Calling the head of the TSA an idiot — can get you detained
A Wisconsin man who wrote “Kip Hawley is an
Idiot” on a plastic bag containing toiletries said he was detained at an
airport security checkpoint for about 25 minutes before authorities concluded
the statement was not a threat.
“One potato, two potato, the next one is a terrorist!”
A Wisconsin man who wrote “Kip Hawley is an Idiot” on a plastic bag containing toiletries said he was detained at an airport security checkpoint for about 25 minutes before authorities concluded the statement was not a threat.
Ryan Bird, 31, said he wrote the comment about Hawley — head of the Transportation Security Administration — as a political statement. He said he feels the TSA is imposing unreasonable rules on passengers while ignoring bigger threats.
Bird, the vice president of a company that manufactures industrial equipment, said the encounter occurred at Milwaukee Airport on Tuesday, the day the TSA eased restrictions on carry-on liquids, gels and aerosols.
Bird entered the airport checkpoint with a see-through resealable bag containing small containers of toothpaste, deodorant, mouthwash and hair gel — in keeping with new TSA requirements.
Bird put the marked bag in a plastic tray along with his shoes and cell phone. A TSA screener saw the bag and went to get a supervisor, who grabbed it and asked Bird if it was his.
“It was obvious that he was already angry,” Bird said, adding that the screener told him, “You can’t write things like that.”
The supervisor told Bird he had the right to express his opinions “out there” — pointing outside the screening area — but did not have the right “in here,” Bird said.
TSA employee candidate
The supervisor called a sheriff’s deputy, who checked to see if Bird had any warrants for his arrest, Bird said. Bird asked the officer if he was under arrest, and was told that he was being detained, he said.
A supervisor said he was going to confiscate the bag, but after Bird refused, he just photographed it, Bird said.
Kip Hawley may not be an idiot. He just hires idiots — and he works for, uh, George W. Bush and Michael Chertoff.
Posted: Fri - September 29, 2006 at 06:47 AM