TSA: Now admitting stun guns on a plane near you.

First of all, how does TSA miss this?

They’re checking the diapers of seniors and babies for bombs and guns (because that’s the type of people that typically attack airplanes). They’re using machines that expose every inch of you to the random perusal of a unionized, blue-shirted, under-appreciated and over-empowered government agent. They have been accused of stealing iPads and electronics from travelers bags. And now they missed a stun gun at security.

A cleaning crew reportedly found the stun gun in a seatback pocket while tidying up a plane that had landed at Newark. The flight had originated at Logan International in Boston but had made several other stops during the day. The Newark Port Authority has turned the weapon over to the Trouser Search Administration, which said it and the FBI are jointly investigating the matter but that it was currently unclear how the device got on board.

via If You Left a Stun Gun on a JetBlue Flight Friday, the TSA Would Like to Speak With You – Lowering the Bar.

I guess it could have been the gun of a US Marshall who is just too embarrassed to go back for it, but I thought they packed the real thing.

I know there is a learning curve to this whole national-security-meets-theater thing, but this really is a blow to any confidence TSA is supposed to provide fliers. Stopping the harmful and letting the harmless through (and not fleecing travelers along the way) is job priority number one, a job that TSA seems to fail to do repeatedly.

That said, I for one am glad that none of TSA’s fumbling and stumbling has resulted in any successful penetrations by Al Qaeda or any other terrorist. I just wish TSA could get their act together without the massive cost, personal intrusion, and incompetence.

Israel, with far greater threats, has seemed to figure it out; why can’t TSA?