TSA Goes After Pilot Who Dares to Reveal Their Security Kabuki

We all know that airport security is little more than a kabuki dance designed to make us think we're more secure because of all the equipment and janitors-with-a-TSA-badge.  One pilot dared to point out the foolishness of all this with a series of YouTube videos and the TSA and other authorities came calling:

An airline pilot is being disciplined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for posting video on YouTube pointing out what he believes are serious flaws in airport security.

The 50-year-old pilot, who lives outside Sacramento, asked that neither he nor his airline be identified. He has worked for the airline for more than a decade and was deputized by the TSA to carry a gun in the cockpit.

He is also a helicopter test pilot in the Army Reserve and flew missions for the United Nations in Macedonia.

Three days after he posted a series of six video clips recorded with a cell phone camera at San Francisco International Airport, four federal air marshals and two sheriff's deputies arrived at his house to confiscate his federally-issued firearm. The pilot recorded that event as well and provided all the video to News10.

At the same time as the federal marshals took the pilot's gun, a deputy sheriff asked him to surrender his state-issued permit to carry a concealed weapon.

A follow-up letter from the sheriff's department said the CCW permit would be reevaluated following the outcome of the federal investigation.

They think that by using heavy-handed tactics they can discourage others from exposing their flaws, but it isn't going to work that way. Look for lots more videos, this time published anonymously, by other pilots and crew to further embarrass the TSA gropers.