I’ve been on the phone all day for the last 2 days with reporters and journalists of all kinds, including the big bad MSM, and one South Florida reporter told me that he had been “strongly cautioned” by the TSA not to cover my viral YouTube video showing TSA nude body scanners to be completely worthless. Absolutely unbelievable:
Update: The name of the TSA spokeswoman who attempted to intimidate this journalist is Sari Koshetz.
Update 2: Second journalist comes forward in comments on this post: SmarterTravel March 8, 2012 at 3:34 pm | #11 Reply | Quote | Edit We were also “strongly cautioned” not to cover the story. We did anyway at SmarterTravel: http://tinyurl.com/7te5wj8
The TSA is clearly no fan of the 4th Amendment, nor of 5th Amendment due process rights, and now this blatant attempt to manipulate the free press with “strong caution” hits at Amendment the First. Why strong caution? Are there repercussions for journalists that fail to heed this “advice?” Because, you know, if I were a member of the free press and the federal government asked me to censor myself, I’d happily comply . . . . . . . . . riiight.
I have news for the federal government: Americans will not take censorship in any form. We thought we made this clear when you tried to force SOPA on us.
So what should we do about this? If you’re a journalist who has received any kind of similar warning, please contact me. Everyone else, please take a moment to contact your local mainstream media outlets (Fox, ABC, NBC, CNN, etc.) to request that they cover the original story. The Internet has been absolutely amazing as have large alternative programs (Alex Jones, for example) and I do believe that we have successfully spread the word. But, if the TSA doesn’t want the MSM to cover it, there’s probably a reason, so let’s take the battle there!
Professional Troublemaker ® 
Welcome to the New, Improved America 2.0; the Police State perfected.
The government of the United States is at war; at war with the citizens. And we are ;losing.
Wow; semicolons; really; I think North Korea has the police state a bit more perfected than us. Taxes != police state. But you are losing; an intellectual battle
Perfection is a never-ending struggle, but have faith: we will prevail!
The TSA doesn’t see semicolons. They’re asshats, they only see full colons.
He’s not talking about taxes. He’s talking about the erosion of our civil liberties from the Patriot Act on.
“Taxes != police state”
???????
Utter falsehood. Totally incorrect an untrue statement.
How lame is this guy? The last 4 posts were him correcting Grammar. You are “That Guy”….
Your an American Hero, flat out! Please start a podcast called the Corbett report to drown out the Japanese Canadian expat and Austrian austerity ghoul named James.
*You’re
Do you really have nothing better to do than police the grammar of other people? Get a life.
@antigramma Do you really have nothing better to do than police the policing of other people? Get a life.
@antiantigram Do you really have nothing better to do than delving into a never-ending stream of recursive anti-ness, eventually collapsing all society into AntiAntiAnti? Get a life, before it’s turtles all the way down!
You betcha you have an “agenda”–exposing TSA abuse of our 4th Amendment and government waste. Why would any journalist want to cover those little things when we can talk about, I don’t know, Tim Teabow going Hollywood or the latest antics of Lindsey Lohan?
The Main Stream Media is indeed the Lame Stream Media. That’s o.k., it won’t be the first great story to be broken by the blogosphere.
*; instead f – sorry! I know grammar is SUPER difficult!
actually, “exposing tsa abuse of our 4th amendment and government waste” is not a sentence. therefore, you would not use ;, but -.
i hope my typing in lowercase is especially annoying.
get a life, let me guess your a school teacher… wanker
* of instead of f – sorry! I know spelling is SUPER difficult!
Actually the dependent clause “exposing TSA abuse” is known as a gerund dependent clause, which describes the direct object noun, agenda, so a semicolon would be inappropriate here as it is used on an independent clause, which could stand alone as a sentence, but the semicolon shows it is closely related to the prior independent clause. A comma would be most appropriate after agenda, but a dash can be used in this case, though some may disagree on the fine points of style here. Please free to post your grammar issues here, and I shall gladly defenestrate the questions raised.
Signed,
The Grammar Pope
I curse the tsa…daily!
*TSA, acronyms are generally in upper case.
Actually it is an initialism, not an acronym. If you want to correct someone, do it correctly.
No, it’s an acronym. If you’re going to correct someone’s correction, do it correctly. ly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym_and_initialism#Nomenclature
No, it would only be an acronym if it were pronounced as a word. If we were speaking Russian we might say “Tsa”, but since we’re speaking English we sound out each letter, T. S. A. It’s an initialism (as the wiki you linked to says). In the old days we would have put a period after each letter as I did two sentences ago.
Initialism.
It won’t work anymore. The TSA is obviously incapable of keeping this story from spreading, and the mainstream media *will* be talking about it sooner or later. I believe, despite the existence of TSA and drones and Bearcats and DHS spies, that Americans still value their freedoms. The TSA will not win. We will defeat them.
They already are… Fox News has it leading their SciTech section (and waaay down on their front page), and several radio stations have broadcast live interviews.
Normally you don’t add a comma directly before an ‘and’. Probably home-skoold!
English grammar requires the use of a comma prior to a conjunction connecting two independent clauses. The first clause would be “Fox News has it leading their SciTech section (and waay down on their front page)” and the second clause would be “several radio stations have broadcast live interviews.” Each clause in that example could stand on its own as a sentence. See http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/020204WhenCommaBfAnd.htm
First of all, you can and should use a comma to separate two independent clauses even when using a conjunction.
Secondly, there are numerous grammatical mistakes in your sentence. Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Normally you don’t add a comma directly before an [an is unnecessary] ‘and’ [unnecessary use of single quotes]. Probably home-skoold! [incomplete sentence sentence]
Feel free to attack my grammar, but know that I did not cast the first stone.
I e-mailed the National Desk of the NY Times asking if they had been told not to cover this story. Unsurprisingly, I’ve not heard back.
So, did the South Florida journalist still conduct the interview?
Just a suggestion from someone who works in the social media world (& has had success in getting stories spread virally):
You might consider updating this post to include a backlink to the original post. It’ll help those people who just arrive here and have no idea what you’re talking about. (And vice-versa – update the original post with links to the follow-ups.)
Keep doing what you’re doing. Good luck!
You surely meant bbq … Rather than backlink…. Snookies havin a babi. Pleeeease
Thanks for what you are doing–all of us who travel through airports will benefit. I hate that they have these new scanners, with no proof of what that radiation does to us!
And now we have proof they don’t even work!
We already knew they wouldn’t be effective because the 9/11 hijackers didn’t take their weapons through passenger security, they had people working in baggage, maintenance, or catering sneak the weapons onto the planes.
We’ve known this since late 2001.
And yet the TSA keeps expanding passenger screening.
We were also “strongly cautioned” not to cover the story. We did anyway at SmarterTravel: http://tinyurl.com/7te5wj8
The DHS/TSA doesn’t care! They never have! Our government doesn’t care either. They will continue to push the issue in regards to airport security. We, the people will end up losing again. I have spoke out against the TSA since working at the airlines and am in strong support for what Jonathan has done. Keep up the great work!
…what was the story?
I just emailed someone at the L.A. Times and sent a letter to two other newspapers here in So Cal. Fingers crossed that somebody will bite.
Now sent to: L.A. Times, Pasadena Star News, Long Beach Press Telegram, San Diego Tribune, Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News, Torrance Daily Breeze.
You should do an IAmA on Reddit.
Please see if you can post the email that was sent. I understand about omitting personal data of whom it was sent, but everything else can be printed.
e.g. her contact info and the content of the email.
I’ll have to get it by FOIA. Her contact e-mail is probably firstname.lastname@tsa.dhs.gov, if you’d like to tell her your thoughts.
TSA assumes an authority they don’t have. Expose them accordingly.
What story? you did not link to a story nor mention what the original story was.
so…what story? I get the censorship, but what’s being censored? so far it’s still being censored.
TSA Scam confirmed: Wired magazine reported on major Body scanner flaw in 2011
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/scanners-part3/
From the article:
“Some research claims the machines — which produce a virtual nude image of the body — might not detect explosives or even guns taped to a person’s body.”
Bingo! This PROVES that the TSA has known about this for a LONG time — and done NOTHING to fix it!
Ah the furute is here, minority report is soon a reality!
NOT THE DREADED FURUTE (sic)!!
Are you the Grammar Troll?
*FUTURE* .lol
They’re obviously not pulling the wool over the eyes of anyone who’s visited this site. Aren’t the TSA aware that these fucking things don’t work and present a public health hazard at the same time???
Next thing you know, we’ll need a fucking microchip in our asses to get on a fucking domestic flight.
Do you all know it’s simpler to get onto a domestic flight in Communist China than it is to do the same thing here? Of course, you can also smoke during takeoff, landing, refueling…..
“If Uncle Sam wants to shove a microchip up your ass, you bend over and say “God Bless America.” – Red Foreman (paraphrased)
I strongly suggest people start using the more appropriate name for MSM which is the corporate media propaganda machine, or just corporate media which is what they really are.
I came to this site for the first time today and was a little confused about what the entire premise is, until I did a bit more reading. I’m still not entirely sure I have the whole story.
I would suggest that you write up an ‘About’ page (and put the link at the top) that explains everything from start to finish, with links to some of the more relevant blog posts.
Jonathan, thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do. I hope more people see you as an example to follow. I’m blogging this and urge everyone with a blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter account or a home Xerox machine to get the word out far and wide.
Our rights are being eroded in this country right and left and the biggest danger is all the people who are too comfortable — who can’t be bothered; who stand around blinking like sheep.
I am a frequent flyer and have not doubt Jonathan has discovered a flaw in the methodology used with the backscatter scanners. TSA solution, if they would admit there is a flaw, is to have the person do a quater turn after first scan so all sides can be properly scanned.
Actually that still won’t work. The scanner is still blind.
Basically all scanners will have issues with something, so either the solution is more scanners, one after the other, or something else.
I’ve always argued for background checks as the primary security check. When you apply for a tourist visa or buy your first airline ticket, you are screened and you are checked against watchlists etc. – if you’ve associated with radical groups, visited known trouble-spots more than once or similar, you’re banned from even entering the airport. All that’s left is to do simple scans at the gate for knives or guns carried by your garden variety crazies with no known prior history and you’re all set with a security level significantly higher than today. This method would have stopped *all* the 9/11 hijackers which the current scanners wouldn’t; they’d fail completely in detecting regular metal box-cutters taped to the skin or carbon fiber box-cutters in general.
Amazing, but sadly quite believable.
The fact that Blogdad Bob mocked you over in Propaganda Village means that you clearly got to them. Keep up the good work.
Are you speaking of Blogger Boob?
Heard you on John & Ken — good for you!!! BTW, my brother and I did a very quick parody on the TSA — you can see it at – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVZDGDuoBBM
It won’t be long before you are on the “No-Fly” list for attempting to circumvent security.
He’s already been escorted out of airport security numerous times for refusing to go through scanners and refusing the grope-downs.
This time around he was not attempting to circumvent it, he was really going through it.
i thought the TSA was a private company ?
they would not fall under Federal government then.
either way what they did is wrong.
Completely agree with everything you’ve said. Is it possible that I know you in the real world? Did you live in Birmingham within the past decade?
Do you really have nothing better to do that police the grammar police? Get a life.
Lay off this guy. He’s involved in one of our operations.
Seriously, though, you should link to the original story you’re referring to. I know it’s two posts down on your blog’s main page, but a lot of people are coming straight to this entry from slashdot and wherever else.
I’ve actually read the USA PATRIOT Act. It’s not as bad as you seem to think it is.
^ LoL. True comedian.
Thanks, Chris, you’re part of the problem. How do those jackboots fit?
It has been picked up by some of the mainstream media in Australia. Interesting to see what happens with it.
DrE
I write about the TSA quite a bit.
I figured out Sari Koshetz’s email address, sent her an email requesting comment, and got her response, which I found alarmingly vague and ambiguous. I posted about it here:
http://www.popehat.com/2012/03/08/in-which-i-strongly-caution-the-tsa-to-snort-my-taint-and-probably-get-on-the-no-fly-list/
Actually they used box-cutters which were not prohibited.
Let me guess, “your” not…
If you want the serious media (people and organizations that get paid to do their jobs, and not just some crank or hacks) you need to act like someone that is serious and credible.
You have two excellent case studies that illustrate exactly what you are talking about. But, when the TSA starts to go after the mainstream media, don’t blow your cool, or your stack, about squashing 1st, 4th or 5th amendment rights like some tinfoil hat conspiracy type. As much as we may not like it, the mainstream, reputable, media very carefully pick and choose their stories. Unlike Fox, it’s not all sensationalism. They have become burned, and burned badly, due to folks with similar intent as yours with similar levels of evidence that (due to their carelessness) they didn’t corroborate and it fried them. Case in point. Round one of the Barack Obama birth certificate. Lots of really good evidence that it was faked until an typography expert at Adobe Systems basically caused Dan Rather to loose not just his job but his entire career. Dan started out as a war correspondent on the front lines in Vietnam. He was not the type to get ‘riled up’, but lost sight of his journalistic integrity in an effort to break the story.
Also remember that the mainstream media will not kill the golden goose, but may bite the hand that feeds them. What I mean by this is that they need Washington, and all of its ilk, to make a living. They, the media, make their living by biting them occasionally, but never going after the kill. The last two that really did that were Bernstein and Woodward. Mainstream media very well could be just biting their time. Waiting for the heat to cool down, for them to run their own tests and to try to catch the TSA off guard.
As for privatizing the TSA – wrong direction for your efforts. Remember, airport security was private (both passenger, crew and baggage) when 9/11 occurred. A lot of good it did us then. Also, the TSA was created under one of the most pro-business, right wing administrations we’ve had in a long time. What the TSA should be doing is trying to actually think like a terrorist and get back to basics, rather than listening to RAND and other ‘think tanks’. Technology is just a tool, not an answer. Personally I have no problem with back scatter or any other such system, so long as it’s used correctly and has other systems/methods/procedures to back it up.
Keep it cool and keep up the pressure. You will get your day – it just may not be when you want it to.
Dan Rather did not lose his job over Obama’s birth certificate. I think you are talking about a document related to Bush.
Xaca Xulu, lol, what a name.
Probably Chinese, but Definitely a Cockhead.
“serious media”? Just because they get paid? Getting paid is the motivation for most of it to even be there, and that means all they do is follow the money. Sure there are cranks and hacks everywhere. But they are in the “paid media” probably even more so. Just look at how little the “paid media” covered SOPA and PIPA. It’s more like “paid-off media”.
Not a Chink, lol, what an uninspired name.
Probably an uneducated racist, but Definitely an immature manboy.
Sari Jayne Koshetz. Grad. School of Journalism, Columbia University. Class of 1979.
Well, we all ought to claim to be “the press” (which we all are) and ask the TSA nosy questions, to see if they “strongly caution” us
Lousy grammar stops people from reading the meaning of a message, so correcting it is actually doing the author a favour.
The good thing, with all this censorship and abuse by america on its citizens; AND other parts of the world as well (effects are being pushed and spread by usa)…
Yes, the good thing is that more and more people are waking up and realizing they’re living in a police state where rules and laws have been twisted and bent so far, only DRASTIC measures can possibly get you out of that dangerous hole. It started with the patriot act, up to the sopa pipa acta, which usa is already enforcing regardless of the current state of laws (websites being removed at will)…
Nude radiocative scanners (banned in europe), banning protests, arrests based on “suspicions”, torture, guantanamo, death penalty, censorship, legalized privacy invasions, ignoring UN, Geneva, pissing on dead soldiers, ETC ETC… The land of the free? No no no, not anymore. Time to wake up USA. You are NOT free. You are a police state. I used to dream of visiting, now I’d just be too scared. Land of the paranoid, land of the [bleeeeeeeep].