TSA turns off naked body scanners to avoid opt-out day protests

http://www.naturalnews.com/030509_TSA_opt_out_day.html
TSA turns off naked body scanners to avoid opt-out day protests
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Anticipating a nationwide grassroots surge of protests against naked body scanners and aggressive pat-downs, the TSA simply turned off its naked body scanners on Wednesday and let air travelers walk right through security checkpoints without being X-rayed or molested.

All across the country, air travelers are reporting that the TSA simply deactivated the naked body scanners and let people go right through without a scan. "Backscatter scanners are off. No scan. No patdown." reported a traveler from the Seattle airport. "Backscatter machines aren't being used at LAX," reported another traveler. "They're all roped off."

Much the same story is being reported all across the country.

The TSA is desperate to avoid protests

Shutting down the "National Opt-Out Day" by turning off the machines is the only logical move for the TSA, of course: The agency needed a way to defuse the growing grassroots resistance to its criminal violations of Americans' Fourth Amendment rights. So instead of facing what was sure to be widespread protest, the agency simply decided to turn off the machines for a day.

This action tells us all sorts of fascinating things about the TSA and its fabricated security excuses. Perhaps most importantly, it proves that the naked body scanners are not needed for air travel security in the first place. When it wants to, the TSA can just turn the machines off and resort to baggage X-rays and metal detectors. That's worked for years, and it apparently worked today, too.

And yet, up until today, the TSA has insisted that the naked body scanners are absolutely essential to detecting hidden bombs, and that "travelers won't be safe" unless they use the naked body scanners. So all of a sudden today it's okay for the TSA to put air travelers at risk of being blown up?

The TSA can't have it both ways. Either the naked body scanners are vital for air security and they need to be running 24/7 to keep everybody safe, or they're just another security con game being played out for the financial benefit of Chertoff and others who profit from the sale of such machines.

How can the TSA -- with a straight face -- say that naked body scanners are vital for air security but not on the busiest air travel day of the year?

As you can see, there are some serious holes in the TSA's mythology, and interestingly, this National Opt-Out Day indirectly exposed them by getting the TSA to turn off the naked body scanners. This is effectively an admission that they aren't important to air security.

Trying to avoid any challenge to its power

This action by the TSA also shows that the TSA is desperately trying to avoid being publicly embarrassed by the national-opt-out day protests. Lots of local and national news film crews were out at the airports today, hoping to catch something interesting on camera. But by turning off the naked body scanners, the TSA was able to stage a "calm looking" day at the airport.

As soon as the TV cameras leave, however, they can turn those machines right back on and start molesting people once again. This is classic behavior of police state tyrants: They present a calm, professional image to the media, but once the cameras leave, all of a sudden their hands are back down in your pants.

I predict the TSA will have the machines turned right back on by Friday, and more reports of sexual molestation and inappropriate pat-downs will continue to emerge.

Many people just skipped the airports altogether

The other big travel news today was that lots of travelers decided to simply skip the airports altogether. NaturalNews received emails from several travelers who described major U.S. airports as "nearly empty."

Meanwhile, traffic was terrible on the freeways. The Massachusetts Turnpike played host to a 30-mile traffic jam today.

A new Zogby poll indicates that 43% of the American public will seek alternatives to flying due to the TSA's aggressive pat-downs and naked body scanners. That's going to add up to a huge financial hit for the air travel industry in the months ahead. The TSA could end up destroying much of the air travel industry altogether!

Learn more about freedom, security, American history and the Bill of Rights

For a full discussion of the issues that really matter here, check out my new commentary audio / video about the Don't Touch My Junk song.

The first 13 minutes or so are about the song itself. After that, it's mostly a discussion about freedom and the Bill of Rights.

Thank you to all who participated in the National Opt Out Day. In getting the TSA to turn off its naked body scanners, we exposed the TSA's "big lie" about air travel safety.