do you all think about erecting a SCANNED IMAGE OF LADY LIBERTY HOLDING A TORCH? That would send a message to the current administration.

So what happens when they do these full body scans, but then a terrorist manages to do the same thing using suppositories filled with explosive gel? Everyone saying that safety is the only thing that matters, get ready to bend over for your mandatory probing before you get on any plan ever.

Dear Roland S. Martin,

Are You INSANE?

Signed,

The 4th Amendment

Totally agreed with you Owen. For people who don't agree to give up their privacy, get a life! Freedom is not free. You have to sacrifice so we can catch the bad guys. People like you slow down the deployment of the scanners and give more chances for terrorists to succeed. The more you are whining about your rights, your privacy, the more helps you give to terrorists.

I would feel better for our nation if people accepted that there may be some danger from extremists in our lives rather than unquestioningly accommodating any draconian security measure that comes forward. We're not just a free country, but one that should be the example of freedom to other countries, and for almost ten years now we've been falling over ourselves in ways to appease the notion that we should be terrified of security concerns when you go to the airport...even though you have a better chance of being hit by lightning on the way there than being on a plane that suffers an attack.

People need to stop clinging to a climate of fear and begging the government to save them from the terrorist boogeymen, and wake up to the fact that the ideals of freedom in our country that we clung to for so long cannot survive in a nation where security and government controls outweigh those freedoms. There are enough tragedies through history covering the notion that "only the criminals would need to be afraid" that it's downright sad and unfortunate that it's an idea being backed here.

@ Mary: You really need to crawl back into your Puritan cave and not ever come out again. Your attitude endangers the safety of everyone.

Would you prefer a security agent looking at a scanned image of your daughter's body or of her body in the morgue after an attack? Wake up and get rid of your Puritan hang-ups.

Oh, I almost forgot. To those folks mentioning that the new security measures won't work, that the bad guys are always finding ways to work around the current measure... You're absolutely right. So, if you ran the government, what then would be your solution to the problem? Just ignore the issue ahs hope no one tries another one of those kinds of attacks? How ridiculous. Tactics always have to evolve to match the situation on the battlefield, especially when the environment is fluid as this is. Why do you think these fundamentalist types attempt to incinerate aircraft? Because aircraft are the most popular means of mass transit on a global scale, and because of the political value such acts accrue to their causes. Amongst their goals are the disruption of "normalcy" in daily life and the increase in political heat for those in office to act in a way potentially unpopular with the citizenry (hence, the security measures whiners commenting above).

Regardless of what you think about this enemy or its social, economic, or religious views, they are not stupid people. Their acts, while sometimes crude in execution, are purposefully designed to meet certain ends. The body scanner is hardly an invasive search to the point of having some TSA officer's hand in your pants, but it is the best available technology for ensuring to the greatest degree currently possible that air passengers are not bringing destructive devices on board aircraft. Again, if the security measures upset you, drive or take the train. Otherwise, try to remember that air travel is not a "right" nor is there the expectation of privacy beyond a reasonable standard. Body scanning technology, in its current form and implementation, hardly violates such a standard.

Help me understand why all the focus on airplane security?

Yes I understand 9-11 was targetted at planes but that involved taking over the plane and flying them into targets. We have taken, hopefully, sufficient steps (re-enforced doors) to protect the cockpit from being compromised, so the 9-11 scenario is now eliminated. I heard the head of FAA security quote last night that the reason we focus on planes is just look at the cost of 9-11, but that seems like a scare tactic to me assuming we have secured the cockpit and eliminated the possibility of taking over the plane. Right?

So at this point isn't the risk of travelling on a plane is the same as the risk of taking a train or subway or attending any number of crowded events. Won't the terrorist simply target these other soft-targets at some point.

Not a pleasant thought to think we can't control all the risks, but let's not kid ourselves that planes are somehow special. Interested in other's views.

"Airport Security" has historically been and continues to be an oxymoron.

I have no problem with full body screening but cannot stand the TSA.
As currently deployed, since 2001, its a burden on society and utterly ineffective. A COMPLETE failure on all levels.

If they had stopped & properly processed ALL cash paying, baggage-less passengers with one-way tickets inbound from outside the US then neither the shoe or the underwear bomber would have even boarded a plane.

How about, instead of scrambling fighter jets for "unruly passengers" we stick a blood alcohol breathalyzer on the boarding ramp and bounce ANYONE thats not stone cold sober?

Or this? Consider flying to be a priviledge. Just because someone has the ability to purchase a ticket doesnt mean they have the right to be on a plane.

Just a little fact.

IT'S A PRIVLAGE TO FLY!! NOT A RIGHT!!

We as consumers are using a company's service. If it requires a body scan and pat down to use this service that what we all have to do. If you don't like the terms of using that service then find another way of traveling.

I'm fine with being scanned. What's the big deal? The person looking at the scan is in a separate room and can't see your real face anyway. You will just be one of a zillion fatties they have to look at in their day. I feel kind of bad for them actually. The majority of Americans are nothing to look at. This won't be a job looking through Playboy. It will more likely be like looking at a medical journal on obesity with the occasional fit person now and then.

And trust me, if you have anything to be ashamed about concerning your appearance in that blurry, faceless image we can already see pretty much same thing with your clothes on anyway. If you are worried about your daughters...don't let them go out to restaurants or other public places because men are looking at them there in a much more personal way than any faceless scanned image reveals. Perverts don't need tech to do what they do and haven't for a thousand years. Might as well never go out in public.

In the very least, do us all a favor and take a car, train, boat or bus and don't get on planes. I prefer a simple scan over being patted down any day. It's either that or people will start having their underwear patted down and then that would really be an invasion of privacy.

Wow, we love to give away our rights and liberties away. The Christmas bomber got through security due to lapses in human judgement. Those same lapses would occur with full body scans... except with those we also give up a little bit of what makes this country the best country in the world. I don't know folks, but a few more bombs here and attempted bombings there and we might just agree to having security cameras in our house on 24/7 so that the government can save us from the boogey man.

Roland, you should be ashamed for throwing this opinion around so nonchalantly. At some point, I'd rather run the risk of being blown up on an airplane (i'm sure if you look up the statistics you'd probably find you have more chances of winning the lottery) than giving the terrorists what they want... a complete stripping of our liberties and values.

The last time I flew, I was singled out for the pornographic bodyscan by a male (I'm female) TSA agent. It was in Florida, so I was wearing knee-length shorts and a top. Not a lot of places to hide stuff in your clothing in Florida in the summer. Needless to say, I refused. This caused a ruckus. "PERSON REFUSING BODYSCAN! PERSON REFUSING BODY SCAN!" I had to wait around for 10 minutes while they found a female TSA agent to come over and wand and frisk me, which took an additional 5 minutes. All they found was change in my pocket. They did let me keep it, though. I will NEVER fly again. This harassment will be the end of the airline industry.

I agree Mr. Martin. In context, there is no price to pay for safety. I don't feel a full body is excessively invasive, i can tolerate that to procure an increased amount of safety on a flight. Personally, it sounds like it will speed up line ups & again, a bare picture of my body to a stranger, only ellicits sympathy from me to the viewer.

I agree, we people are too much in a rush, rush, rush.
I will take safety and security over rushing!

Weed out the undesirable security employees, the ones that don't take their job seriously.

Being rushed through the security at airports defeats the purpose for Homeland Security, does it not?

Also, there are people with some disabilities that are a little slower going through security.

It is all about the money and it is about time we put the money aside and make room for our safety.

It is time for Americans to grow up and stop the whining. Just let them do their job.

This is exactly what the terrorists depend on to make our lives bad.

We all need to be vigilant and responsible citizens. Security needs to be aggressively vigilant.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" -Benjamin Franklin

9/11 was executed by small groups with no weapons other than box cutters.
I'm sure the same outcome is possible by the same size groups with no weapons at all, just hand to hand combat skills and emotional tactics.
How could authorities ensure your safety 100 percent (almost)?
By locking you up in a cell!
And we continue to aproach the cell.

This country is turning into a 3rd world nation. mark my words. Soon you will have to go through a body scanner just to buy some milk at the super market. The Government is doing a good job turning us into the slaves we deserve to be. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Screen all you want, you're only going to catch the people who are willing to play by the rules. And they aren't the ones you should be watching.

You must be joking or trolling with your "stop complaining" BS. Or you're just a moron.

Officials familiar with the body scanners have gone on the record as saying that the technology would not have detected the chemicals in the bomber's underwear.

Debbie January 8th, 2010 2:47 pm ET

Mr. Martin,

You could not have said it better!!! screen me, search me, full cavity check! and check my kids, my husband, my dog, etc.

We all have human bodies, we all look the same, and we are all in this together.

If you dont want to be checked and would prefer to be blown up, then maybe take a train, private jet, boat, bicycle, helecopter, roller skates, or maybe a car.

In fact the crazy people that don't want to be checked, I realy don't want that type of lunatic on my flight anyway.

What? now im crazy cuz i do not want a wand up my ass? debbie move to russia, or china.

I agree 100%. For those of you who want your privacy, take a train. I don't want to have my wife called to say I was on a the plane that the terrorist blew up just because you are too much of a wus to let someone see an image of you.

As for you stupid conservatives and liberals, you so much like to blame each other that you make it impossible for anything to get done. Look in the mirror, you are the ones at fault. Everyone thinks they are right, no one intentionally is doing anything to make us less secure, but when you fail to take responsibility, that is exactly what you are doing. Stop hijacking our system. I call on everyone in the middle to put the extremist on warning, we will not take it anymore.

Your chances of being hit by lightning are greater than your chances of being blown up on a plane by a terrorist. You have greater risk of death when putting your family in your car and driving to grandma's house. I don't have to have a full body scan to get in my car and frankly the body scanners are a false sense of security. The bad guys will get around them make no mistake.

Solution... know who the terrorists are, and we do, we knew about the hijackers on 9/11 and we knew the underwear bomber was working with terrorists. We have the know we need to fix our how. That is the only way to be safe.

On the scanners... give it a few more years and it will be able to recognize the human body and filter it out of the image so all you see is everything but the butt. At that point, bring them into the airport and them I'm good with watching my wife and children walk through one.

Cmon, as long as they cant record and save those images, let it go. Also change the protocol so their is no way for the screener to see the person that is going through the scanner to avoid the embarrassment. If you want to have the convenience of getting somewhere thousands of miles away in mere hours- just do it.

to whoever said that these scanners should have been in place pre-9/11, I don't think they could have detected "intent to fly planes into buildings" on a person's body. they lied, they said they had bombs and weapons, and whether or not they had their clay knives on them they would have still controlled those situations by instilling fear in the passengers and airplane staff, which they did.

Boy.The Government is doing a good job. Now we all look at each other as terrorist. Welcome to the taddle tail nanny state.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben F.

I live in a generation of cry babies. No man can guarenty your safety but you are willing to give up anything asked if "they" promise you it'll be awlright.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Americans don't know what the hell they want... Flying is a privilege, not a right!!!!

So people? are you willing to give up all your liberty's and your Constitutional right for security? why are you people so afraid of a boogieman? cowards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How about I start an organization that is for Caucasians only how do you feel about that violation of your civil rights Mr. Martin?

We live in a free country that is why people are against this invasion of public rights. Why is it that we have become to worried about the rest of the worlds feelings towards us? A Roman citizen was once able to walk to the ends of the earth guarded only by the words "civis romanus" for the rest of the world feared Rome's retribution. The citizens of this great country should have the same protection by saying "I am an American".

I don't like the security measures for the simple reason that it's a lot of money to feel safe but not actually be safe. If we're that concerned about human life, what about, to take one example, drunk drivers? If we want to save lives, why not have more stringent laws against drunk drivers or require breathalyzers wherever there's alcohol?

To me, the problem is that we use terrorism as a ghoul requiring the erosion of civil liberties without looking at the larger picture.

there should be a separate plane for those passengers who doesn't
want to be inconvenience and doesn't want their privacy to be search,from those who like to do what mr.martin is advocating,so that
if their plane blow up, they have themselves only to be blame and not
involving other people who will do everything,going the extra mile to
ensure their safe travel,at least if still going to happen,it is not because they did not try.

Dear Roland,
Thank you for your great article. I agree with you 100%!
It is incredible that so many critical voices have been expressed.
I say, a truly civilized and mature society has no problem with reasonable, commensurate to the situation, limitations of certain "liberties", exactly! A reasonable individual accepts safety belts in car and helmets by motor bikers!
Thank you, again!
Anthony, San Francisco

I literally hate being forced to wait in these long security lines because I simply don't believe the measures in place prevent any real terrorists from doing whatever they want. Sure, they stop regular law-abiding citizens like me from carrying guns or explosives into a plane, but I am not a terrorist!!! Real professional terrorists will always find a way to fool the system, but authorities will never say that because it would create panic.

For domestic flights, I see only one way to create a real safe and foolproof system: biometric identification. I gave up most of my privacy when I signed up for a program named Clear, which allowed me to go through security much faster. Unfortunately it was run by a private company which went bankrupt.

Now when it comes to international flights, unless all countries with direct flights to the US cooperate fully and implement the same security measures we do, there is absolutely no hope for real safe flights.

I would give away any personal information and subject myself to any level of scrutiny or background checking if this allows me to zip through security at airports. A system that wastes very little time with certified passengers and forces uncertified ones to go through a rigorous security checking is the only possibility of succeeding, in my opinion.

As long as I believe that I am wasting my time for a good reason (a really secure system), I'm all for it. Privacy is something that doesn't concern me any more because we simply don't have any these days.

They CAN record and save the pornographic body scan images; we are just told that the save function is "disabled" when the body scanner is shipped to the airport. I wonder how easy it is to turn it back on...

Roland, you should be ashamed of yourself. This "knee-jerk reaction" seems to happen more and more frequently these days. Some idiot tries to set his shoes on fire – now everybody has to take their shoes off. Now some idiot tries to set his underwear on fire. Do we now all have to take our underwear off before boarding a plane? I live in Hawaii. I HAVE to take a plane just to travel to other parts of my state. If I could drive to the Big Island from my house, I wouldn't have to show anyone my ID or do anything unusual, but because I have to fly there, I'm forced to show my papers, remove my shoes, give up my sun-tan lotion and saline solution because they don't come in 3 oz. bottles, and submit to being treated like a criminal just so I can travel 100 miles within my own state! This is ridiculous! No one is any safer because I can't bring sun-screen on the airplane. It's called police work people! Maybe those in authority should have done some, like check up on this man's father's warning! Who is safer by requiring everyone to submit to this farcical excuse for security? No one, that's who! When you trade you freedom for security, you are neither free nor secure. There is no such thing as being "completely safe." Terrorists who hate America are low-tech. They don't have the latest ... anything! The next attempt will be even more low-tech, and no one can stop a determined man with nothing to lose. The more we as Americans submit to this reduction of our freedoms, the more freedoms the government will take from us under the guise of "safety." It won't work, and we should demand a stop to it!

Ah a voice of sanity. I flew (with my 17 yr old son) over Christmas and we had carry-ons with camera's and computers. Our flights were domestic, but did include international airports. It never required more than 10 minutes to clear security. I found all of the TSA agents I encountered to be polite and courteous. They also seemed quite able to carry out their jobs.

It seems that we (of the United States) need to quit arguing about pornography and civil rights and make a collective decision about security versus risk. If we want greater privacy (and less inconvenience) then we accept greater risk. If we want greater security, some privacy must be sacrificed. It is a decision in our hands. States mandate seat belt use and forbid cell phone use while driving. Is that any more invasive of civil liberties than airport screening?

Incidentally, my son dropped a hat (worth $5) at a security check point. The TSA staff made numerous announcements on the airports PA system. It finally (subliminally) occurred to me that it might be his hat. A quick check of carry-ons verified that it was. When I returned to the check point (30 minutes later) the hat was carefully placed in a container in a secure location and a smiling and cheerful TSA employee returned it to me after verifying that I could describe it. This occurred during a very busy travel period. Does this sound like an employee of an agency that is something we should fear?

As a previous commenter pointed out, if you are offended by the security checks associated with flying, then assume a greater risk and drive. After all, it is a free country.

because they can only search so many people at a time, you throwing your bags up there on purpose may be edging out a potentially randomly selected terrorist. way to go for ruining security, Mr. Martin.

-locks on cockpit door
-screen for weapons
-get rid of dumb stuff like 3oz bottles, use a dog as a chemical sniffer instead
-use the special X-ray machines on luggage
-stop making stupid rules like no knives or blackjacks (great, I'll just use my big heavy belt buckle with leather belt as a weapon and I'll make sure to have a nice sharp edge honed on it.oh, let's not forget to break the glass mirrors used in bathrooms in the airport and on-board airplanes)
-stop having nimrod politicians, political appointees, and bureaucrats who know nothing about security determining who/what/how/where to search, let it be done by the professionals, like those of us who hold CISSP's and Physical Security certifications

I can take a weapon on-board any time I want. The real question is, how are you going to prevent me from using it?....See? now start doing real security.

like a good "lawyer" would say....gentlemen/ladies of the jury,i rest my case.

David, technology will never prevent anybody from doing anything. Be sure, someone WILL find a whole in the system and GET those images and COMBINE them with the name of the person. You can live with your wife/daughter exposed like that? I can't. Not knowingly that this technology will not prevent a single attack.

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

There was a CNN article last week, which suggested that bomb-sniffing dogs would be as effective as full body scanners and cost significantly less. I don't know why we don't study this option further. If it's as effective as the article suggests it could be, I wouldn't find a crotch-sniffing dog intrusive, especially if it can save money. And if it saves time, that would be even more reason to adopt it.

Just a bit of food for thought. I know this ultimately affects a very small percentage of travelers in this country, but as a transperson, I have to admit that the body scans scare me. I worry that the TSA will pull aside people like me because the scans won't show certain parts of the body that they expect to see because of our outward (and true) gender expression. This is not an open invitation to bash transpeople as I realize there are people who think we're freaks and don't deserve consideration, but frankly, I'm a citizen of this country and deserve peace of mind when I travel. It just opens the door for extremely uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situations for people like me when traveling (something that already causes great anxiety for all people and especially transfolks). I'm not saying that we shouldn't have body scans – I'm all for anything that will keep everyone safe – national security is the priority. However, it is food for thought as a side issue that the new scans bring to the foreground.

TSA agent arrested after a cocaine binge saying "I am god I am in control"

link here

thats right ladies and gentlemen THESE are the people that are going to be scanning YOUR naked body. They claim these images are too blurred out to see anything but that is in fact wrong.

No these images dont blur anything out, in fact they can see everything you own.

How long will it take for these drug addicts and pedophiles to save these pictures to a memory card and upload them to a social networking site? Not long at all.

Are we truly willing to let a caveman on kidney dialysis strike this much fear into us to where we would gladly bend and spread to these drug addled perverts at the TSA?

TSA has had eight plus years to get it right. Yet they haven’t.
I fly all the time and they as a whole are the most unconcerned group of people I could imagine. They worry more about an old Italian woman with ½ inch embroidery scissors, than they do with a man 5ft long walking stick. When I questioned how the man walking through the terminal got thru security I was nastily told “he didn’t get though here”. So much for security concerns. I had a little 1 ¼ inch pen knife/scissors/toothpick combo accidentally left on a key chain, and was deemed a threat to national security.
I flew NWA instead of my normal UA and was told I was on the no fly list. I found that hard to believe because I checked in up front with an agent, received a boarding pass, made it through TSA screening, and was told by the gate agent about no fly list. I showed agent my UA Premier Executive card and other ID. Was told this happens all the time and he took me around the counter to show me on the computer screen. He typed a simple period between my first and last name and “poof” I was no longer on the list. I hope the terrorists don’t use a period for their middle name. So much for TSA security. We search the wrong people and harass the rest. I don’t know when but the revolt is coming from the flying public who are not Arab, muslins, with a one way ticket, paid for in cash at the last minute, with no luggage.

Lets all just go with the flow like cattle to the slaughterhouse.

Why are so many scared of terrorists. All the scanners will do is catch people with lighters or matches in their pocket and whoever makes them a fat wallet. Just get over the terrorists when there are a thousand things that are more likely to kill you.

I could care less about the scanner, but to make people feel better about it, just develop software that will detect any irregularities.

Really people? According to NPR, today, the software has changed since body scanner 1.0 came out. They changed it so it is not like pornography. But I forgot, we should have 3,000 people die before we agree on something.

I don't agree with you. Terrorists will always be one step ahead of us no matter what we do. I will avoid when possible flying through the US it is beginning to be a nightmare. I also fly on business and do not want to be exposed to those x-rays all the time.

I totally agree that security needs to be tougher in airports. I just got back from a flight, and I had my carry on bag completely emptied because my Kindle set off the alarm. Did I mind? No. I felt great confidence in our security personnel for being able to spot something that to them looked out of place. It may have taken me an extra few minutes to get to my flight, but better safe than sorry!

Flying is a right if you PAY for it. Privileges are granted to the people by the people. Not by are corrupted government.

AGREED. Do the damn screens...IT WILL SAVE LIVES! It's NUDITY. It's nothing to be ashamed of and it's nothing one has not seen before. I'd rather be naked than charred.

Dear "political contributor". This incident didn't happen because the airport lacked scanners, it happened because some "well dressed" guy said something or showed something to the airline management in Amsterdam which caused them to allow the passenger on with NO PASSPORT. Now what could a stranger possibly do to an airline manager to convince them to allow a young middle eastern man on a plane to the USA with NO IDENTIFICATION. I mean, other than show them his FBI, CIA or US diplomatic credentials and assure them that "everything is OK". I have to admit however, this move is great way to attract perverts and stalkers to get jobs in the government.

Mr. Martin go to ....! We have given up all our freedom and now you want us to give us even more?

This country was founded on taking RISKS! When families went west....from Philly to Pittsburgh they took "security risks!" They did no expect the "government to KEEP THEM SAFE! Then as they crossed into Ohio, many were massacred, but we did not retreat (Of course we took what was not out ours...but that is another story). Covered wagons blazed the trail over and over not knowing if they would arrive alive. They were PIONEERS! Now we sit in our comfortable houses and what nothing to ever change. Even if it means letting the government control everything and everywhere around.

How can you call this freedom. You don't want freedom. Freedom costs lives! Like all those that have fought for this country's freedom over and over and over. Those fighting right now....are coming home to a country that does not appreciate what they are fighting for if body scans and more security is put up. Every day of freedom means you have to take risks every day to live in a free world.

Flying is a privilege ... ok....WELL SO IS DRIVING AND HOW MANY OF YOU DRIVE DRUNK ALL THE TIME.....ARE YOU GOING TO POLICE EVERY CAR? LIFE IS A PRIVILEGE AND SO IS LIVING IN THIS COUNTRY.....AND NOT BEING POLICED IS PART OF COSTS FOR THIS PRIVILEGE!

It has Nothing to do with WHINING IT HAS TO DO WITH FREEDOM!
For One day the person or persons in charge of these scanners, or e-mails, or even these posted responses and may say..... WE DON'T "LIKE" you will have no place to turn to for all our FREEDOMS....will be GONE. Many already are!

So your family member may get hit by a reckless driver,a drunk driver, drink a bunch of chemicals in pop, diet pop, chickens, cows,or some fast food place, GETTING OBEISE while sitting on the sofa all day or night watching American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.... or three football games in one day.... takes lots of prescriptions drugs that "may cause death" let YOUR HEALTH be FIXED by some PILL ( cause you are too lazy to be inconvenienced to cook or eat decent food or do any exercise)

And do this all...... WILLINGLY, but God FORBID they step on a plane without being searched and STAND FOR SOMETHING!!!!!

FREEDOM!!!! FREEDOM!!!!! FREEDOM!!!! REAL TRUE..... FREEDOM!

Mary grow up.

By the way, where do the images we have all seen come from? I am looking at a computer screen, not a scanner yet I am looking at the images.

It appears the images can be stored and displayed at a later time.

I think Roland made some good points. Nonetheless, I agree with many who feel there is a limit to how far security measures should go. Terrorists win when they control our lives. An airliner blown out of the sky is horrific to be sure, but on an a smaller scale so is a loved one killed in a car accident by someone who is texting while driving. Which of the two kills more people? Run the numbers. Go back even as far as September "10th," 2001, and there is still no comparison. Where is the outrage over texting? A little perspective and some common sense seems in order, is all I'm saying.

Billions of dollars, tons of ink, and hour upon hour of airtime go into covering air safety. But it's not just that, "millions" of hours of lost productivity go to standing in lines at airports. I remember years ago when Steve Jobs was trying to crunch the numbers on the seconds lost while people waited for their computers to boot up. He wanted his engineers and programmers to make a computer that booted faster. Ten extra seconds multiplied by one person isn't much, but with millions . . . even a few seconds start to add up. What happens when it's not ten seconds but two hours? What is the cost of that?

End result: Terrorists win.

By the way.... ask people to stop smoking...they say" I have to die of something."

Ask people to eat well or healthy...they say " I have to die of something"
Ask people to do a body cleanse or take a vitamin and they again say "I have to die of something"

Ask people to exercise or take care of THEMSELVES...again they say I gave to die of something.

Yet we are afraid to die for our own rights......to hold up the constitution for all the freedoms we were granted. What is wrong with this picture people? We sue everyone that does not take care of OUR needs but take little care of ourselves. Just sue them... that is the answer we have the right to sue. And we have the right to die for what believe in. So lets show the world what we DO believe in. Ourselves as free individuals and a free country!

....gee your water is bad

Utter and complete fascism. The pictures will show very, very detailed pictures of genitalia, up to the point of pornography, and for what? So some pedo TSA guy can get his rocks off when your 13 year old daughter wants to board a flight?

Government is totally incapable of handling anything important. Case in point: our banking system through the Federal Reserve. They did such an excellent job there.... Something as important as security (and the economy, and our health care system, etcetc) should never be left to incompetent bureaucrats, who only aspire to attain more power, and never have to serve the people.

Security should be left to the airline companies what they should screen and how they should screen. Everywhere else in our life, security is handled, pretty well, by private actors. You don't fear getting robbed at work, right?

If airlines do a lousy job managing security, they will go bankrupt. That's the way markets work. And, hell, you have a substantially higher chance dying from driving to the airport than from any terrorist act. Hell, you're 87 times more likely to die drowning from terrorism. And, Roland, you're willing to force my daughter to get naked for that minute possibility? Christ, you're a coward.

More people especially those in charge of security in this country and all over the world should read this article:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744199-israelification-high-security-little-bother

Seems like a much better and more effective way to prevent terrorism than any crazy amount of money spent on invasive scanners or other band aid type of security measures they keep adding on and delaying everyone.

Roland,
If you want to feel safe flying , make sure the pilots are rested up , the aircraft hasn't had maintenance with bootlegged parts, the air traffic controllers aren't over worked.
Giving up your privacy will not make you one bit safer, it all just an illusion to make you feel good. Big brother will not save you , some times you just have to fend for yourself. A lot of money is being made from all this "security", Do a little investigating and follow the money ,see where all the fear originates from. Its just to prop up sales for more "security" hardware.

flying on an airplane is not a right and as such if you dont want to comply with their screening process find alternate methods of transportation

Lets just put it this way: Every time you travel you will now have to wait even more, show your naked body to some perverted TSA, and be exposed to radiation. For what? a feeling of "security" that will last only untill the next attack. People should know its OUR country NOT THE GOVERMENT'S and not everything they do is correct. If this keeps going this FREE country is not going be so free anymore. This is what you fight for, "FREEDOM"? They are taking it away little by little right in front of you. Wake up and dont let the terrorists do whet they are supposed to do. Live free, don't let them win!

Roland, your line of thought is incomplete. It is true that Americans have a complacent attitude until something happens, but THEN, they have a tendency to overreact, and to do so hastily, BEFORE all the facts are known.

Before subjecting travelers to more invasive procedures, shouldn't you first determine whether pre-existing protocol – HAD IT BEEN FOLLOWED – would have kept everyone safe?

Why do you volunteer to surrender your rights? Don't you realize that's all we have left?

Roland – are you kidding me? Are you really THAT stupid?

Full body image scanners make us NO SAFER than the silly cattle prodding that takes place at airports now.

Not only that – the TSA and government authorities should have NO BUSINESS in airlines anyway! Let the PRIVATE AIRLINES take care of there precious cargo – the passenger.

We don't have TSA traveling with LOOMIS armored trucks to make bank cash deposits. LOOMIS handles the precious cargo and if they default – they go out of business.

Get the GOVERNMENT out. The more we give – the more those blood sucking parasites take....

You're absolutely right, Roland.

I think we also need to institute mandatory proctology examinations and polygraph tests.

In fact, it would probably just be best if we made it illegal to wear clothes in airports and on planes... but what if they hide the bombs under their skin!?

AMEN! I agree with everything you said 100%. I work in the airlline industry, and just so happened to be working for American Airlines on the day that 9/11 occurred. I will NEVER forget that day for as long as I live.
After all this time, the traveling public should be used to the added security by now. But you're right...everyone insists on being in a hurry and forgetting all too soon that what happened could happen again if we're all not careful. Airline and TSA personnel bear the brunt of rude passengers in too much of a hurry who cannot possibly be inconvenienced to submit to standard security screening, let alone enhanced security measures.
Americans need to stop living in the past and realize that everything changes. Please remember it's for your own saftey, and everyone else's.

I can't believe all the people who fell for this very expensive, ineffective porno machine. Unfortunately, it gives a lot of people who don't think very well a false sense of security.

The Isrealis are masters at security. Why don't we just send some of TAS people over there to learn what real security is all about. Bomb sniffing dogs are far more effective than this porno machine and well trained security people who really know how to check passengers for aberrant behaviour no matter how subtle it is.

Why is it that I no longer feel "safe" on an airliner?
The existing security is OK, but it seems that there is always someone "out there" that has malicious thoughts on destroying Americans, and inventing new procedures to make us all fearful of flying!

Roland, I am sure you've heard the quote.

"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." – Benjamin Franklin

Judging by your editorial Roland it would appear the terrorists have won. They've terrorized us in to giving up our freedoms and our rights as Americans. And you're completely OK with that. Which is truly sad.

Roland, numerous experts have stated that these machines are not fail proof. Anyone smuggling a powder or explosives anally has a chance of boarding a plane and carrying out whatever their intentions.

I'll give you an example Roland of this type of system failing.

In our federal and state prison systems throughout the country inmates spend every day eluding metal detectors and cavity scans and routinely smuggle cell phones, drugs, shanks, hit lists, and other materials.

One inmate in custody at a Houston jail was recently found to be in possesion of a gun for more than a day which he hid in his fat rolls!

You want to stop terrorism Roland and make America safe again? Then pull American military and financial support for Israel. Stop turning a blind eye to the genocide of the Palestinians. Focus on improving impoverished countries and ridding these terrorist hot beds of poverty.

For all those people who don't think traveling freely is not a right but a privilege, what planet do you come from? The right to travel is part of being an American. What justification is there that flying by an airplane is a privilege. I would love to see the rationale for that one.

Those who advocate a choice between strip-searches or death seem to be unusually simple-minded.

If strip-searches would guarantee saftey, I believe everyone would consent to strip-searches. However, I am not at all convinced that strip searching non-terrorists has anything at all to do with catching terrorists.

Perhaps some of the strip-search advocates here could explain...

Dear God, hysterical people like Mary are so ridiculous. Perverts? Molesters? Pornography? This is the world we live in today. Get a grip, hon. Get real. It's called Being Safe Not Sorry.

Instead of Roland I witnessed a confusing conversation with two obviously clueless novices (who are trying to sell otherwise unsaleable books) dealing with their "profound" suggestions on eliminating al Quaeda. Neither of these guys present credible credentials and their empty ideas were congruent with that. .Campbell may be OK for fluff before 2.00 P.M., but the producers should keep her away from serious subjects lest she further embaress CNN.
While it is nice for a newscaster to have a pretty face – a pretty brain is even better.

Roland, you are completely ignorant aren't you? People can whine all they want about this crap. The government needs to listen to the freaking people. I hope Americans stop flying more and more and these airlines start losing business. The only way to make everything safe would be to ban airlines all together. This is government control.

Every debate over expanded government surveillance power is invariably framed as one of "security v. privacy and civil liberties" - as though it's a given that increasing the Government's surveillance authorities will "make us safer." But it has long been clear that the opposite is true.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/01/06/surveillance/index.html

Everyone should be forced to roll around in giant, clear, Lexan hamster balls. For your safety. Then the bad mans could never get us! I'm so scared. Gubbmint, please save us from the bad mans! What? You need to put us in chains to keep us free? All right. But not too tight. Boy, those are heavy. But they're for our own good. Why are we in a curving chute? Where are we going? Greener pastures? B-a-a-a! Hurray!

Maybe we need to have more people carry weapons on planes, you know the security risks will drop, but no the government just wants to take away more freedoms.

Debbie, I find it hard to believe that if it actually came down to full cavity searches (which it wouldn't, because to do that with everyone it would cause major delays), you would submit yourself to that kind of treatment. And if you really would, then fine. But I wouldn't and neither would most normal people. Just remember – no flying during "that time of the month," I don't know if I'd feel more sorry for you or the TSA agent.

To everyone who keeps saying "FLYING IS A PRIVILEDGE, NOT A RIGHT!" – that's all good and fine. Having and voicing an opinion about privacy concerns, however, IS A RIGHT. If the people of this country are concerned about these new security measures, which clearly they are, they have the right to voice those concerns on this forum and to the proper officials to try to find a better solution. If it works, great. If it doesn't, they tried. The point of this country isn't just to sit back, take what they feed us and deal with it. The point of this country is to defend our beliefs and our freedoms. So, frankly, if you don't like that you can leave.

I'm not a bleeding heart liberal actually, I consider myself politically independent. I don't think that going over to the Middle East and embracing Obama bin Laden with a warm hug and chanting "all we are saying..." is logical AT ALL. I am all for baggage checks, profiling, TSA agents not being idiots, the CIA NOT DROPPING THE BALL, etc. I am NOT for getting a wand in my ass and being felt up by a complete stranger. Nor am I for scanners that aren't even proven to work because in all reality, they won't stop anyone.

I'm not going to complain when the next attack occurs that "the government didn't do enough to protect us," UNLESS it's because THEY MADE THE MISTAKE. I don't see how scanners would have worked for the Nigerian man anyway, seeing as how he boarded in an African airport which DOESN'T HAVE SCANNERS. If something occurs that could have been prevented with a scanner, then clearly, the scanners are a good thing. But none of these invasive measures at airport security checkpoints have once proven since 9/11 to be effective in thwarting terrorist attacks. The only thing I've heard of them doing is:
A) Shutting down an airport for honey
B) Taking a small boy's Play-Doh
C) Stealing my friend's camera out of her checked baggage

In 2006, I bought a bottle of hot sauce at an airport in Houston literally within 30 feet of the security checkpoint. Stupid me, I forgot to make sure it was 3 oz. So when I got to the security checkpoint, they confiscated it (because clearly, I could have created an explosive right there and then). I went through security – what was on the other side? ANOTHER GIFT SHOP WITH HOT SAUCE. I bought it, again, the same oversized bottle, and guess what? It came on the place with me, because I had already passed the security checkpoints. If they can't even trust the merchandise they're selling in their own airports, THEN MAYBE THEY SHOULDN'T SELL IT. That's just plain ridiculous.

I also think it's a stretch to say the images are "pornographic," yes they depict nude pictures, but not in the sleazy way actual pornography does. That still doesn't mean I don't find it a violation of my rights. I would be more for it if they could have female TSA agents looking at scans of females and males for males. Then at least it would show some sense of compromise.

lulz this is not a forum. But why not, Hunter true and funny but I might and David pretty much answered you. But I don't agree with his last sentence. Some of you see the solution and cause to why there is even a debate.

Some of us are comfortable to bare it all others are not. Maybe its a matter of fear of voyeurism or a question of mass insecurity. Maybe as a we society need to have some sort of forum on that. Personally I think its weird. I am also certain the company manufacturing this product could come up with a way to make it not such an uncomfortable process.

yes, and when this public nudity scanner fails to find a bomb: mandatory anal probes for each individual.

Last time I checked, flying was not a right, commercial air travel was not part of our constitutional rights, and if it means a little longer wait time, some more screenings, so be it. You dont want to go through that, then dont fly, Greyhound is still around!
If it means saving lives, protecting people, and catching terriost early, by all means do it!
I'll still fly, and I'll let them "x-ray through my clothing", thats the price you pay if you want to travel in todays world!

The author writes: "President Obama . . . should be challenging Americans to accept their responsibility in ensuring our collective safety."

QUESTION: By whose supreme law am I held responsible for this "collective safety"? (Is this a constitutional republic based on individual liberty, or a national-socialist democracy based on coercive collectivism?)

Let's apply the author's standard across the board, taking the tragically ignorant fallacy to a logical end: Roland S. Marin is responsible for the safety of the Ku Klux Klan, and President Obama should "challenge" him to thus follow through.

Not so neat after all, now is it. But it surely goes to show the level of seriousness and credibility in the state-connected editorial-narrative.

Some points:
1. A lot of security contractors (defense dept again) stand to make a lot of money implementing procedures and installing equipment that are readily defeated if there is the will. So, enhanced physical security in this case is a total waste of time/money and not worth the tradeoff of privacy and hassle.
2. It is a fiat maneuver designed to reward the defense industries with more money and the govt bureaucracy with more power, in effect building a security state that is a global embarrassment. The actual threats are not that drastic to warrant anything like this. Again, see #1.
3. For the truly threatened out there, if they want searches, then let them have the option. I would rather take the risk and enjoy the flight without the hassle. Driving in a car is more dangerous than a perceived threat of terrorism. The solution is to create a free airway system where people who aren't afraid of every gnat and bumblebee can opt out, while the terrified can receive the false sense of security rendered by these futile measures and feel good. I'd rather be on a plane with the unfrightened people anyway–because I would have a better chance of survival if something does happen.
4. And to emphasize Points 1, 2, and 3, if one needs a Nanny State to feel safe, he/she shouldn't drive, fly, or even walk, because these factors have higher probabilities of death/injury than terror incidents.
5. Roland, stay home, and don't go out anymore.

To all of those people who think the scanned images look like porn you must be looking at different porn than I am. It's difficult to make out much of anything but general shapes to me. What some people wear to the airport is far more revealing than those images are. From what I've read, the images are not saved, are performed by the same gender as the person being screened and the person looking at the image is in a different location so they can't associate the scanned image with the live person. No, there isn't any sure fire, absolute fail proof method of screening people. So, what do you suggest, no screening at all? No lock will keep out all burglars. Do you lock your front door? Any car can be stolen. Do you leave your keys in your car? You can make it more difficult but you can't make it foolproof. Does that mean we shouldn't make it difficult? BTW, I fly dozens of times a year and will continue to do so no matter what the security is.

I have a simple answer for everyone who likes to complain about being screened at airports and/or being seen by a body scanner, DON'T FLY. Flying is not a right it is a privilledge. Read all the small print when you purchase a ticket. You volunteer to be screened and to follow all rules put in place for air travel. YOU VOLUNTEERED to be screened by deciding to fly. So learn to love it or find other means to get to your destination.

Why would anyone with a sane mind look to fumbling bureaucrats for your safety? Whats next I wonder? Cavity searches? Maybe we can get these scanners in rail stations and subways. I'm sure we still won't be safe enough tho so maybe we should have them everywhere in public for your "safety". God in heaven somebody read a history book.

Roland, I completely agree with you. Being that we obviously have members of the flying public who would like to have everything reasonably possible done to prevent airplanes from crashing and killing all on-board, and others who don't place as much value on getting to their destination alive, it's a shame we can't come up with some way to have some flights deemed "safe," for those people who prefer to live and are therefore willing to go through a real security scan, and other flights identified as "hope you make it" for the people who prefer not to go through security.
It's just mind-boggling that anyone has a problem with the scanning/imaging equipment when it's clearly the best tool we have to keep weapons and explosives off airplanes. I'd just like to shake those people and ask them "what the heck is the matter with you?! Lunatics are trying to kill you! Are you out of your mind?!" Let the TSA scan away! It just makes no sense whatsoever that anyone would NOT want this done. And this bit about people being able to opt for a pat down instead is garbage! Go through the scanner or don't fly!

Wake up America. Have you forgotten what happened on 911. Or you don't care because it wasn't your son, daughter, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, niece, nephew or friend that was killed or was on the flight to Detroit. People never seem to care unless it happens to someone very close to them. I agree with Ryan flying on an airline is not a right and if you can't comply with the screening process then you need to find other alternatives to get you where you need to go. It's not about one person, it's about the safety of everyone that boards an aircraft. For all of you who don't see the need for full body scanners than you should have been on that flight to Detroit. I'm grateful there was no tragic ending but some of those people lives will be forever changed. I'm sure the majority did not go home and laugh about it, but maybe sitting in a psychiatrist office. I could only imagine how those people felt when the situation was unfolding. I wish President Obama would make it MANDATORY TO BE FULLY BODY SCANNED before boarding any aircraft and if you can't adhere to the rules then find another way of getting to your destination.

I hope that goverment will reconsider its decision and come up with solution that ensures safety and privacy of everyone.

Obama reconsider your decision "this is call of the Nation".

MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND GIVE
YOU ABILITY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM WITH SUCH A WAY THAT
IS PLEASING TO GOD.

No one gets this.
The christmas bomber came through Amsterdam, going through their security. They screened him. We only screwed up because we okayed their flight list without any red flags, I don't get how this relates to people getting on airplanes in the US. The people who didn't flag the list need extra security, not the general public. I travel a ton, and when i wait in an security line for 2 hours, theres a issue. If it was like this all the time, I'd have to stop flying as it would take up wayy to much time.

I think Roland needs to move to china! While he is at it he can take with him the military commission act and the patriot act both of which would be right at home there.

Roland wants child porn scanners taking pictures of your children. Roland is such a coward he would rather we take child porn pictures of every child in the country to keep him safe . Toaster ovens have killed more Americans than Terrorists yet roland wants naked pictures all of America's woman and children. Yes folks to defeat the terrorist we must submit our daughters and sons to state child porn scanners in airports. How much do you want to bet these naked pictures of your loved ones will be stolen by a hacker and put on the internet, For degenerates like Roland to have some naughty, alone time with.

The assertion that government has no place in protecting the lives of its citizens flies in the face of reason itself. The purpose of government can be none other than the protection of the natural rights of its citizens, principal among these being that of LIFE. Should the government prove incompetent, or incapacitated as some would have it, with respect to this basic goal, what reason then would exist for its legitimacy? Anyone who would argue that an innocent American traveling to see their family for a holiday views themselves a martyr for civil liberties is nothing short of delusional.

I could agree with the full body scan if it can gurantee that it would stop every one of those crazies who want to blow up themselves but is too scared to go out alone and hence want to take some companions along with him\her. Can somebody give me such a gurantee??? If not then why not look for alternative approaches that could be more effective but less invasive? How about behavior profiling? How about more bomb sniffing dogs in the airports? How about putting in place means to deal with explosives and other dangerous substances in a localized and controlled fashion? (Refer to the "bomb cubes" in Israeli airports). How about having more training to TSA to detect and isolate threats? And most important of all, how about stopping religious and ethinic profiling which can produce only one thing ? Waste of time !!! And more dangeriously, increases the chances of the real-guy slipping through.

It is high time that people start dealing with this stupid non-sense of religious profiling. Just to prove my point, just take the profile of all the bad guys that have been identified in the airline incidents and compare that with the profile that the TSA is using to do their profiling. Do you see any similarities? TSA typically pulls over people whose outlook quite clearly indicates and Islamic identity. Did any one of the 9/11 accused match that profile? Did the shoe bomber match that profile? Did the underwear-bomber match that profile? Answer is a solid NO. Then why is it that TSA is still following a clearly in-effective and useless method? Isn't that a waste of time? Wouldnt that take precious time and effort away which could otherwise have been better utilized to look for patterns that are clear indication of a threat?

So, lets have millimeter scans by all means. But before that tell me that it would stop every one of those bad guys. If not, lets look for better alternatives.

Does the fourth amendment come in to play here?

* Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
To the people that commented that we don't have a right to fly you are right. But being allowed on board a flight should not mean that we have to waiver the 4th amendment right.

I know have had the conversation many times with people opposing my opinion. But the people I know who don't care about the screening are not modest at all, indifferent about everything, or I fear, brainwashed. This is just my experience. But that is a good chunk of the people I know and I'm terrified that the rest of our population is like this. When I say brainwashed, no, not really–but they are the types that are still somewhat in that post 9/11 paranoia. I hated the period that followed that day. People who previously thought were suddenly sucked into this strange zombie "Let's get 'em no matter what!" a mindless rage, a mixture of patriotism, even religious zeal. Any measure could be taken to get those bad guys. I have not been on a plane since 2000. I am terrified, more of security than terrorists. I've been in airports a few times since to drop people off and I always feel like I need a drink afterward, it's so tense and the new rules seem so confusing. I know it has only happened, what, once? But I heard that story about a woman getting strip searched and then I heard about this technology. I am a person who doesn't often see a doctor because I'm timid, wears modest clothing in a pool. You can say I'm silly, but it's so hard to just "relax" and deal with it when you hold your modesty and privacy so sacred. It is not something I'm comfortable with changing suddenly. Not even another woman viewing me would help (I'm bisexual, too, so would another woman want me looking?). People say I can choose another method of transportation, but it doesn't seem very practical when the only places I've wanted to go to are far overseas. So I guess we need to take more of our rights away to stop others from doing harm? I will lose more faith in my country and my government if they take my right to keep my body to myself. That is what scares me most!! On top of this, I'm not convinced that people will find other ways to cause danger.

that's why we should try to throw all of the politicians out and inact a direct republic that would require %100 agreement for anything to pass barring. serials killers, murderers, rapists, pedos etc... so that they can't make their crime legal. We could institute this through computers and the internet for those that do not have the internet they could go to the library this would also take care of special interests should their would be no way they would be able to bribe everyone. of course if we were ever to be invaded you might think that this kind of system is bad and that it will prevent from defending ourselves but no one probably is going to care if you should take preventative action yourself anyway.

Remember Citizens, Dissent is Treason. We're doing this for your own good.

You know what I find disgusting? That there are people on here leaving comments that clearly state that to them, being inconvenienced is worse than losing a human life. Those of you who are saying "it'll happen regardless, we don't need these extra measures" are miserable people.

We should be doing everything we can to stop them from happening. If this screening even gives an additional 1% extra security, then we should take that! Why? Because that additional 1% could save someones life! It could stop a potential terrorist! Shame on you for thinking "it's inevitable, we shouldn't do anything else". How selfish can you get?

Furthermore, the images are not pornographic in nature. They were never intended to be such. They would be viewed by a TSA Agent, no one else. Stop this nonsense about "predators" and "molesters" getting access to these images. They are non-graphic images that could potentially stop, or at least severely hinder any further terrorist attacks in the United States.

Stop being narrow-minded and selfish. Realize a human life is worth doing whatever we can to save, no matter how inconvenienced you might be.

People complain that the government is not doing enough for airport security yet they don't want the scanners in place because of civil liberties? GIVE ME A BREAK! If you don't want the scanners then don't complain that the government isn't doing enough when something like the attempted bombing happens again. We are suppose to be a free society but if you expect the government to "protect us" from terrorist then get use to it. Use of body scanners are not intrusive; and even with the use of the scanners someone will find a way to get through.

I go about my daily activities clothed and maintaining my privacy. Why on earth would I give that up so some third rate TSA employee could scan and see a naked image of my body, which by the way, some nimwhit TSA employee could snap a cell picture or something of and distribute on the internet. No way, no how. I value my privacy and if it means never flying on a plane again if they implement these scanners, then so be it.

I agree. I'd rather someone looked at me through an x-ray machine at any airport to assure flying safely point A to point B, than have them look at my dead body as the result of a terrorist attack.

This article is unbelieveable! Americans give up your rights! We hear this over and over...all about security but yet I see no security!!! People wake up...funny how the full body scanners were ready to ship out before OBAMA gave the OK!!! HELLO!!! It is shameful what has become of our country! What about all the men who died for OUR FREEDOM....How many times will we give up freedoms til there is none? Will our children remember what freedom was like?

Yet another opportunity to bash Bush. What a useless article. The Dems have been in power for a year now. Find a new mantra, for Pete's sake.

Yes, let us all stop whining about the ever increasing reduction in our liberties as a free people. The good Gruppenführers have only our best interests at heart as they grope at our persons, steal our property and treat a once free people as chattel.

You Roland Martin are little better than a blathering chowderhead too much in love with the illusion of safety and not enough with the Gods gifted freedoms that are your birthright. Sell cheap your rights if you want, but stay away from those of me and my fellows.

"Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Security is one thing. Invasion of privacy another. And where oh where are the Republicans, who are supposed to stand UP for personal freedoms and privacy? Oh, too busy blasting Obama for a situation that he came into, did not create.
Security must be smart, not invasive. Mind-reading scans is next, just look at the headlines...The F word is becoming more and more of a reality.

I suspect it would be better to be inconvenienced than memoralized, better safe than sorry or better late than never. I agree it is an inconvenience having to spend the extra time waiting to be sure but while my time on this earth is limited, I'm not interested in rushing our of here.

Americans want freedom but are not willing to insure it by being careful. They want the convenience but raise hell when it is disturbed by a loss such as plane being blown out of the sky. They complain then that enough security was not provided. Well you want to have your cake and eat it too and it just doesn't work that way. If you fly El Al you will be subjected to their flight rules and even then you have a choice. They allow you to follow their rules or they allow you to find another means of transportation. "Safety First" is a rule for a reason.

If you do not want to experience the comfort of flying safely to your destination there are other modes of transportation. Take one of them. You have that right and option but whatever you decide to do, you should not force others to indanger their lives simply because you choose to indanger yours.

This has needed to be said for a long time. I too travel for work and am in airports all the time. The only thing that gets me is that in the international scene, all the security measures are different. There is no shoe screening, or removal of laptops in some. I am not sure how this affects the integrity of the screen processes but it does show that many of the problems will exists.

Also, I have a major problem with NOT doing something because of racial profiling. Have you seen a nordic type shoebomber yet? The FACTs are that these terrorist are from specific racial groups. Not completely but this means that certain people NEED to be screened. Once again, sorry if this offends you, but LOOK AT THE FACTS. Look at the terroist...what do the look like?

We in the US are going to have to give up some of our liberties in order to keep the rest of our freedoms that we cherish. Wake up America. Its time to put up or get out....

What good are these scanners and any other "enhanced security measures going to do, if future terrorists are able to get on planes *without* going through full security checks and *without* a passport, as was the case with the Nigerian man? It's funny how quickly that vital piece of information has been forgotten or in many cases (looks in CNN's direction) not reported at all.

These scanners are an added expense, and make America look like a nation of fools. They should be banned, and the money saved, should go to advertising American tourist destinations, to lure foreigners to bring back to balance the federal trade imbalance. america needs to wake up.

And what about radiation? Medical professionals agree that everyone should limit their exposure to harmful radiation. That is why they will only give you an x-ray if you really need it or demand to have it. Not to mention that after your radiation blast of freshness you jump on a plane to fly high in the sky and get another blast of radiation freshness. Is this really going to help? Really? Like a virus as soon as we think we have it figured out, they mutate and change strategies. Don't the terrorists get CNN on their new iPhone?

I'm so glad you talked about this. I totally agree with you! People these days are so ANNOYING and act like big babies, seriously. When people are going through those body scanners I mean not everyone in the airport can see them, it's only the workers who are conducting the scans, correct? If that's the case I don't see the big deal but I'd still say that it's better to be safe then sorry. If another 9/11 happened I think a lot of people would be horrified and most would never want to fly again but everyone needs to realise that the body scanners are one of the best things for us right now. I agree with what Chris K said, flying is a privilege not a right and if people don't like the way the airports do their job then they can take their lazy spoiled butt's somewhere else. And although there are people who hate the idea of doing these body scans because it seems as if we are bowing down to the government, it's not really that big of a deal because it's not like theyre MAKING us fly ya know.

Take care Roland!

Wow, I can't believe some of the comments on here. I completely agree with this column. American's are so prone to forget the dramatically disasterous things that got us here in the first place. Had Abdulmutallab actually detonated his bomb, most people would be singing a different tune right now.

I agree that our security systems at airports aren't perfect, but it is one of the last lines of defense to terrorism on American soil and in American airspace. Those who think that all of the terrorism problems can be solved by better international relations, etc. need to be reminded that 9/11 happened during a time of peace and at a time when most Americans frankly didn't care what was happening in the middle-east, but everyone there hated us anyway. There are people outside of the US that are always going to hate Americans simply because we're American.

Improvement should be made across the board. We should try to improve our image without compromising our values. The mammoth task of allowing the CIA, FBI, NSA, etc., to communicate with each other and connect the dots should be developed more. And yes, security at airports should be tightened, and people should be grateful for the efforts made in that area which keep terrorists away and set up roadblocks to keep us safe.

Hey – STEVE from V-Beach

You're an idiot. 9/11 happened on whose watch? Bush's. Duh! Put that in your right-sided-pipe and smoke it. What a loser. Making it Obama's fault. Wanna blame anyone? Blame BUSH! It happened 9/11 on BUSH's watch. Not Clinton's. Not Bush Senior. Not Regan's. GWB – that's the guy that watched and read "my pet goat" as the Twin Towers were crashed into. Idiot.

Inept? Bush was inept. Ugh!

We should be PROFILING: Muslims, Men 22-38 yrs old, Middle Eastern countries – Security is about WHO IS DOING IT – Let me tell you – Christians aren't blowing up planes – Hindu? Nope! Buddists? Nope. Muslims. Middle aged, middle-eastern men should be 9th degreed. All their stuff should be searched, they should be questioned, re-questioned, scanned, re-scanned – - so that the rest of us can fly without fear.

Great editorial, but forgive me if I do whine!!!! After being told leaving a Puerto Rican airport, "your not flying if you are wearing a bra today" by a TSA agent, I know how this really works. These agents are on some kind of power trip. They do get paid to do a job, and obviously don't do it THAT good!

Forget the terrorist plots and the "invasion of privacy." The real problem is that both sides of the issue are arguing about it by spouting clichés and quotes that they probably do not understand.
I'm willing to bet that the people claiming this to be an invasion of privacy and civil liberties would have welcomed it with open arms under the last administration, and the people for body scanning would be the ones complaining.

Stop being a prude, so what if they see you "NUDE"? It won't ruin your day I promise...I want to LIVE! and I say let them do the extra screening. That is my opionion, however have it unable to save. I say this to protect everyone from getting the shiveres that a NUDE picture will be out there somewhere of what the computer shows they look like under cloths. The key word here is LIVE!

If a person was to try and sneak an explosive on a plane and the explosives were hidden in his Ass would people be that willing to give up their rights and freedoms to undergo an internal examination every time you get on a flight. I THINK NOT !!! and for you ladies out there would you be so willing to go through a double internal by some person you never seen before so you could feel safe on your flight. Because this is what will probably happen next . You should also remember that they WILL NOT be deleting your nude Xray because it will have to be saved in case it has to be used as evidence if needed or used on the internet by some fool as a joke.

I for one have never flown.

At this rate I choose not to be herded like sheep into a scanner that god only knows what it will do to you in the long run.

Get the gov out of ALL of our lives and you'll see a decrease in attempts.

Unless one flies for a living, all airline passengers are chumps.

And what is going to happen when one of these “strip search” scanners fails to find a weapon or a bomb? I’m sure that the government will want all of us parading in the nude at the airports and, no doubt, Martin will be telling us to shut up and take off our skivvies.
Typical CNN shill.

Typical statist response in the hopes of drawing even further credibility to security measures being implemented correctly as they were not. Anybody who has to take Rolands advice as factual is sorely missed the opportunity for individual thought and decision.

"Reason obeys itself; Ignorance submits to what is dictated to it." Thomas Paine

Those of you who would give up privacy for security, even if such a measure pales in comparison to the threat, deserve neither security nor privacy.

Roland, you make the mistake of lumping the people shrieking for more protection together with the people griping about their privacy as the same people. In many cases they are not.

Those people most strident in their opposition to security measures such as full body scanning are usually fully cognizant of the marginal increase in risk involved, and choose their rights and privacy over the illusion of safety. Illusion is the word, because any terrorist worth his salt will simply invest the few hours of thought necessary to figure out a way to circumvent the absolutely predictable "security" measures. Those measures would include profiling, perhaps the easiest one to cicumvent.

I'm among those who prefer rights to the charade of security. But, having seen the writing on the wall, I'll probably just find some other method of travel rather than play the silly poke-and-peek game at the airport.

Americans are so "prudish" that we are willing to die rather than someone see our naked bodies. How dumb can you be and still breathe. The fact is body scanners are not the end all to security. But what right or freedom are you giving up to be scanned. Oh my God, someone might see my nude body!!!! Then you get to your destination and walk out on the beach with almost nothing on. If you get blown up in mid air, if there is anything left of your body, funeral preperations require you to be nude. I am not ready to die just so that no one can see my big fat body. The whole comment about the people watching the scanners being "perverts" is a stupid insult. Based on that criteria, everyone in the medical profession would be considered perverts. With porn and general nudity on the internet, don't think that your body on a scanner is that special. Besides, the scanners don't have airbrush ability to make you look good. Get over yourselves and be scanned. I would much rather a scan than the government really invading my privacy by doing a background and personal information search everytime I buy a ticket.

I guess the other thought is go back to pre 1980's where we just walk on the plane. No security, no government intervention. Terrorists would kill a few thousand people a year. It would help with population control.

Do whatever is necessary to keep the bad guys off of flights. But do not make stupid rules like not being able to go to the bathroom for one hr. . These kinds of rules undermine the creditbility of our government decision makers.

I'm with a lot of the other people here it seems. Security is just for show. There will always be a way to get around it.

Think of it this way, in order to board a plane with these full body scanners in place you effectively have to be strip searched. Then after they see you naked if they spot anything suspicious then they'll still pat you down and look through all your belongings. When the terrorists do find their way around it they'll blow up a plane killing a couple of hundred people.

Or you can go to a sporting event, where there is tens of thousands of potential victims. If there is an actual guard at the gate they may check to see if you are sneaking in beer. An enterprising terrorist cell could kill far more people with less planning then blowing up a plane.

We're just going to force the terrorists to go elsewhere, and there are too many targets to protect. I, for one, would be more intimidated by them regularly blowing up neighborhood Mcdonalds and grocery stores then them blowing up every million or so flights.

In our democracy personal liberty and personal responsibility must always take precedence over security. Planes are safer after 9/11, but not because of the screening. A 9/11-like hijacking will never happen again, because the passengers will not be complacent sheep this time. Our current screening procedures do a good job of keeping the really dangerous weapons off of planes (in fact, the pre-9/11 procedures did this as well), and any attempted hijacking will be met with overwhelming force from the other passengers. The answer isn't in government nannying, it is in the public taking personal responsibility for their own safety.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"
Benjamin Franklin

'Nuff said -

Ditto That, I have the right too be free from search, I do not have any right or request any protection by my Government.

I would rather fly at my own risk, than be subjected to violations of my Constitution. It is Easy too give in but very HONARABLE to respect your belief's

this machine is jus a very expensive pat-down. this machine will not improve our safety more than what is already in place. the makers of this machine is the real winner. very expensive lobby by the makers of this machine to the politicians is the real reason why the government is putting this in place.

This bafoon promotes scare-tactics to remind law-abiding citizens why they must succumb to complete humiliation "for their own protection." But does this same moron favor profiling and plain clothed, armed air marshals? Thought not. He's not interested in security. He's a statist only interested in more power being ceded to the government.

I would also like to add that after we give up our rights not to submit to an X-ray or an internal exam the next step our governments will take is to ORDER us to have a criminal background check done before you get on a flight even if it is only to go and visit your mom in the next state. In order to do this though you will have to go to your local police station to get the check done and it will allow you up to 30 days of travel. So big brother will know who you are and where you are at ALL TIMES in the name of national security. Doesn’t this sound like a blast from the past by another government in another country?
Now the up side to all of this is when you go and get your criminal background check done you will have to pay a small fee which in turn will allow the government to hire doctors and nurses to do the pre boarding internals which in turn will cut down on your new health care cost by being able to check at least half of the population every year for colon cancer and any other ailments. Just think of the billions that will save on heath care costs every year.
To think all this was obtained by our governments just by the actions of 1 man who they knew ALL about before he ever got on that plane. So the next time you go to fly and your asked to bend over just do what William Wallis did and scream the words “ FREEDOM “ and that might catch someone’s attention out there.

After reading this article and so many comments I understand more why our once great nation is eroding. Its eroding from within by such ignorant people who are so willing to give up their Constitutional rights to a bloated and corrupted government. Congress has been growing and feeding on such ignorance and fear...and we are to blame for it. Sad!

So how many more of your God given,Constitutionally protected rights are you willing to surrender? Just asking because the government wants to know,they too feel they haven't taken away enough of your rights,tyranny never knows when to stop. Further,if they allowed this young man onto the plane without a passport what makes you think a body scan is going to work? All it will take is some well dressed man having a talk with the officials at the airport and your terrorist can get on board without being scanned while the rest of you line up like cattle to be humiliated and have your rights violated.

Please note that TSA stands for transportation security administration, not Airline security administration. This is so that this organisation can easily be made larger as time goes on. If you continuly allow your civil liberties to be chipped away for the falsehood of increased safety, it wont be long before you will have to be screened prior to any form of transportation

Dang, I wish everyone would stop griping about everything!!!!!! Seems as though people could spend quality time doing something more constructive! How about doin' search "US MilitaryTribute-Far Away by Nickelback. My son is one of thousands serving in Afghanitstan to allow you to even be able to do what you do. Watch the video, then complain.......if you must!

Really? Full body image scanners make us NO SAFER? I'd be willing to bet you $10 that they can provide a picture of explosives strapped to a chest...

We have metal detectors that take care of knives & guns. BUT, what about the plastics & liquids? Should we forget they exist & hope they're not used? To heck with that!

I say bring on the scanners and whatever other gadgets our great minds can create. I want the murderers to LOSE and I want to WIN!

BTW – I'd also be willing to bet that if you make the TSA a private company (or hire some other private firm), we'd all be complaining a LOT MORE about the steps they'd take. I'll bet they'd say something like "Thank God the government is not gonna stop us. Hey Jim – bring out those state-of-the-art toys from storage we invented a year ago. Time for some REAL security."

please everybody quit complaining and get a life.

Surley this guy had a US Visa number and a Passport number.
Why could the CIA in Nigeria not automatically put a suspects name onto the No Fly List and then leave it up to the indvidual to apply to get his name and Visa number off the No Fly List
Simple
Mike Hyde

Sent from Mike's iPhone 3G S

camble, these peaple claim that they are muslim trust me they are not, there no part in the quran accept killing one an other ,please asked to give the defination of islam , and explain the defination the cant, i dont know they idea from i wish those who have more knowledge about islam will come out and speak out , i like ur programm thanks

where were cnn abc foxs news at when bush was in control

************ Important info ********** Sir or mam would u please get the word out about seriouse " SERCURITY BREECH" at Delta Airlines JFK Terminal wich was coverd up in the last couple of days by CEO Richards............."Please go to Black Star.com.......wich is a well known up to the minute news source for the NY. area on line.........There was a terrible cover up involving an Delta employee that blew the whistle on a possible dessaster in the air at JFK....this employee was fired as a result of going to the CEO of Delta and later telling the "Black Star News.......There is an big cover up at Delta Airlines..............

Some people are making the argument that airlines are private companies and seem to be making the mistake of assuming these "security measures" are their idea. The government has FORCED this on airlines. The government has no reason to "get it right" with their actions. If a plane blows up with hundreds of people on it, does the government lose out at all? No. When a government agency fails to do their job, they get rewarded with bigger budgets and more power and authority. The government can't, and doesn't, protect us. They simply react, irrationally, to any crisis situation. If those that owned the airport (not the government) made the decision to use full body scanners or whatever to increase their security, that's fine. It's fine because if they lose money because less people use them, then they'll figure out a better way to ensure security. After all, these private owners are the ones who have a huge incentive to ensure the safety and reliability of their business, not the government.

To all those that support "whatever it takes" in the name of security, to what end are you willing to submit to that? 20 years ago, the idea of the government forcing air travelers to submit to an extremely revealing full body scan would have sounded like crack pot conspiracy. It's become a reality today. When we have another "systemic failure" what new measures will you support?

Lastly, tax payer money is being used to fund this. A lot of people don't support these measures, but they're forced to pay for them anyway, regardless of if they will ever use them or if these measures actually work. To those people that say "don't fly and you don't have to worry about it" that doesn't really work, now does it? I have to pay for something I don't want, that I may never use. Voting with my dollar by not flying doesn't fix the situation, now does it?

Last I checked, these security measures were not being invoked by the airlines. Nor would these types of intrusions hold up with private businesses...imagine being scanned for illegal food when you go to the movie theater? Please.

When the government is enforcing and mandating the security, the argument of "private" airplanes and my liberty being irrelevant is negated. The government is involved, government employees, government rules, etc....this makes my rights supremely valid.

So, telling me to find another mode of transportation is wrong.

I believe that we should do whatever it takes to make flying safe, including full body scans/patdowns/profiling etc. If you can't handle the additional security then don't fly. Unfortunately we are reactive instead of proactive. Anyone on a terror watchlist should automatically be on a no-fly list.

Security doesn't work – it tells the public, at enormous expense, that the government is here to help us, but it doesn't work. There are so many back door methods to get onto an aircraft that it shows that this so-called security is for show. Don't preach to your public that we're whining – that is inappriate. The airport security programs are relatively ineffective.
With the underwear bomber – why hasn't anyone queried why this man waited until in descent to try to explode the device that he'd been trained to detonate? There's something wrong there anyway. If he really wanted to explode a plane, why not over the departure city when the plane is loaded with fuel? And why wait until descent? I think there is more to this that we're not being told. How about CNN ask harder questions?

I am appalled by the time we are spending taking down a guy that 12 years ago used steroids to dupe the public. Let's go back right now to the Banks that duping the public out of millions of dollars and giving their executive huge bonuses. This is the injection of steroids into the people that put this economy in the tank.
What we need to do is focus on the important things right now. We are getting taken by the banks, we are getting taken by inferior products coming into this country, we are getting taken by the senate and house that just gave themselves raises while their states are suffering in economic turmoil. We are at war with Terrorists and the rest of the world wants to eat us alive.
People it's time to focus. Some baseball guy gets 20 minutes for crying on TV, man, I'm crying every minute on what's going on.

On a recent flight to Maui from Oakland Ca we were carrying syringes for MS treatment in our carry on. The bags were scanned but not once were we, even on the return flight asked to produce documentation that we had a prescription. Talk about lack of security. These are needle with what could be anything inside the vials.