TSA embarrassment

Sorry to keep harping on the TSA, but two things have happened since my last post to add more perspective to the subject of air security.

The first was the story of the Nigerian man, Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, who managed to board a flight from JFK to LA with a stolen, expired boarding pass. The evidence suggests he has done this before. He got caught only because he forgot to bathe, and nearby passengers complained about his smell.

So, if you read my earlier post, we’re so busy worrying about grandma’s diaper and innocent little girls that we don’t notice the fully grown man with an expired boarding pass? Luckly, Noibi was just a guy who liked to travel, not a terrorist. Too bad he apparently liked to travel in the same clothes, all the time, without ever stopping at a laundromat.

But clearly, we need to find a better way to conduct airport security. Which brings me to the second thing.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz visited with our editorial board this week. Naturally, this subject came up. His solution? Use metal detectors, a few pointed questions and bomb sniffing dogs.

The metal detectors would pick up obvious stuff, like the gun you forgot to leave home. The interviews would be conducted the way the Israelis do at their airports — just a few simple questions laced with things like, “What’s your birthday?” that would trip up people with false identities.

The dogs wouldn’t even have to put their snouts where they don’t belong. Chaffetz’ point is that a dog could just wander around near a group of people and quickly pick up the scent of trouble.

Dogs cost a lot less than all those fancy machines the TSA now uses. That may be a problem if those machine makers have a strong lobby.

Of course, it wouldn’t stop smelly guys from gaming the system with expired boarding passes. TSA agents will have to learn to sniff those people out on their own.