Opting out of the scanner inflicts punitive measures on the traveler. I speak from experience.

Recently, I flew out of Atlanta and ended up in the “random pick” line for the Nude-o-scope (or porn-scope, as some people call them). I told the TSA barker that - due to personal and religious beliefs - I wanted to opt out.

She rolled her eyes and told me to step around the machine. In a strident voice, she then screeched, “I need a female attendant for a pat down!”

This was my first time dealing with this new technology, but I’d decided months ago that I was NOT going to be microwaved on “medium defrost” *and* have my 51-year-old body ogled by a TSA employee.

So the angry TSA attendant parked me next to the scanner and told me to stay still (as though I were a trained dog). I kept looking at the scanning device and and hoping that the Plexiglas shroud would effectively block the machine’s radiation.

Meanwhile, my personal belongings hit the end of the conveyor belt, but parked in my spot beside the scanner, I could barely see the gray bins containing my brand-new Toshiba laptop, my small leather wallet, my cell phone and my keys.

I literally pleaded with the TSA attendant to allow me to retrieve my personal possessions and she refused. I was traveling alone (as I often do). I then pleaded with her to allow me to at least be in the line of sight of my things and she again barked that I was to remain still.

“Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to your thangs,” she said, obviously annoyed.

“This is what happens when you opt out,” I thought to myself. “You lose your wallet and your laptop. Very, very effective.”

I watched the hordes of travelers moving through the “traffic lanes” of the security line, retrieving their personal items and realizing, anyone one of them could easily lift and pocket my things and no one would be the wiser. I was sick with fear. There were no TSA agents near my belongings (which I now realize was a blessing). No one watching out for them. All my things just sat at the end of that conveyor belt, about 20-25 feet away from me.

The minutes ticked by. I kept edging over a little more and a little more until I could at least SEE my personal things. The angry TSA agnet would periodically screech, “I need a female attendant for a pat down.”

Each time she screeched, I watched dozens of heads turn in the long line, eyeballing the crazy woman who’d been removed from the regular line and set aside. I served as an excellent example. While I dutifully waited for a female TSA attedant, not one other soul opted out of the scanner.

Dozens of passengers went by as I stood there, moving so close that they literally brushed past me. Finally, after a 30+ minute wait, a female appeared and moved me several feet away to another area. Now, I was closer to my things and could at least keep an eye on them.

The attendant started patting me down. She offered to allow me to do this in a private screening area, but I had declined for fear of losing my wallet, my cell phone and my laptop. It was a helluva bad spot to be in. Which was worse - this intense public pat down or having my things stolen? I opted for “b.”

Next, she ran a circular pad all over my clothes and then put it in the sniffer. This is where I nearly threw up with fear. Last time I’d gone to the target range with my .38, I’d worn these jeans. After firing the weapon, I often wiped my right hand on the right thigh of my pants. I wondered if the gunpowder residue would show up on that sniffer.

It was terrifying. I was nauseous and started to feel light-headed and faint.

Finally - 45 minutes later, it was over.

The entire affair was very punitive, and humiliating and time consuming and emotionally distressing. When I retrieved my things, I walked into the women’s restroom and wept.

Make no mistake - this was intended to be misery. I opted out. I’m a rebel, and judging by the TSA’s behavior, I must be punished.

To read the letter I wrote to my politicians, click here.

In the early years of the 20th Century, a wealthy Pittsburgh businessman died of radium poisoning. His death was the direct result of drinking a medicinal tonic known as Radithor. Mr. Eben Buyers was found to have 73.66 micrograms of radium in his body, and attending doctors reported that “even the air he exhaled was radioactive.”

An autopsy showed that the cause of death was “radiation poisoning.” From drinking water. Radioactive water.

The full account of this story can be found in the 1936 book, American Chamber of Horrors; The Truth About Food and Drugs by Ruth deForest Lamb. It’s a great read and an interesting book.

In the early 1900s, government officials did not have the legislative authority to remove Radithor from the market because existing laws did not empower officials to seize “dangerous drugs, unless their labels misrepresented them” [ibid, p. 74).

In other words, Mr. Eben Buyers knew he was drinking radioactive water. However, he probably didn’t know what he was doing to his body. The first two weeks, he found that (as promised), he felt better than he had in years. But that happy result did not last very long. When he was hospitalized, the first thing they did to poor Mr. Buyers was to order x-rays.

An expert was summoned to examine the x-rays. Dr. Flinn, Ms. Lamb states, had been involved in the radium watch-dial cases. Ever hear about that? I hadn’t, until I read this book. Seems that a few women workers were poisoned as they toiled away, painting radium (yes, real radium) on watch-dial faces. The luminous paint, the employer promised was “harmless,” and many of the so-called “Radium Girls” even applied the paint to their fingernails.

Mr. Buyers and Mrs. Brown (Lash Lure Lady) were two of thousands of reasons that facilitated the creation of the FDA. And upon the creation of the FDA, the first product they seized was Lash Lure. But today the FDA has become highly politicized and one of the products that needs to be examined and eliminated is Aspartame. Originally developed as ant poison, it is a neurotoxin and has been linked to a wide-range of health problems.

More than 75% of the complaints received by the FDA are centered around aspartame. Think about that fact for a moment. Of all the food and drug products offered in this country, more than 75% of the complaints received at the FDA are related to aspartame. The FDA saved us from toxic drinks such as Radithor and now it needs to step up to the plate, abandon politics and take a serious look at aspartame.

For more information, click here:

To read Rose’s newest book, click here: