TSA Harassment---again

[SkydiveJack 1]

This is somewhat off topic but it might be interesting to some in this thread. Those of you who have traveled into the USA from other countries are familiar with the Customs and Immigration form you have to fill out upon entry into the USA. One of the questions on that form asks something to the effect if you have more than $10,000 in cash on you.

My neighbor is a Customs Agent and I asked him about this. He said it is not illegal to carry more than $10,000 into the country. But it is illegal not to declare it. This applies to US and non-US citizens.

He said the question is asked in order to keep track of the amount of money entering the country. He works at an international airport and said it is not uncommon for him to see people come in from other countries with $80,000 to $100,000 in cash. They can walk right in with all of it if they declare it. I don’t recall what happens if you don’t declare it and they find it. Some of these people come from countries where they don’t trust the banking system to transfer their money to a US account. They are sometimes paying for their child’s college education in the US or immigrating with their life savings.

Although he didn’t say it, I’m pretty sure that huge amounts of cash would trigger some sort of notation on a watch list or intelligence database.

As far as carrying cash domestically on a flight, there is no law that I know of that sets a limit. Some TSA people are police wanna-be’s who overstep their authority and make up rules all the time. Even if this guy escalated the situation by not giving a direct answer, I’m glad he did it. He was doing nothing wrong.

[DJL 235]

He was being pointlessly evasive and wasted a lot of people's time. Sounds like he's patting himself on the back for his grandstanding.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[jonstark 8]

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He was being pointlessly evasive and wasted a lot of people's time. Sounds like he's patting himself on the back for his grandstanding.

He may be patting himself on the back but I would give him a high five for making them think about their proper role. I don't believe it is a waste of time to point out a system stepping over legal bounds or abuse of power.

jon

[porpoishead 8]

I think the fella escalated the situation by acting like a fuckstik...but they were fucking with him unnecessarily

getting all litigious about the whole situation is above and beyond in my opinion but had they not been playing super secret agent they wouldn't be in a pickle.....


good thing somebody with some sense came into the room and let the guy go about his business....sounded like he was about to get his ass whipped

if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

[JohnMitchell 16]

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\...sounded like he was about to get his ass whipped

or examined.

[porpoishead 8]

yeah right...


"lets see what else you may have" as they pop some latex gloves on

if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

[jumpwally 0]

Waste of everyones time..all the idiot had to say was " i'm going to buy a car "..........its then over...

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[DJL 235]

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He was being pointlessly evasive and wasted a lot of people's time. Sounds like he's patting himself on the back for his grandstanding.

He may be patting himself on the back but I would give him a high five for making them think about their proper role. I don't believe it is a waste of time to point out a system stepping over legal bounds or abuse of power.

jon

I hope his case gets thrown out. He pointlessly goaded them into giving him an interrogation. Remember that at the end an officer walks in and asks "So these are campaign contributions for Ron Paul?" and he says, "Yes." Ok, so if he's so adamant about his privacy rights then why did he finally answer the question? Why didn't he say that from the get go if it was such a big deal?

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[councilman24 37]

You don't need to volunteer anything. Some armed folks will forcibly remove you if you don't follow the flight crews instructions.

You seem to believe you have a right to fly with your rig. Get over it. Feel fortunate if they let you. Your option? Drive or take a boat if necessary.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[Bolas 5]

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You don't need to volunteer anything. Some armed folks will forcibly remove you if you don't follow the flight crews instructions.

You seem to believe you have a right to fly with your rig. Get over it. Feel fortunate if they let you. Your option? Drive or take a boat if necessary.

If they decided that we could not take our rigs on planes or even as luggage, it'd suck, but at least we'd know ahead of time.

It's when they just arbitrarilly decide right then and there that I have issues with.

In the hypothetical case, I'd like to believe they'd realize the other person was being irrational and take that into account as far as insurance compensation/flight changes.

Generally if you're calm with people, they will be with you too. If it got to the point where they were threating to forcibly remove me I'd just ask for a ticket refund and leave quietly.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[porpoishead 8]

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if he's so adamant about his privacy rights then why did he finally answer the question?

because he's a pussy, and he got scared eventually.....what the fuck kinda grown man does a TV interview crying about how somebody used bad language in his presence....

if you feel violated, then handle your fucking business.....they would of had to shoot me, but then again I would not have allowed the situation to escalate to such stupidity..

if I was the guy I would have told the TSA the money was from selling rubber dicks to his daddy...

if I was the TSA (man that's really gay) i would have beat the little bitch and took his lunch money

if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

[virgin-burner 1]

no fucking around with you either way, ey!?

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[DJL 235]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Basically, this guy was trying to make some big deal about his rights and he ended up looking like a bitch.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[cloudseeker2001 0]

Sorry fellow........it was only 5k and that is not a big deal. And well below the 10k mark. Yes, he set up the TSA and the "officers" fell into it! Serves them right.

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[jonstark 8]

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I think you hit the nail on the head. Basically, this guy was trying to make some big deal about his rights and he ended up looking like a bitch.

Doug,
Next time somebody tries to trample on your rights try not to roll over on your back and show your tummy. He had the balls to call them at their game. He has the fortitude to continue doing so for the rights of others at the expense of looking like a bitch in your eyes. I laud his efforts.

jon

[DJL 235]

You're right. He's today's Rosa Parks.

Seriously, I just can't take this guy seriously. I admire someone for standing up for rights but I just can't appreciate what he was doing.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[justinb138 0]

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You're right. He's today's Rosa Parks.

Seriously, I just can't take this guy seriously. I admire someone for standing up for rights but I just can't appreciate what he was doing.

And by that you mean resisting answering a question he should never have been asked, by someone who had no business asking the question, after being pulled aside for a breaking a rule that doesn't exist?

[DJL 235]

I do have a little tongue in cheek on this. But I honestly don't care that they asked him that. What if the guy had asked him where he got his shoes? Was he going to sue them for asking him a question that they legally aren't supposed to ask. Put yourself there. You're a low-pay TSA guy and the other low-pay TSA guy who runs the scanner tells you there's a metal box that you're supposed to check. It's full of cash. You ask the first question that comes into your head and the guy becomes evasive. You tell me what's next.

I'll fill in. You report up a level "There's someone here with a lot of cash and he's being extremely evasive."

Remember that this recording didn't start up immediately; he hit record after this this exchange was in full swing so we don't even know what set the TSA off.

So please tell me that him not telling what the cash was for was worth tying up peopel who had a real purpose in an airport. He knew what he was doing - confusing them just so he could get his little recorder going and then go home and post on his Ron Paul Rocks blog about how he's putting the government in their place.

Believe it or not, the humans in uniform are faced with situations in which something just doesn't fit. They can just say, "Well, the book doesn't cover this one" and play blind or they can take action. Yeah, they cussed and played some bluffs that weren't necessary. But you know what wasn't necessary? This guy making a scene to begin with.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[justinb138 0]

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I do have a little tongue in cheek on this. But I honestly don't care that they asked him that. What if the guy had asked him where he got his shoes?

He has no reason to ask, as it's not his job to find out.

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Was he going to sue them for asking him a question that they legally aren't supposed to ask.

Asking a question is one thing. Detaining someone, harrassing them and making threats is a different story.

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Put yourself there. You're a low-pay TSA guy and the other low-pay TSA guy who runs the scanner tells you there's a metal box that you're supposed to check. It's full of cash.

Ok. I see it doesn't contain any weapons or any other banned materials. Next.

It's that easy, assuming the guy does his job - but this guy was curious and tried to use his magic "baggage screener" powers to satisfy his curiosity.

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I'll fill in. You report up a level "There's someone here with a lot of cash and he's being extremely evasive."

Ok, and the proper response would be: Unless cash is now an explosive material, what's the problem?

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He knew what he was doing - confusing them just so he could get his little recorder going and then go home and post on his Ron Paul Rocks blog about how he's putting the government in their place.

Confusing them? By asking them a simple question they should know the answer to assuming they have the least bit of competency?

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Believe it or not, the humans in uniform are faced with situations in which something just doesn't fit. They can just say, "Well, the book doesn't cover this one" and play blind or they can take action.

This TSA's job isn't to investigate why someone has cash, they're there to keep planes from being hijacked and blown up. They're not the IRS.

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Yeah, they cussed and played some bluffs that weren't necessary. But you know what wasn't necessary? This guy making a scene to begin with.

This guy didn't make a scene, he just responded to a scene created by the TSA.

[jonstark 8]

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You're right. He's today's Rosa Parks.

Seriously, I just can't take this guy seriously. I admire someone for standing up for rights but I just can't appreciate what he was doing.

I may sound a little touchy about this but I have spent an entire career in General and Corporate aviation only to see the freedoms therein come under attack in a major way. I am as compliant as the next guy and probably wouldn't have thought twice about the money question. That this guy highlighted the infringement on his rights as an assault on all of us is what I support.

[airdvr 210]

This was a troll from the beginning. There's about a million places $4700 could have been deposited. What stick carries it with him in a metal box?

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[DJL 235]

I hear you. My issue with this is that this guy wasn't setting out to fight oppression. He's a a lackey to a B-list politician making a weak attempt at publicity. If he gave a shit then he would file on an issue that really matters. All this is doing is burning tax-payer dollars.

How in the fuck is this still in Bonfire?

If he really wanted to make something happen then how about the big picture? TSA is undertrained window dressing - more authority than brains. They absolutely botched this whole thing and who knows what else - how many threads do we have on here just about them not knowing what to do about our rigs?

Hell, I got on a plane to DC post 9/11 with no identification. I did it by not being a jackass and by letting the TSA and airport security make educated decisions.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[justinb138 0]

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This was a troll from the beginning. There's about a million places $4700 could have been deposited. What stick carries it with him in a metal box?

1. Someone that finishes a fundraiser and heads straight to the airport to go home.

2. Someone that doesn't know where a local branch of their bank is in a distant city (if there even is one).

3. Someone not trying to hide that they're carrying a moderate amount of cash.

If the guy had it shrink-wrapped and sewn in to the suitcase, I'd say he was looking to cause trouble. In this case, I think he was just trying to get on a plane to get somewhere.

[justinb138 0]

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He's a a lackey to a B-list politician making a weak attempt at publicity. If he gave a shit then he would file on an issue that really matters. All this is doing is burning tax-payer dollars.

I think the B-list politician you're speaking of would be proud of that title considering the present-day definition of 'A-list' politician.

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If he really wanted to make something happen then how about the big picture? TSA is undertrained window dressing - more authority than brains. They absolutely botched this whole thing and who knows what else - how many threads do we have on here just about them not knowing what to do about our rigs?

The big picture? You mean like government constantly overstepping it's authority at every opportunity?

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Hell, I got on a plane to DC post 9/11 with no identification. I did it by not being a jackass and by letting the TSA and airport security make educated decisions.

So your definition of an 'educated decision' is interrogating a guy with $4700 in a plain cash box and letting someone with no ID on an airplane?

[DJL 235]

Yes, like the government overstepping it's boundaries. Pick an issue and go with it. Mr. Wingtips and his $5 grand from the pep rally doesn't cut it. There are a ton of existing cases that they could jump on. This one is just lame.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher