TSA Not Keen on Fox News?
The Transportation Security Administration is not too keen on Fox News, according to Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes.
Starnes charges that a TSA worker removed his employer’s logo from his luggage thereby damaging his bag as he went through the screening process for his holiday travel.
In a twitter post, the host posted a picture of the damaged bag with tape that reads “inspected” plastered across the top. Starnes said that after he inquired to the TSA about his destroyed luggage an agent told him, “you gotta call the government to get yo money.”
“TSA ripped off my Fox News logo and sliced up my luggage,” Starnes said in another tweet.
According to Starnes, the same agent told him it could take six months for the agency to investigate his claim that TSA destroyed his bag.
This is just the most recent allegation of TSA overstepping its boundaries. TSA caused quite the ruckus among airline passengers this past year. From groping a grandma to installing cancer-causing screenings, it’s safe to say TSA has had a bad year when it comes to public relations.
A look back at the most ridiculous, embarrassing, and horrifying TSA stories of 2011:
Cupcake Controversy
A teacher from Massachusetts was flying home last Wednesday for the holidays, accompanied by her husband, young son, and a cupcake. Rebecca Hains told ABC News that the cupcake was a gift from one of her students and she wanted to carry it on the plane because she thought her son may get hungry on the trip. The TSA agent saw the cupcake and called over her supervisor to investigate the suspicious treat.
"We also had a small pile of hummus sandwiches with creamy fillings, which made it through, but the cupcake with its frosting was apparently a terrorist threat … I just don't know what world he was living in," said Hains, reported ABC News.
"The TSA at Logan Airport said the cupcakes looked delicious and told us to have a great trip. But in Las Vegas, they were dangerous. They shouldn't be delicious in one part of the country and a security threat in the other."
Caught Passing Notes
In October, a TSA agent left a note for a passenger whose bags he had just inspected heading to Dublin, Ireland. The bag was inspected because a sex toy showed up on the monitor. The agent determined the toy did not pose a threat, but decided to personalize the official TSA document that agents are mandated to leave after a bag has been opened. The officer wrote, in large letters, “Get Your Freak On, Girl.” According to Forbes, the passenger and noted blogger Jill Filipovic tweeted the photo and was horrified by the intimate message.
Another note incident involved Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs. Gibbs had marijuana in his checked luggage and TSA discovered it upon the screening. However, the agent failed to report the illegal substance. Instead, the agent left a note saying “C’mon son.” The rapper took to twitter and posted about his TSA experience.
Stripping Grandma
This past June, a 95-year-old grandmother, Ms. Weber, was forced to strip down in front of TSA agents. Weber was going through security when one of the agents began patting her down and noticed that her private region did not “feel right.” Weber, who was wearing Depends, was made to strip off everything in order to undergo terror screening. Weber told ChristianWire.org that the agents took her into a bathroom and physically removed her adult diaper while she stood there humiliated and crying.