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X-Ray Nation | TSA Glass Box Mother Over Stored Breast Milk
– November 25, 2010Posted in: US News
I don’t understand why you didn’t let them x-ray the milk. If you thought that it was a risk to have the milk x-rayed it seems odd that you are willing to feed it to your baby after it has been warm for so long during your trip. All in all it seems you are more interested in making a scene than in doing what is best for your child.
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This is Obama’s America. We clearly lack a leader. This would have never happened on any other President’s watch. But then, other presidents were not striving to destroy America. Shit rolls down hill and Obama is full of it.
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Anonymous Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
That’s complete crap. These security measures were set into place during the previous administration, as well as the authority given to the TSA to apparently make up the rules as they go along.
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Anonymous Reply:
December 1st, 2010 at 3:09 pm
AGREED! Obama is not the one who came up with the Patriot Act. And this doesn’t have anything to do with “national security” anyway – it’s just a power struggle between a bunch of uneducated a-holes with no real power trying to seem important. I’ve had the same problem with TSA and breastmilk, though not to the point of being glass boxed, but I didn’t refuse to have it xrayed, either. (PS – to those who say “why store the milk?” Your baby still needs to eat while you’re away so you need to replenish the milk they drank while you were gone. Duh.)
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im a little confused…
she was crying…
because someone wanted to look at her milk?
that doesnt seem like a big deal to me. at all.
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AnnaLena Reply:
December 1st, 2010 at 2:15 am
She was crying because they wouldn’t look at her milk, instead insisted on X-raying it, and when she asked them no to (which is allowed under TSA rules), and had went to show them their own rules she had printed out, as advised by the TSA boss she spoke to the previous week, they refused to let her handle her own belongings, and stuck her in a fishbowl for 30++ minutes, making her miss her flight that would take her and the milk home to the baby waiting for his dinner feeding.
Is it clearer now?
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I read your story with tears in my eyes thinking of how upset I would be. Yes, mother’s get very protective of their breast milk and for good reason. I think the majority of the comments are supportive. Please don’t let the ignorant ones get to you. Your story needs to be heard!
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Look up Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, Federal Civil Rights Statutes, Title 18, U.S.C. Section 242. Clearly these people deprived Ms. Armato of her civil rights by illegally detaining her under color of law. There was no reason for her to have to stand in the fishbowl for that length of time. Notice the one TSA employee standing for virtually the whole time holding her belongings. Why did they make her wait other than to punish her? It is not in the charter of the TSA to punish people on an ad hoc basis. She can’t leave because that would subject here to a $10,000 fine (see Don’t Touch My Junk stories).
She was within her rights to insist the milk not be X-Rayed. It is immaterial and not on point that she brought the milk. It was within the scope of the TSA rules.
The job of the TSA is security. Is a terrorist going to bring this amount of attention to themselves? Is it not clear that Ms. Armato is not a security risk. She is insisting they test her milk. Would a terrorist insist they test her explosives?
The manager(s) and all the employees involved should be immediately dismissed, brought up on Federal civil rights violations charges, and put on the Do Not Fly list.
Set up a PayPal fund to pay for the lawsuit and I’d be happy to contribute.
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The whole system is an ILLUSION of Security. You can’t take the “McDonalds” Buisness Model and apply it to Airport Security. Take Isreal’s Security Model. They hire Highly Intelligent well trained agents. Isreal does not put PROFIT IN FRONT OF SAFETY! NOTHING in this country is done without someone finding a way to Screw People and Line their own pockets. What the TSA is putting us through is a JOKE. Like an Old Friend used to tell me, Follow The Money….. This is ALL about Selling the machines, Maintaing the Machines, and all this Smoke And Mirror Show is Justifying the Purpose of the Machines. Look who will profit most by this mess and there you have it.
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I wanna let you know that we’re all rooting for you. I really hope that they see that the way that the TSA is treating the passengers these days is actually HURTING the airlines…. I understand that it’s for my safety, but do I REALLY have to be subjected to all the harassment? I haven’t been on a plane in about a decade, and I truly am thinking that if I wanna go anywhere on North America, I’ll just drive… It’s getting really ridiculous, next our country is going to turn in to a communist nation because “it’s for our safety”.
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This is one of the most disturbing stories I’ve read all year. I’ve traveled with breastmilk on more than one occasion and never did any gate agent ever treat me with such disrespect. Pumping, storing, and traveling with breastmilk is so difficult and time consuming that losing (or the threat of losing) even a little bit can be emotionally devastating. I hope that Ms. Armato takes this issue to court.
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Stacey, good for you for standing up for yourself. As the father of a breastfeeding infant with close family who live too far away to drive, I appreciate your strength and follow-through. By standing up for yourself – even if the TSA bullies had their way that day – and by documenting the experience, you make a huge contribution to restoring justice and decency to our public life.
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In addition to a legal representative, you should probably alert your congressional representative. They sometimes like to help their constituents in situations like these.
I feel so bad for you; this was patently absurd.
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I think probably the most ridiculous part of all of this (though there are many to choose from) is that they made the woman wait so long. If she’s a terrorist trying to get explosives through, what were they doing that could possibly have been more important than dealing with her?
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Stacey – My wife works for the Front Office in the office of Mr. Pistole the Administrator of TSA. She used to work in Civil Rights and now works in the Office of the Special Counselor.
If you have the info of the TSA personnel you spoke to, I’m sure some appropriate censure could be issued.
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just a tip. you can save yourself a lot of hassle if you use UPS or Fedex and pre-ship things like medicine, breast milk, bomb making supplies, to your destination before you depart.
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Anonymous Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
She shouldn’t have to ship her breast milk to her destination! Great advice….
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Stacey,
You are a true American hero. Thanks for standing up to them! I hope you filed another complaint, and they owe you a public apology and monetary damages if you had any. The TSA manager should be fired as should the agents. However, they probably all just laughed about it later.
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Who the hell takes breast milk with them when they fly, especially if there is no baby? It was a contaminant, and should have been treated as such. No respectable person carries warm milk with them. Grow up and stop whining!
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Bill Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Let me guess: You work for TSA? DHS?
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ann nonymous Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 4:43 am
You are IGNORANT. You clearly don’t know anything about breastfeeding, but hey, if you want to keep looking like a complete fool, keep making comments like this.
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...... Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 7:10 am
@Stopwhining…YOU’RE AND IDIOT!
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Asurferosa Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 7:20 am
TROLL
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Dickhead Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 8:04 am
The point is dickhead, is that she shouldnt have to go through this just to prove that she is a lactating mother, and not a terrorist. The TSA need to get off their power high and stop being little pricks about the little things, and start to do their frickin job.
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JG Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Are you serious? Nursing mothers who travel without their babies have to pump the milk and bring it home to the child. You don’t keep it warm, you keep it in a chilled carrier. And the law allows this for a very good reason. Maybe you need to grow up.
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Mikayla Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 8:47 am
The woman was on her way home to see her baby. And breast milk remains good at room temperature for a number of hours:
Stored in a warm room (approx 79F) for 4-6 hours.
Stored in a cool room (66-72F) for 10 hours.
Stored in an insulated cooler with an icepack the milk is good for 24 hours.
So yes, respectable mothers can carry warm or cool breast milk with them while traveling. And no, it is not a “contaminant.” (What, pray tell, would the breast milk in the bottle be “contaminating,” anyway?)
Your comments stem from ignorance. Regardless, the TSA has clearly defined procedures regarding how to handle breast milk, and they a) did not follow them, and b) subjected this woman to unnecessary delay and treated her without respect for her dignity.
She has every right to complain.
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Stopwhining is a douche Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 8:57 am
You are a douchebag, and obviously not a parent. When a breastfeeding mother is away from her child, she usually needs to pump and store the breast milk so it can be fed to the child later. My wife did so – that way our child could be fed the breast milk while at daycare or if I was home with the child. Breast milk is much healthier for infants than formula.
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TD Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 9:08 am
When you are nursing a baby, and are away from them for any length of time, you have to pump..or it gets very uncomfortable! Breastmilk can be left at room temperature from 4-6 hours.
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Genevieve Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:32 am
@stopwhining – you should getinformed. Women who are breastfeeding must express their milk every 2-3 hours. If she was away from her baby, she had to bring the milk home with her to *feed her baby*.
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AnnaLena Reply:
December 1st, 2010 at 2:19 am
“Who the hell…?” Lactating mothers, that’s who. Clearly you’ve never nursed a child and I doubt you have the ability (I think you’re a man and have no children – but your ignorance is not the issue here)
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Stopwhining Reply:
December 6th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
And this is just a guess, but you’re an overweight, ugly and hairy bitch. You have nothing in your life. Just a guess, but I’m probably right.
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It seems we’re missing the obvious question – what good would x-raying the milk do? Can the X-ray machine tell the difference between milk and an explosive liquid?
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This is the same behavior the Iranian Guard exhibit against those who express their freedoms in Irans, why are you where makeup, no hijab etc etc.
to all the people who say its a privilege to fly…etc etc
treating every citizen like a criminal is tyranny pure and simple.
the TSA will expand its mandate to encroach into your lives more and more until every aspect of your lives is screened.
The nanny state grows like a worm in your gut. stop selling yourselves short and fight back.
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Dear lord, really? This will not stop until they do it to someone politically important, or a relative.
I feel so sorry for this person.
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Time to start filing lawsuits against the TSA and individual TSA personnel.
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Will this disgusting madness never end!!!!
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It’s terrible what happened to you and they obviously stepped out of bounds, but attitude is everything. I can’t help thinking (judging only by the videos) that your attitude contributed to your troubles.
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ozymandias Reply:
December 1st, 2010 at 12:22 pm
They wouldn’t follow their own published rules and she complained. I guess not letting them make up rules as they go along constitutes attitude for people like you.
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This organization needs to be dismantled and re- jigged. These people clearly have too much power and do not know how to use it. This is like a private army given carte blanche. If you are willing to say “not today” and break the rules or change them then there is a problem. What are the consequences of their actions? They don’t have any and now people are getting abused. TSA is a joke. Nice little Paramilitary organization so another rich guy can capititalize on the fear.
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Americans need to act in a concerted manner. It’s the age old saying. United we stand and divided we fall. We all like to stand up for our rights and our diginity. But alone, we are afraid. We are scared. This woman was bullied by multiple persons in uniform. Understandably she cried. Don’t let our sisters and our mothers shead tears. Stand up with them and for them. Protect theirs and yours and everyone’s privacy and rights. Stand together.
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This is a horrible way to treat anyone! What is this, getting into character? Do TSA agents think that by behaving like terrorists towards their fellow citizens that they will get inside the mind of the terrorist? Its nothing but jumped up jobsworths subjecting people to harassment and bullying.
I hope these unprofessional idiots are dealt with the same courtesy that they afford to others.
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Stacey- if your lawyer will allow you, please contact Oprah.
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You are all missing the most important part of the story:
“…one of the guys comes over to me and tells me ‘to be quiet if I know what’s good for me.’”
The arrogance of the T.S.A. and its Agents is simply astounding.
I don’t care if you like or dislike the TSA, if you think they are doing a good job or not, it doesn’t change the fact that the front-line Agents are being given incomplete and/or incorrect information and then given instructions to use their ‘best judgement’ in the situation. Their ‘best judgement’ is showing up time and time again as wrong and their is apparently no penalty for being wrong, no learning moment in being wrong.
And what makes the situation so completely intolerable is their is no recourse for the passenger. The TSA Agents can pretty much do what they want because they have the backing of the on-site supervisor in all cases and to date no evidence of any higher officials taking any complaint from a traveller and doing anything about it.
If the TSA truly wants to make a ‘Partnership with the Travelers’ they need to come up with a method of resolving passenger complaints that is published and understood by everyone involved, passenger and agent alike. The mother in this story can’t or won’t get any resolution from the TSA so she, like so many others, has resorted to taking her story to the internet.
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I cant believe that they would force a mother just trying to get home to her 7 moth old son to go through this. there is nothing wrong with her trying to bring her pumped milk home so why did they have to bother with all this?
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According to the TSA’s website, they may have to xray your liquid medication if they can’t visually clear it. http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1059.shtm
“To prevent your medication, associated supplies or fragile medical materials for contamination or damage, we will ask you to display, handle, and repack your own medication and associated supplies during visual inspection. Any medication and/or associated supplies that we can’t clear visually will be X-rayed. If you refuse, you will not be permitted to carry your medications and related supplies into the sterile area.”
It’s right there in the rules. Seems to me she didn’t want to follow the last two sentences of the very rules she was instructing them on.
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Mary Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Breast milk storage bottles or bags are clear. The milk is not completely clear, it is milk not water, but then very few liquid medicines are clear either. So long as it can be swirled round a little what is the problem.
Lets face it none of these so called security procedures are really to protect the public they are a power lick for the staff and to fool you, the American public, into thinking something is being done.
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Colby Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
No I think you are failing to see what he is pointing out which is that even if the TSA acted rudely and inappropriately their request to X-Ray your breast milk to clear it was within their rights. You can’t pick and choose through these rules and decide which ones you like and which you want to ignore.
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I think the TSA guys were just doing their jobs – way to go.
Stupid woman, she probably said something to piss them off she deserves it
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cr Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Job….brilliant idiot. What’s wrong with you?
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Ryan Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
either works for TSA or knows someone who does.
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media_lush Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
it’s replies like yours and the actions described above that is currently making America the laughing stock of the rest of the civilised world…. notice the use of the ‘c’ word there.
What’s happening is more reminiscent of a fascist state than one that boasts about its’ freedoms…. well, you can’t really boast about that anymore!
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livestellar Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Yeah, because harassing a women until she’s in tears is EXACTLY what they’re paid for. What the heck is wrong with you? You’re the type of person who has the audacity to blame a victim like this woman, but if this same thing was done to you, you’d sue for millions.
Congratulations…you’re an idiot.
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denise Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Either you’re completely brain dead or your post is a deliberate attempt to get people riled up. Get real.
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I’m very sad to see the TSA acting like this. I’ve been lucky to have never been hassled.
I am wondering why x-raying the breast milk is supposedly a problem? “anon” above says that x-rays kill. That is true, they do. 3 hours in an oven at 350F will also kill, but I wasn’t worried that putting my turkey through something lethal to me would harm me. X-rays cause damage to DNA, which is only a problem if the cells reproduce – do cells in breast milk reproduce?
Actually, aren’t there antibodies in breast milk? Those could quite possibly be harmed by x-rays.
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Gopiballava Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
I did some more reading, found a couple researchers saying there should be no problems with x-raying breast milk. Haven’t found any reputable sources citing any problems.
Not that petty tyrants won’t find some other way to show their authority.
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is there any harm in putting the milk through the scanner, and getting on with it? would’ve saved the trouble and the milk would be ok..
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H. Pataki Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
What else are you willing to give up on inch by inch?
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Anonymous Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 8:53 am
No! Why would expose breastmilk to harmful x-ray?!? This is not a case of things being ‘easier’, women who work should not be subjected to such discrimInatory behaviour just for wanting to give the best nutrition to their children.
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Del Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
laura, if you think this story is about the milk, I feel very sorry for you.
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I would love to know how Ms. Armato got the TSA to provide her with videos of her ordeal. FOIA request? Phone call? Email? That information would be extremely useful to other people who need evidence of TSO misconduct.
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now we know where the HS bullies found a job
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Colby Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Your comment is just rude and offensive. TSA agents have to deal with far more bullying by passengers than passengers do by agents. If you don’t agree just read through these comments and see if you don’t think all this “standing up for our rights” dosen’t come at the cost of a lot of petty and ignorant comments made at others expense just like yours does.
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When I was traveling with my 11 month old I was told that anything in a baby bottle – juice, milk, water- was allowed a special screening where they stick a strip in to test the nature of the liquid. Confused as to how the TSA says only clear liquids – if my juice is clear, it’s probably not juice.
And this is truly a sad story. The next time you go through there, call the PD ahead of time and ask somebody to escort you through? TSA is not acting appropriately and if I were you, I’d sue the hell out of them. If somebody doesn’t draw a line soon, these asshats will continue to do whatever they feel is appropriate…
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Thugs. Such thugs. And soon, they’ll be unionized thugs.
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Colby Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Do thugs normally perform screening functions and ensure the safety of the travelling public? Seems a bit outlandish to use the words “thug” here.
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It’s always the men in comments on these harassment stories who leave, “Tough shit, sweetheart” remarks. They’re speaking that delightful Rush-speak and since they think everyone else does too don’t notice the rest of us don’t. Enough, Luke, J, Man: dudes, you hate women. We get it. Do you?
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P.F. Bruns Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Tata, just so you know, it’s not all of us. I personally want the offending TSA officer and supervisor sacked, banned from ever applying for another federal job, banned from ever going to that airport or applying for any job there, sentenced to a court-ordered class on prenatal care, put on probation for not less than three years, and on the no-fly list for not less than one.
Actually, I’d suspend the ban on going to the airport if they agreed to make a video explaining what they did wrong to be released to the media, and stand alongside the line at their gate apologizing to every mother in line for a week.
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Anonyout Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Not all of the “tough shit” folks are men — there was one forum where a woman went to great lengths to defend the TSA’s actions, including calling the OP a liar (the apologist was a former TSA employee, and claimed that the TSA would *never* have a male pat down a woman — ergo, blatantly labeling the OP as a liar).
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Bob Jones Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Wow, misandrist much?
How about I counter with some Misogyny?
You damned women always wanting more special rights than us (Which you do have, actually… men have LESS rights than women in this society. Not EQUAL rights.) Always wanting special treatment for your stupid mammary glands which you can deal with in a private setting.
ALL women are emotional, irrational beings who deserve NO rights.
How does it feel? Not very good? Then don’t paint all men with the same brush either, you ignorant cow.
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Anyone remember the Stanford prison experiment? If you put a lot of power into the hands of even ordinary people, they will start to tyrannize the people they dominate.
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Colby Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Invalid equality between the two because during your referenced experiment the guards were not given any set of rules or requirements as to how the “prisoners” were to be treated. This was designed to allow moral judgment to display itself and to see how it eroded IN THE ABSENCE OF WRITTEN RULES AND REGULATIONS. The TSA has rules and regulations to ensure moral decisions do not become the deciding factor when performing screening functions.
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Opally Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 8:11 am
Colby, I’m not sure that the presence of written rules has much effect on the prevalence of corruption, but I will concede that it has at least some effect, conditional on training, enforcement, supervision, and the availability of recourse to those who are victimized.
It would be nice to think that TSA employees are willing and competent to follow rules, and it would be nicer to think that they have clear, unambiguous rules, and yet even nicer to think that they are adequately trained in their jobs.
Consider for a minute a typical urban police department. They are, on the whole, well-intentioned, well-trained, and supervised (not to mention, paid far better than TSA employees). Yet, it is not unusual to discover cases of police exploiting their powers over helpless citizens who may be misperceived as lawbreakers. That is all to be expected. Citizens therefore need the protection of the courts.
Having rules in no way prevents the exploitation of power. As we Americans merrily give over our 4th amendment rights to secretive agents of the state, whose rules, technology, and methods are also secretive — well, what can be expected?
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Yet another whiney flyer who thinks she’s special. Enjoy your 15 minutes and do everyone a favor and don’t fly anymore. It’s not a right.
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Krackas Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Really? You think that a 45 min delay was warranted? Flying may not be a right unlawful detention is a crime.
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pt Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Yes.. Flying is a privilege, not a right.. This woman paid for her ticket (the priviledge), she then had a RIGHT to board her flight in a timely fashion and not have a group of irresponsible, willfully ignorant fools with some kind of apparent personal vendetta embarrass, harass, and make her miss that flight. I do not have any particular beef with the TSA in general, mind you, but it would seem that these particular individuals are woefully incompetent and a proper administrative review should be conducted and these assholes should be fired. Period.
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Joan Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 9:40 am
I get so tired of hearing that stupid “Flying is a privilege, not a right.” That is bullshit. If you can afford the price of a plane ticket, flying is a right. It’s a service, plain and simple. If you can pay for it, you can have it. That’s it. NOT A PRIVILEGE. A privilege is something that you are GIVEN, not something you PAY FOR. Idiot.
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MrStylz Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Sorry sport, flying is a right.
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/49/VII/A/I/401/40103
(a) Sovereignty and Public Right of Transit. – (1) The United
States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the
United States.
(2) A citizen of the United States has a public right of transit
through the navigable airspace. To further that right, the
Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the Architectural
and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board established under
section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 792)
before prescribing a regulation or issuing an order or procedure
that will have a significant impact on the accessibility of
commercial airports or commercial air transportation for
handicapped individuals.
Shapiro v Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969) very strongly supports the right to travel.
“‘The constitutional right to travel from one State to another . . . has been firmly established and repeatedly recognized.’ United States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745, 757 . This constitutional right, which, of course, includes the right of ‘entering and abiding in any State in the Union,’ Truax v. Raich, 239 U.S. 33, 39 , is not a mere conditional liberty subject to regulation and control under conventional [394 U.S. 618, 643] due process or equal protection standards. 1 ‘[T]he right to travel freely from State to State finds constitutional protection that is quite independent of the Fourteenth Amendment.’ United States v. Guest, supra, at 760, n. 17. 2 As we made clear in Guest, it is a right broadly assertable against private interference as well as governmental action. 3 Like the right of association, NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449 , it is a virtually unconditional personal right, 4 guaranteed by the Constitution to us all.”
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Amber Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 7:49 am
Love this! CNPing it and passing it around! Thanks!
Brendan Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
I hope they select you for special screening and give you a hard time next time you decide to fly. If you don’t fly, then good for you. See? I, too, can be an asshole.
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P.F. Bruns Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Yes, it is. The Constitution grants us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. She purchased a ticket that grants her the right to fly on her airline, and that falls under both liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Begone, you unsympathetic thing.
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Amy Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
The Declaration of Independence says we are endowed with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is not guaranteed in the Constitution – although due process protects us from being deprived from life, liberty, or PROPERTY without due process of law.
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P.F. Bruns Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Ah. You got me on that one, though MrStylz’s reply above works much better for me now than my own. Thanks for the fact-check!
Bob Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Hey Enough, you ignorant hick, you want to talk about rights? How about this…
Amendment 4 – Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.
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.
Ever heard of it? Or are you like Sarah Palin in not having ever read the Constitution?
This was NOT a reasonable search. This search was in violation of Federal guidelines. This search in in violation of the US Constitution.
It is amazing how many mouth breathers scream that “flying is not a right” when overlooking the rights that ARE violated in the first place.
I am DISGUSTED by the level of ignorance and willful stupidity in my country.
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Bob Jones Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
You’re an idiot. That’s all I have to say to you.
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I’m no fan of the TSA’s ongoing harrassment and overly invasive screening of people, but to be honest, I see no problem with X-raying the milk.
There’s absolutely no reason why there is any biological or medical negative effect from X-raying the milk or any kind of other liquids or medical goods, and it seems like this is less invasive and less intrusive and less time consuming than manual inspection. Personally, I would just let it go through the X-ray, it seems like the option with least fuss.
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Mama Bear Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Yes, no reason other than the TSA themselves have guidelines for breast milk – but apparently those guidelines/regulations just didn’t count that day!
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Anonymous Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
x-rays are bad!!!! they will kill. I would not let them x-ray my kids milk
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Colby Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Scientifically inaccurate and highly ignorant comment. Security Screening X-Rays do not “kill”. The low dose in screening X-Rays is less radiation than most people get in an entire day walking around exposed to a neverending barrage of cell phone and other such radiation. That means just walking around with her breast milk for one day exposes it to more environmental radiation than one trip through a security screening X-Ray.
What’s the lesson? — Extremely low doses of X-Rays don’t “kill” mmm-kay?
AnnaLena Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Breastmilk usually travels straight from the breast to the infant, when this can’t be done mothers get very protective over what they have pumped, which is quite logical. They’ll keep it at the right temperature to avoid bad bacteria, they’ll use clean bottles, avoiding the plastic bisphenol-A (BPA) kinds. They’ll have their pumped milk reach their nfant in a timely fashion again avoiding the degeneration of the carbohydrate, protein and fat, breast milk also provides vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes and hormones that it contains.
But you’d happily have this irradiated, thus likely ruining the proteins, killing the helpful bacteria and so on. They say it’s harmless, but they did say the exact same thing about plastic bottles a few years ago. The truth is, we don’t know, and a protective mother has a RIGHT to choose the option she feels most comfortable with. It is her infants only food source we’re talking about.
It makes no sense to have two options: x-ray your ilk OR have it inspected. And then turn around and harass those who choose the “wrong” option.
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cr Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
x-rays are not safe for anyone or anything. Just depends on how much we care to expose ourselves to.
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Seems like somebody is about to gouge out some money from the TSA. I see a lawsuit coming.
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Bob Jones Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
And you know what? I absolutely agree with her. She should not have been treated THIS BADLY to begin with.
The TSA needs to disband down to the last employee. They provide no *REAL* benefit or enhancement to your flying safety. They have caught exactly ZERO terrorist or other troublemakers using their methods. Any other program which showed NO results like the TSA has would have been scrapped LONG ago.
Why the TSA continues on it’s holy crusade to terrorize people more, I don’t know… but if they actually believe they’re making anything safer, they need a desperate reality check.
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I fully sympathize with Stacey and truly believe that she should pursue all possible legal ways of getting compensated for this experience. However, no system is fully protected from inept people. Just because of this isolated incident, the whole TSA screening system cannot be treated as faulty. It does its job of protecting everyone’s life in flight. We’ve often traveled not just with milk, but with baby food (e.g. yogurt) and we never had any troubles.
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Anonyout Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
The TSA isn’t actually doing anything to address the plethora of security holes that riddle the US airline industry.
Right now, the TSA is the problem, and these machines, their inept policies, inconsistent rules, and sexual molestation has no relationship whatsoever to actual airline security.
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Bob Jones Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
That’s the problem, it doesn’t protect anything. There is literally NO advantage to what they do.
I could tell you that the TSA is effective at stopping elephants from rampaging in the airport and I would be right. When was the last time you saw a rampaging elephant in an airport?
The point is, the TSA does NOT enhance your safety AT ALL. It’s a total and complete sham.
If a terrorist has managed to get past your government, police force, intelligence agencies, federal police agencies AND the military, what chance does the TSA have of stopping them? That’s right. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
They only make people FEEL safe. It’s not real.
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Sue them. Sue them now. They’ve finally screwed up enough to be potentially taken down, and I think this is it.
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Here is the link to the TSA’s regulations about medications. Once breast milk got classified as a medical liquid, it became eligible for X-Ray opt-out. http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1374.shtm#4 The key is, apparently, that you have to explicitly request that the liquid be subjected to visual inspection.
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Yeah, I see nothing in the rules exempting medicines, medical liquids or breast milk specifically from x-ray scanning. I’m all about a good TSA rage-out but if there’s no exemption, there’s no exemption… I fear that she may have just misunderstood the rules.
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Bob Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
So you missed…
“We normally X-ray medication and related supplies. However, as a customer service, you may ask that Security Officers visually inspect your medication and associated supplies.”
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Bob Jones Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
If the rules are put there to opress and harass, why obey them?
Time for some civil disobedience!
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This lady was subjected to unlawful detainment. TSA has no authority to detain anyone.
I would suggest contacting a legal representative and press charges against the TSA staff you encountered.
The video is your evidence.
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http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1059.shtm
“We normally X-ray medication and related supplies. However, as a customer service, you may ask that Security Officers visually inspect your medication and associated supplies.”
However, I couldn’t find any rule requiring the TSA to listen to the request.
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sigh Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:17 am
What did you think they were going to put in there. A sentence that says “We promise to obey the request?” Or do you think the word request means that it’s optional for them to obey it? It isn’t if it’s the documented process.
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any thoughts on further action!?
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TSA probably were assholes here, and if you can get them in trouble for their vile conduct, good. I just can’t re-tweet something from this URL and expect anyone to take it seriously. try and publish it somewhere else, please.
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bogeydead6 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Why re-post this somewhere else? Because of the site name? What are some kind of tweeter God? You’re such a dolt, thinking your the master of information. People like you irritate the hell out of me with your pompous dispositions. Information is just that, information, no matter where it comes from. As long as it get out there for everyone to view is what matters most, and your bias hurts that freedom. Dumbass
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As soon as the officers showed up I’d ask to file a police report against any TSA agent involved in the incident for harassment and/or negligence for allowing the harassment to occur.
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P.F. Bruns Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 9:05 am
I like this plan.
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Can you please post the link that indicates that breast milk does not have to go through x-ray? The following TSA link gives the okay for more than 3 oz of milk and says that the milk will be subject to additional screening, but it does’t specifically allow for x-ray opt out. I’d love to have the x-ray opt out info if it’s available elsewhere. Thanks!
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/formula.shtm
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MWFH's Reply:
November 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Anon: We’ve added the link you have provided in the first paragraph of the article. Thanks much for the additional info, and we will,when we find it, add the info you are seeking.
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