What Naked Body Scanners Cannot See

A couple of weeks ago, while trying to understand why body scanners are ineffectual, I found this great clip. Trouble is, it’s in German. Now, I could fix this, because I’ve done a fair amount of professional translating, German to English. But more trouble ahead: We were heading into final exams, and I know how [...]

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PB&J Caturday

This has got to be my stupidest Caturday entry in a long time – probably ever. I thought this clip might be dredging the deepest, dumbest depths of YouTube, but then I saw the video of the same kitteh dancing to Britney Spears. It gets even worse, folks. YouTube also offers kittehs singing that old [...]

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Sittin’ Here on the Group W Bench

Best Thanksgiving song ever? “Alice’s Restaurant.” Hands down. (Then again, I can’t think of another T-day song except for “Over the River and through the Woods,” which was written by another kick-ass American dissident, Lydia Maria Child, who fought for the rights of slaves, Indians, and women. Her song wasn’t political – unless I’m missing [...]

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A Figleaf Solution for Body Scanners

Just in time for the holiday season, American capitalist ingenuity offers a stylish solution for the traveler who values privacy and/or modesty. Behold: Jeff Buske of Rocky Flats Gear is selling protective undies. (Via the New York Daily News.) This is the cute low-rise model, shown in always-fashionable Threat Level Orange. The figleaves are made of [...]

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The Bush Fetus Anecdote: Even More Jarring Than Before!

You probably caught the story a couple of weeks ago about Dubya seeing the remains of his mothers’ miscarriage in a jar. As New York Magazine reported: After Barbara Bush suffered a devastating miscarriage, “she said to her teenage kid, ‘Here’s the fetus,’” [George W.] Bush told [interviewer Matt] Lauer, “gesturing as if he were holding [...]

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Smug Kitteh Sez: Take That, Faux News!

I’ve been so serious these past two weeks, it’s time to take a brief break to gloat. As my long-time readers know, neither of those modes is my usual. I’m not typically a single-minded terrier, and I try not to be too smug. But sometimes The Kitty just has to pounce on an injustice when [...]

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TSA Sexual Abuses and the Long Shadow of Abu Ghraib

Am I the only person struck by the Orwellian weirdness of calling a grope-down an “enhanced” pat-down? The term seems to originate with the TSA. Their pusillanimous shill, “Blogger Bob” at the official TSA blog, ran a post titled “Enhanced Pat-downs” back on August 27. The language is theirs. (Weirdly but typically, in that post [...]

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TSA = Testy Sheep-like Ableism?

It’s become a cottage industry, this business of coming up with new phrases to fit the acronym TSA. Read the two following stories and see if you can come up with a better title. Story 1: Multiple breast cancer survivors have reported TSA harassment due to wearing a breast prosthesis. A Charlotte-based flight attendant, Cathy [...]

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The TSA Sunday (Not-So-)Funnies

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe during this explanation of the new TSA policies: (Go here if you can’t see the clip.) It perfectly sums up the Homeland Security response: Q: So why do I have to go through all of this? A: 9/11. Wash, rinse, repeat. (But hey, what’s with all the [...]

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Privacy Is Not a Partisan Issue

Who owns liberty? Republicans or Democrats? Tea Partiers or the ACLU? Legislators in New Jersey this week came up with a novel response: All of the above. This video makes me want to stand up and cheer. Republicans and Democrats – and even an ACLU rep – all came together in opposing TSA abuses. (Click [...]

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Not Exempt: The True Impact of TSA Intrusions on Muslim Women

I’m deeply troubled by some of the memes surfacing in the right-wing discussion of the TSA invasion of privacy. The worst is the claim that Muslim women are exempt. That simply is not true. What is the truth? Well, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has issued some recommendations for Muslim women: If you are selected [...]

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In Airport Security, “the Same” Is Not “Equal”

When the TSA is questioned on its procedures, its first go-to excuse is that they’re keeping us safe. If you press harder, a favorite second-line rationale is that they need to treat everyone the same – even toddlers and the elderly – because the alternative would be “racial profiling.” Sure, the TSA may be treating [...]

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Action You Can Take against the TSA’s Sexual Abuses

I’ve been posting up a storm about why the new TSA body scanners are unethical and arguably illegal (and I’m not done yet). If you agree that the TSA has violated a line that should not be crossed in a democratic country that ostensibly values human rights, here are a few things you can do. [...]

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Still Alive on November 15

after multiple nights of sub-freezing temperatures one rose   two Silver Tidal Wave petunias three yellow nasturtiums and a single orange nasturtium.

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A Healthy Dose of Skepticism: Are TSA Strip-Search Scans Safe?

When the TSA first announced its rollout of body-scanners, my first thought was: What about privacy? My second: Are they safe? While privacy is obviously and inarguably a massive issue, the facts aren’t quite as evident on the question of safety. Back in January, Lindsay Beyerstein made the point that one of the two types [...]

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Are the TSA Body Scanners Creating Child Porn?

From where I live, it sure looks as though the body scanners – better termed “strip-search machines” – are in fact violating laws against child pornography. Ohio Revised Code section 2907.323 states: (A) No person shall do any of the following: (1) Photograph any minor who is not the person’s child or ward in a state [...]

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How “Enhanced Patdowns” Feel: Hearing Victims’ Voices

(Trigger warning for descriptions of sexual violence and violations of bodily autonomy.) In the face of TSA claims that the new “enhanced patdowns” don’t constitute groping, what do actual passengers have to say? Predictably, most people are sheeple, and many apparently are willing to believe that losing our civil liberties are the price we have [...]

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TSA “Enhanced Patdown” – a Form of Sexual Assault?

On the surface, government-authorized TSA groping seems like it falls on the spectrum of sexual assault. Ethically, it definitely violates consent. Legally, the situation is murkier. In my jurisdiction (Ohio), “sexual imposition” (Ohio Revised Code 2907.06) seems applicable, if you read it in isolation from the rest of the code. Its definition begins: (A) No [...]

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More Reason to Be Crotch-ety about the TSA

When I flew out of Columbus a few weeks ago, I was stunned to see the new machines arrayed at the checkpoint. Ours is a relatively podunk airport, and I’d hoped the body scanners would come either late or never. I eyed the machines queasily, calculated how much time I had to squander on security, [...]

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Mirror, Mirror … in the Doctor’s Office

So let’s say you’re seeing your doctor, whether for a checkup or an acute problem. She looks you over carefully. Just on the basis of your appearance, she decides you’re at risk for significant health problems. Sure, most readers of this blog are aware that appearance counts for a lot (too much!) when it comes [...]

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