When I started this blog over 5 years ago, I named it for my literal goal: to get the TSA’s hands and radiation literally out of our pants. While minimizing the TSA’s encroachment on our bodies is still a strong focus for me, we’ve also delved into other areas of civil rights advocacy: “street body scanners” proposed by the NYPD, sending the NSA thousands of FOIA requests (and the FISA court hundreds of motions to force the NSA to delete the data they illegally collected), stopping stop & frisk, and other government abuses. I think we’ve a bit outgrown the name, and so, “TSA Out Of Our Pants” is now “Professional Troublemaker,” a blog about the journey of a civil rights advocate.
What is a “Professional Troublemaker?”
From the first court filings, my polite insistence that my rights be respected has been met with a certain hostility. The DoJ has said that my arguments are as a terrorist would make. The Supreme Court had me deliver my petition to them in a garbage bag. A county sheriff’s office lied about what evidence of their own misconduct they possessed and attempted to evade service like a deadbeat avoiding child support. And all over, my substantive complaints were met not with substantive defenses, but procedural shields.
Challenging the status quo is viewed as causing trouble, apparently, and as that is the role I’m looking to take on, I’m happy to accept the title as well.
2016 will be full of new things, as my TSA security interview lawsuit gets heard, I continue with my second year of law school, and I start to delve into second amendment rights, as I’m assuming NYC isn’t going to be too accommodating with the handgun license app I’m filing tomorrow.
Professional Troublemaker ® 
Nothing but good wishes and much success!
Congrats! It’s been a great journey of discovery so far, looking forward to seeing you keeping up the good work.
Jon, thanks for your efforts over the years and I look forward to more in the future.
Hard to believe you think you’re handgun license application will run into “trouble”……
You had to deliver the petition in a garbage bag. That is pretty funny. Actually the Supreme Court are the troublemakers for upholding idiotic positions. Bunch of tools. Kudos “troublemaker” 🙂
TSA Continues Delay of Legal Authority for Airport Body Scanners:
https://epic.org/2015/11/tsa-continues-delay-of-legal-a.html
More than 500 travelers to U.S. flagged daily for “national security concerns:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2015/11/dhs_more_than_500_cited_daily_for_security_concerns
You can be denied the right to fly if cut in front of a flight attendant!
http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2015/12/police-state-america-denies-passengers.html
Why The TSA Feels Like The Mafia:
I Get Nostalgic for East Germany, When I Deal With the TSA:
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/12/james-bovard/tsa-makes-nostalgic-east-germany/
TSA/DHS To Interiew Everyone Who’s Visited Iraq or Syria:
U.S. Senate Democrats plan to unveil a package of proposals this week to tighten domestic security in the wake of the mass shooting in California.
“Another element, which Republicans are expressing support for, would tighten a visa waiver program enjoyed by travelers in 38 countries, many in Europe. It would require visa interviews for people in those countries if they have recently traveled to Iraq or Syria.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/san-bernardino-shooting-national-security_5664c463e4b072e9d1c68bbf
TSA’s No-Fly List Searchable Database:
http://www.no-fly-list.com/
California newest airport terminal extends to Mexico:
http://www.mail.com/news/us/3999850-california-newest-airport-terminal-extends-to-mexico.html#.7518-stage-hero1-3
ACLU: The No-Fly List Needs Major Reform Before Stripping Americans of Freedoms
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2015/12/09/aclu-the-nofly-list-needs-major-reform-before-stripping-americans-of-freedoms-n2091466
ACLU: Until the No Fly List Is Fixed, It Shouldn’t Be Used to Restrict People’s Freedoms
https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/until-no-fly-list-fixed-it-shouldnt-be-used-restrict-peoples-freedoms?fb
Police perform ‘stop-and-frisk ’searches a block away from Star Wars premiere:
Police set up metal detectors a BLOCK away from the movie theater!
According to an article in TMZ, Los Angeles Police and private security officers searched and frisked anyone walking through the area. People were being forced to go through metal detectors on public sidewalks!
READ MORE:
http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2015/12/police-perform-stop-and-frisk-searches.html
Airport Security Lines May Get Worse:
In the coming Christmas and New Year traveling period, the cutbacks to the PreCheck lanes as well as the increasing number of passengers using air travel will both contribute to security lines growing longer.
Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but holiday travelers passed through airports’ security linesrelatively quickly.
The Wall Street Journal reports that security lines at airports are likely to get longer as a result of cutbacks by the TSA in its PreCheck program.
TSA had already said it anticipates longer lines at security checkpoints after news emerged that TSA officer had failed to detect weapons in an astonishingly high number of instances in which undercover DHS agents smuggled weapons through security checkpoints while testing the effectiveness of airport security systems.
Thanksgiving weekend saw waiting time which was not as high as initially predicted. The number of travelers increased by 6 percent from last year, and some 2.8 million more items needed to be imaged at checkpoints. The number of people who waited longer than twenty minutes, however, was up only between 1 percent to 3 percent compared with last year for the week beginning the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
“I’m quite happy with how operations turned out,’’ Kelly Hoggan, TSA’s assistant administrator for security operations, told the Journal.
With fears of terrorism and the number of people going through airports both on the rise, the pressure on TSA only increases.
In an effort to speed up the screening and enhance security, TSA launched the PreCheck system. PreCheck allows people to sign up for the program so they can skip the sower security screening at checkpoints. The applicants are usually frequent fliers and are trusted travelers who meet criteria approved by the TSA.
To persuade people to sign up for the PreCheck system, TSA would randomly pick out individuals from the conventional line and take them to the PreCheck lanes so that they can see for themselves how this expedited screening method works.
That system was harshly criticized by DHS Inspector General John Roth, whose undercover agents earlier this year also unearthed the widespread failure of TSA officers to spot weapons being smuggled through airport security checkpoints.
In response, TSA put 50,000 screeners through eight hours of training focusing on spotting hidden weapons. TSA administrator Peter Neffenger, on 12 September, also had the agency stop picking passengers who were not vetted out of line for expedited screening.
In the coming Christmas and New Year traveling period, the cutbacks to the PreCheck lanes as well as the increasing number of passengers using air travel will both contribute to security lines growing longer.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/airport-security-lines-may-get-worse-1449088865
Are TSA actions subject to judicial review?
http://papersplease.org/wp/2015/12/18/are-tsa-actions-subject-to-judicial-review/
14 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of TSA Agents:
First, they think cats are the real terrorists…
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/12/no_author/14-secrets-tsa-agents/
why don’t you crawl back down the hole you slunk out of.