Thursday, January 14, 2010

8-year-old on TSA security list

The New York Times reports on Mikey Hicks, age 8, who has been on the TSA "selectee" list for additional security screening since age 2. (link here, don't know how long it will work; and hat tip to Kerry for the article)

I love the "mythbusting" on the TSA website:

Myth: The No-Fly list includes an 8-year-old boy.
Buster: No 8-year-old is on a T.S.A. watch list.

You know, mythbusting - getting through all the formalities and clutter to provide answers that real people can understand. But look at the bureaucratic, legalistic thinking behind the mythbust: "There are no 8-year-olds on the no-fly list. Oh, that other list... the selectee list... well, that's a totally different list, you see. Not really a watch list at all. Of course there are 8-year-olds on that list." (But not "as a rule". Thanks for the clarification, TSA spokesman James Fontenos.)

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