TSA Pre-Check To Sell Basic Rights Back To Flyers

How much would you pay?

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Launching an all-new endeavor that highlights the true competence of the TSA, all flyers are now
given access to the TSA Pre-Check program.

The Pre-Check program allows passengers to keep their belts and jackets on, leave laptops in their cases, and to keep small liquids and gels in their carry-ons, essentially skipping all the inconvenience and hassle that the TSA has fostered over the last decade. The program will be available in 100 major airports by the end of the year, and merely requires passengers to be fingerprinted beforehand to check their identity against official government records.

Clearly, the idea behind this is that anyone with any terrorist inclinations would be way too cheap to pay the $85 fee to skip any sort of security or scrutiny. If Mohammad Salameh, one of the bombers of the 1993 World Trade Center attack, getting caught after attempting to retrieve the $400 deposit he left on the rental van used in the attack is any indication, then this may not be far from the truth.

Still, this makes airport security and the TSA not only look bad, but also makes the entire thing look
like a sting operation. Back before 9/11, anyone could run through the airport like they were O.J. Simpson, but now it looks as though the $85 will help to restore some of the airport glory days, at least a little bit.

[via Gawker]

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