I want you to remember if you watch this video that it was from July 2008.  The sexual assaults pat-downs have gotten worse since then...and got even worse on November 1st.  If you're feeling left out because your airport isn't yet doing the invasive 3rd-base "I need a cigarette after it" pat-down, have no fear.  They're rolling it out in phases to all airports across the US.

Everyone had their own opinion about the body scanners.  Some simply argued because it would give you unnecessary doses of x-rays.  Others were up in arms because they could see you naked.  Still others were uncomfortable with the fact that they could see you naked but were willing to live with it since (if) the data couldn't be recorded in any way.

My first though was, "Really?  Do you really believe that they don't have AND maintain the ability to record &/or transmit the images?  Really?"  Have we become THAT naive as a nation?  I mean REALLY?

Sigh.

I guess we have.

Yes.  That means that I am calling you naive if you don't think that airports have AND maintain the ability to store and transmit the images they take.

I don't understand what the problem is with looking at something as it actually is.  Why did the TSA feel the need to lie to us?  Did they think that if they told us the truth in the beginning that we would be all up in arms?  Here's what I tell my kids:  If you think you'll have a hard time telling me the truth about something you're thinking about doing then you probably shouldn't be doing what you're thinking about doing.  Perhaps the government would be wise to adhere to that?  It seems to have helped my kids.  The Bible DOES say that a child will lead them....

There's that other thing I tell them too:  If you do what's right, you have nothing to fear.  The TSA was clearly afraid of the response from the American people if it was forthright and honest in the beginning.  They chose instead to lie.  Out of fear.  If they were doing what was right, then they would have had nothing tof ear.  Again, this has worked well for my kids...

What?  Did you just say that the TSA and/or the government has LIED?  When?  Where?  About what?  You'll have to excuse me for a minute as I finish laughing.  The government lying?  Yeah.  I see that as a total impossibility too.  The government always NEVER lies.  Ever. 

Where & what did they lie about?  Well, first...well...I can't exactly recall the FIRST time the government lied so lets narrow it down a bit.  The first time the government and the TSA lied about the scanners was when they said they were necessary and would stop terrorism.  I don't believe they will.  I believe they're just another intrusion into our privacy.

But I digress.

They then proceeded to lie about what the scanners could do.  They said (and I quote), "The scanners do not have the ABILITY to store or transmit information".

Let's analyze that statement for a minute.  They have a hard drive.  K.  On to my next level of analysis.  Part of the FUNCTION and DAILY OPERATIONAL PROCEDURE of the scanners is to take the picture which is deemed clear by a person at the security gate and TRANSMIT it to someone off-site either in a different part of the airport or an actual off-site location for verification before that person is cleared.  Hmm.  How can something with a hard drive not have the ability to store something?  How could something that TRANSMITS the information it receives as a REGULAR part of it's DAILY operational procedure NOT have the ability to...um...gee...I don't know...TRANSMIT something?

Call me crazy.  Call me silly, but this reminds me of the 2yr old with chocolate all over his hands and face claiming that he didn't eat a cookie from the cookie jar.  Um.  REALLY?  You're SURE you want to stick with that story?

Oh but wait!  They don't.  You see, people like me called them on the carpet and said, "Really?  Do we REALLY look like idiots to you?"  As a result they admitted that their machines DID in fact have the ABILITY to STORE AND TRANSMIT the information it received.  However, those capabilities on each machine are disabled before the machine is even delivered to the airport.  (Hey, Mr. TSA...You still transmitting those pictures to an off-site location as a part of your daily operational prodcedure?  Just checking.  P.S.-You've still got some cookie on your face.)

Now back to that ability to STORE photos...that isn't used...Someone forgot to tell that to security personnel at a Florida court house.  They weren't supposed to have the ability to store or transmit photos either.  Yet they managed to save 35,000 of them; 100 of which were just leaked to the public.  I'll admit that those scanners aren't quite up to par with TSA scanners.  The point is still there, though.  They weren't supposed to save...yet they DID.

Let's be real here.  We know that your employees CAN (and likely do) store photos.  We already know they're transmitted because that's part of your daily procedure.  What do the computers to which the information is transmitted have the capability to store?   If we start with any other assumption, then we're assuming that the Titanic can't sink.  And we all know how well THAT went.  They KNEW that they didn't have the "ABILITY" to sink.  As a result, they didn't have proper safety procedures in place.  Had they ADMITTED that they had the ABILITY to do what they DID have the ABILITY to do (and ultimately did), then they would have had the proper safety procedures in place to prevent what happened and/or save the passengers in the event of a breach.

If we START OUT looking at something and saying that it doesn't have the ABILITY to do what it DOES have the ability to do, then we are starting out fools and will be improperly prepared to prevent a breach and protect ourselves from danger should one happen.

You see, TSA, there are more reasons for honesty than I think even YOU realize.