Thoreau is Probably Never Flying Again

He notes one little bit of TSA insanity

To make it worse, they now claim to have methods for picking up on my irritation and responding to it.

[snip]

Maccario emphasized that the program takes into account the typical stress many of us experience when traveling, especially during the holidays.

Ordinary people who are feeling anxious are “much more open with their body movements and their facial expressions as compared to an operational terrorist (thinking) ‘I’ve got to defeat security,’ ” Maccario said. “We’re looking for behavior indicators that show a certain level of stress, fear or anxiety above and beyond that shown by an anxious member of the traveling public.”

Now how much experience with terrorists does Maccario have ? It is not possible to learn the behavior typical of a terrorist attempting to board an airplane without extensive observation of terrorists attempting to board airplanes.

Extensive experience harassing non terrorists (some of whom were arrested and none of whom has been prosecuted) is not helpful.