When I saw some of the posts in this thread I was very dishearten. I travel for business very regularly, sometimes even weekly. This trip is Philly, Cleveland and Indy then back to Orlando. I have a couple of questions for some of you who posted....

Tbugs....you posted this:

I recently went on a trip to and from Orlando to Costa Rica. Only screening at both airports were just the normal x-ray of carry-on bags and walking through the magnetic door. No body scanning or pat-downs.

So you just walked through the metal detector without any alarms, correct? Then that means you are an able bodied person. You don't have an artificial hip, knee, leg nor any metal rods in your limbs or back. You don't have a artificial bladder nor an artificial breast. Because if you did you would NOT have just walked through the metal detector. You could have been selected for the scanner or that very personal pat-down.


Now Richie Lion and I do have metal parts and therefore we are not as lucky as you. Cause we alarm and then we are subjected to a very unpleasant pat-down. As I explained it to a TSA agent in Colorado Springs they wanted to touch parts of me that I would only allow my doctor, my partner and myself to touch. For me the issue is deeper than just the fact that twice a week I could be subjected to this ....as a child I was subjected to abuse. Once that happens to a child you never quite recover one can only deal with the pain. And deal I did for many years, it really wasn't an issue in my life. That changed in Richland WA when I was subjected to the mother of all pat downs. If you understand anything about the abuse issue victims can be triggered and triggered I was. So I promised myself never to allow that to happen to me again. A promise I was not able to keep. For on Nov 4 I walked through a metal detector and into the heel I deal with now. See TSA changed the rules on Nov but failed to inform the public so when I walked through the metal detector that day I had no idea what was about to happen to me. I won't go into it but I have contacted and am working with the ACLU in Colorado. In wildest dreams I never thought that would happen. I did contact TSA about what happened to me but thats like talking to the hand.

What is my point? Disabled people are being targeted by TSA. We are the people who get the vast majority of these pat downs. Remember that we once had the shoe bomber and we are still talking of our shoes, after the fact. We joked "Glad we don't call him the under ware bomber" and now we do. Why is that important?

The current metal detectors only detect METAL not bombs. So while I am there being very carefully and intimately patted down someone with a bomb in his draws or her bra can slip through. In fact that has happened we call him the underware bomber. What catch any underware bombers? That is the scanner. But there is a problem....the American public doesn't want to be seen kinda naked. Me on the other hand give the naked. But you would be so suprised at the lack of operational scanners in the airports. Today at PHL I was luckly because I was flying out of the F concourse.....the only one with a scanner at this MAJOR airport. At MCO 5 out 7 times I have flown out the scanners were down and I had to wait up to 30 mins to walk through one.

Think about that for 30 minutes the scanners were down in Orlando 5 times. All flyers unprotected from a bomber. I could tell you about other unprotected airplanes.

So when you fly next and you see someone like myself or Richie Lion ......look around see anyone you might suspect. You might want to push them through that scanner.

Me I only fly out of scanner equiped airports and yet I have been patted down. In Boston on the very concourse through which the 911 bombers walked the one and only scanner had been down to 2 days. No protection from bombs for 2 days. You can check the TSA website to find out that only 80 airports have scanners and some only on 1 concourse.

So when you read this post think about me and all the disabled...but more inportant think about just how safe you are.

I suggest you are not as safe as you think.......