First, the airline industry and the government expanded their full body scanners to ten airports, despite knowing that it won’t do any good to prevent terrorism.  Now, the TSA has changed the rules and you will be denied your flight if you refuse to show your ID.

“Beginning Saturday, June 21, 2008 passengers that willfully refuse to provide identification at security checkpoint will be denied access to the secure area of airports. This change will apply exclusively to individuals that simply refuse to provide any identification or assist transportation security officers in ascertaining their identity.”

Exactly what kind of assistance am I supposed to give them?  Do I just respond with my name?  Give them my boarding pass?  Give up fingerprints?  Will this “assistance” be the same at all airports or, as usual, be discretionary?

This new procedure will not affect passengers that may have misplaced, lost or otherwise do not have ID but are cooperative with officers. Cooperative passengers without ID may be subjected to additional screening protocols, including enhanced physical screening, enhanced carry-on and/or checked baggage screening, interviews with behavior detection or law enforcement officers and other measures.”

So, if you refuse your ID, you’ll be denied boarding.  If you claim you lost your ID, you’ll get a little extra patdown and then continue on your way.  On what planet does this make sense?  Did the TSA purposely come up with this loophole?  “Oh, but officer, I left my ID at home.  Honest.”  The only terrorists we’re going to be protected from now are those who don’t know how to lie.  Do they really think that any terrorist is going to refuse to show ID?  No, they will have proper ID and no one will know until it’s too late.

This is just more security theater and it pisses me off.  I don’t need to be controlled in every aspect of my life.  If I don’t have to show ID to travel from state to state, why are the airlines allowed to violate this law?  IDs are just another hoop we’re now forced to jump through.

All the policies and laws enacted since 9/11 still wouldn’t have prevented 9/11.  I know several ways I could kill someone on a plane and I don’t need to take any weapons with me.  If I were a ninja (seriously) I could also kill many people on a plane.