I looked around for Diaries or stories on this, but it looks as if this somehow passed us by. Last Thursday, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) announced a change in policy - "...passengers that willfully refuse to provide identification at security checkpoint[s] will be denied access to the secure area of airports."
So, does this mean that if you don't present ID, you cannot fly? Not at all. If you state that you have lost your ID, you will still be able to fly. Only people who, for whatever reason (be it legal protest or desire to hide something) refuse to present ID will be banned.
This new procedure will not affect passengers that may have misplaced, lost or otherwise do not have ID but are cooperative with officers.
So, If I leave my ID at home, but cooperate with them, I can fly - even if my cooperation is deception or an outright lie. If I refuse - no fly, son!
The TSA says that this is designed to increase safety, but I don't see it. A terrorist is not going to be belligerent and call attention to him/herself before getting on a flight. Instead, they will most likely be extremely cooperative, and have false IDs. So what could be the real reason for this?
Honestly, to me it looks like a means of quashing any dissent and opposition to the ID requirements, although it also could be an example of security theater, designed to convince people that the TSA is 'Sanitizing travel for your protection'.
**sigh**
Once again, the current administration manages to remind me of something from a bad movie about the former Soviet-bloc countries. Can I scream now?