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Comment by skwirl | Hacker News Reader

"Opening the enrollment centers, 300 in all, will be a step toward TSA Administrator John S. Pistole’s grander plan to reduce the security hassle for low-risk passengers so his workers can focus on those who give some reason for suspicion."

Get ready for cries of profiling. Get ready for endless articles about people who were denied entry into this program with no reason given.

The reason grandmothers have to take off their shoes and jewelry and be groped is not for security. I don't know how the TSA plans on implementing this system without backlash.

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As if terrorism was rational. Or wait, was it? ...

> Any time you make an easy path through security, you invite your adversary to use it.

Well it's not like those terrorists would attempt the difficult risk-taking activities like signing up for a program and getting rejected..

I've got an even better idea that will reduce security hassles... Ditch the TSA and the screening program.

The TSA is probably not using these reasons, but there are security reasons to screen everybody. Any time you make an easy path through security, you invite your adversary to use it. You talk about screening grandmothers as if this was irrational; do you think there are no old ladies out there who harbor a deep hatred of the United States and are willing to carry a bomb onto an airplane? There certainly aren't a lot of them, but they don't need a lot, they just need one.

And it's not worth the cost of stopping her.

I agree with this. I have a much better chance being killed by a local cop than anything to do with terrorism.

I also agree. But if you accept the premise that you want to put a lot of effort into stopping these people, then it makes sense to search everyone, even "little old ladies".

Well, now the grandmother can just pay $85, and as long as she hasn't led a life of crime, she can take the easy path through security and blow the plane up with her granny panties bomb.

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