For those who haven't been following the news of the new airport security, here is a brief rundown of where we are today: when you go through security at the airport if you are ârandomlyâ selected for secondary screening you must submit to being photographed by a machine that can literally âsee throughâ your clothes.

If you object to having your naked body seen by random strangers, you have another object: âenhanced patdown.â The enhanced patdown includes agents groping your genitalia.

Random Selections

Random selection for searches already have a precedent in America; the Supreme court ruled in Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz that sobriety checks were legal. In an earlier case, the Supreme Court predicated that searches of this type must follow a formal formula for the searching such that ever Nth car would investigated. Further it explicitly stated that once the formula was set for a given sobriety checkpoint, officers in the field did not have discretion in investigating cars outside of that formula.

For comparison, the TSA's random selection process for secondary screening is left completely to the TSA agents "in the field." In at least one published case the TSA agent's discretion in this has lead to, "Head's up, got a cutie for you," as reason for secondary screening.

Give Us Nudes

The machines in use by the TSA use a millimeter wave camera. In essence these camera are a high-tech version of the X-Ray spyglasses of old Comic Books. When an image is taken of a person, you can see their rather detailed naked body.

Observers removed from the scene of the actual photograph look at monitors filled with these photos determining if you are carrying anything you should be. It's important to note a chilling fact here. Children are being randomly selected to go through these machines, as well as adults.

Unless I'm mistaken, there are a handful of laws on the books regarding taking naked photos of children. While parents are scared to take "bath-time" photos now, Europeans are told before coming to America not to take photos of their children at the beach, and high school children are being arrested for taking naked photos of themselves, somehow when the TSA does it it's alright. It's for our safety.

Fine, We'll Touch You

You're welcome to opt-out of the X-Ray machine. Why wouldn't you want to be photographed naked by your government? What are you hiding? This is the logic used to follow up with enhanced patdowns.

An enhanced patdown is when a TSA agent runs their hands up and down your legs, rubs your groin, moves their hand up and doing your sides, stomach, back, arms. If you're a woman, it includes groping your breasts as well.

Outside of the airport this usually described as snuggling with your significant other, or sexual assault and molestation. If you were to go out on the street and touch any random stranger in this way, you would be in jail.

If you were a police officer with the Huntington Beach Police Department and utilized this type of a pat-down during a citation you would be suspended from duty and whomever you did this to would have a lawsuit against the city.

Again, children are not except from this, and the storm of YouTube videos of small children screaming while TSA agents molest them in front of hundreds of witnesses who do nothing is enough proof that it going on.

A Note On TSA Agents

It is important to remember that by and large the majority of TSA agents don't like this anymore than the passengers do. If your job suddenly got a new policy that you're going to be groping random strangers for hours on end every day, you likely wouldn't like it. These policies are made by people much higher up the chain, and like the saying goes, âDon't shot the messenger.â While protesting the TSA, congress, senators and practicing civil disobedience with these illegal actions is a reasonable response, insulting or assaulting the TSA agents themselves is simply wrong.

Flying Is A Privilege

I've heard it said often now, âFlying is a privilege, not a right.â This statement seems to come up more and more as invasive search methods are becoming more predominantly used.

Under the constitution of the United States of America, the right to travel is guaranteed, and has been upheld by the Supreme Court (Saenz v. Roe, Paul v. Virginia).

Flying is commerce. Privately owned airlines accept money in return for selling you a service. It is as much a âprivilegeâ as buying groceries.