Assignment Desk II: Airport Security

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I just read what seems like the millionth article/blog post/rant about how stupid our airline security procedures are. The latest versions are inspired by the growing use of backscatter scanners that display a vague outline of what you look like naked; the increasingly intrusive patdowns that TSA is performing on passengers who refuse to go through the backscatter machines; and a cell phone video (no longer available, apparently) of a TSA agent trying to pat down a 3-year old girl going through a meltdown.

I’m glad to see these rants. Maybe eventually it means we’ll actually make some changes to our security theater. But what I haven’t seen is an informed take on what airport security ought to look like. We all hate taking off our shoes and pulling out our laptops and being limited to three ounces of liquid and not being allowed to meet people at the gate anymore — we hate all of that. But if it’s all useless, what should we do instead? Shouldn’t someone write that article?

UPDATE: More here.