TSA Confiscates Congressman's (Tim Ryan, D-OH) Peanut Butter And Jelly

[babylonsister]

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/may/21/happy_hour_roundup

TSA Confiscates Congressman's Peanut Butter And Jelly
Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) blogs about a recent run-in with the Transportation Security Administration at the airport in Manchester, New Hampshire. Ryan, who is living on the monetary equivalent of food stamps in order to better understand the plight of the nation's poor, had carefully rationed a supply of peanut butter and jelly to last him through his travels, only to have the security gates take it away under the onerous no-liquids rule.

"I took my bag and walked towards the gate thinking about the 4 or maybe 5 meals that she had taken from me. What am I going to do now? It’s not like I can just go to Safeway and grab another jar. I have .33 cents (sic) and a bag of cornmeal to last today and tomorrow," Ryan writes. He finished sarcastically, "I’d like to thank the TSA for doing an exceptional job protecting our nation’s airports and allowing me to illustrate that not even Congressmen get any special treatment at the airport."

Ryan's blogging on this incident here:
http://www.house.gov/htbin/blog_inc?BLOG,oh17_ryan,blog,999,All,Item%20not%20found,ID=070520_0614,TEMPLATE=postingdetail.shtml

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Wow, how many bombs do you think you can make out of 1/2 a jar of peanut butter?

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. It depends on the brand

If you read the ingredient labels, you will see that some brands have more chemicals than fertilizer.

[Tesha]

13. Depends how much liquid oxygen you have. (NT)

[Javaman]

3. Wow, I got peanut butter in my dynamite!

Wow, you got dynamite in my peanut butter!

Finally two great tastes that taste good together!

Explo-nut butter cups!

[LostinVA]

16. hahahahhaha

[AspenRose]

20. ROFL

:rofl: :spray:


Note to self: Do not take peanut butter through Manchester Airport....

[tanyev]

4. Fortunately, most people living on food stamps can't afford to fly.

:sarcasm:

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I know it was sarcasm, but,

I chuckled anyway. Alright, I laughed.

[Perky]

5. I actualy applaud the TSA and the Congressman

First Congressman should not get special treatment.
Secondly, whether the rule on no liquids is right or wrong, mthe TSA agenbt was enforcing the rule.

Even if it was not a congressman involved, I think the rule has to be followed. the reason is simple enough....buried in that peanut butter could be any number of things that could bring down the plane.

If we let peanut butter through then we have to allow Corn Nyrup. next thing you know we have corn syrup laced with anthrax or candle wax that could be ignited with nothing more than one of those itsby bitsy teeny-weeny bottles of alchohol. Peanut butter is a pandora's box that if opened will open a new front on the war on terror and rob us of our precious bodily fluids.


THIS must be stopped at all cost.

[Zodiak]

7. They are STILL confiscating liquids?

even though the "plot" to blow up the planes has already been debunked as impossible?


It's all about control, isn't it? All about compliance and conformity.

I hate what we have become......a surveillance society jumping at shadows, dehumanizing everything we come into contact with.

[mopinko]

8. took my bottle of water the other day.

sheep, it is about making us sheep. yeah, i can't believe it. i was whining pretty loudly about the whole thing being a hoax.

[Zodiak]

9. Anger is the only solution

pure unadulterated white-hot rage. Torches, pitchforks...telling the boss "fuck you, I am not travelling by plane any more". We offer absolutely no resistance, so they take it a little further.

It is the only defense against naked attempts to control. I still do not see why Americans are so easily frightened into docility.

I have a rule at work....no asking me to fly. They honor it....only because I put my foot down and told them exactly why. I would imagine that a "new attitude" by the rest of us would garner similar results.

And if that means that commerce is slowed and the sacred cow called "economic activity" takes a hit, then so be it. I do not worship at the altar of Mammon and care not one whit what people would do to me for refusing to comply. The complaince damages our society much more than the bitching.

[mopinko]

21. i also threatened to fly naked next time.

my hubby thinks i'm sexy, but i doubt your average tsa employee would fell the same. they probably get that joke a lot.

[DBoon]

11. stop whining

sheep bleat. they don't whine

[mainegreen]

10. Are peanut butter or jelly liquids?

????

[jasmeel]

12. These bastards took my lip gloss because it wasn't in a ziploc

bag. Does that make any fucking sense to anyone? If I had a ziploc bag I could take my lip gloss??? How does a plastic bag prevent a bomb? The agent who took it knew it was fuckin' ridiculous and blamed Bush saying something like "thank George Bush" or something similar. At least she made me feel a little better with that jab at *. I'm still pissed!

[Orangepeel]

14. they took my jell-o

but at least I had more than 33 cents to buy a real lunch.

This story does illustrate how precarious it can be to depend on food stamps. Although not many people are going to have their last peanut butter and jelly sandwich taken away by airport security, there are a whole lot of other things that can go wrong.

[LostinVA]

17. Excellent point

[Parche]

15. 30 Something Working Group

They rock!!!!! :bounce:

[Coyote_Bandit]

18. This rule

is not being enforced the same at all airports. Earlier this year I flew with several other folks. I know of at least one airport where the TSA did not ask about liquids and where folks left them in their carry on luggage while it was scanned. The liquids were not inspected. Same was true of some food items. These same carry on bags triggered alarms at the time and received additional scrutiny because the folks had packed some rechargeable AA batteries. Still there was no inquiry and the liquids and foods items were not removed for inspection/confiscation.

At another airport the same folks carrying the same bags were asked and did remove their bagged liquids for inspection. The food items had been consumed by that point. The same batteries - all bundled together - were not an issue and did not trigger the alarm for additional scrutiny in this airport.

I also noticed that older travelers were treated differently than younger travelers. There were far less inquiries made to the senior citizens - who were less compliant and generally less prepared - some were slow, some did not know the rules, and some simply forgot to remove their bagged toiletries. Younger travelers were not given the same benefit.

Should also mention that this inconsistency was not the result of heavy passenger traffic at the time as the airports were not busy when we checked in to board.

We eventually got stuck in O"Hare for an extended period. There was a TSA guy who searched the gates at least once every half hour for unattended luggage. Of course, after a few hours everybody was vouching for the unattended luggage left by other travelers who went to relieve themselves and find food and refreshments. I'd say that effort was pretty much useless.

[yellowcanine]

19. Good. Never know what havoc a terra-ist might wreak with peanut butter.

He could spread it in the aisle and cause the serving cart to careen out of control, smashing through the fuselage and causing the plane to crash into a large building.

He could use the full jar of peanut butter as a weapon to hijack the plane.

He could eat the peanut butter and wash it down with diet coke, creating an explosive reaction and releasing a giant fart which he then ignites and brings down the plane with the resulting explosion.


I am sure there are many more evil things which could be done with a jar of peanut butter. When will the madness end?