Jesse Ventura not a fan of being molested

Former Navy Seal, conspiracy guy, TV show host, former governor, former mayor and former pro "wrestler" Jesse Ventura is all about getting his name in the news. This time he's gone ahead and filed a lawsuit against the TSA.

The lawsuit said the pat-down "exposed him to humiliation and degradation through unwanted touching, gripping and rubbing of the intimate areas of his body."

I'm with him in feeling that these tactics used by the TSA are overly invasive. What happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? If you have a legitimate reason as to why you're setting off the metal detector -- like a titanium hip replacement -- then you're in the clear.

Oh, sure, plenty of people think that Ventura is straight-up crazy due to some of his conspiracy-related beliefs but there are also plenty who feel that his sniffing around and the refusal of those in command to answer even the simplest of his questions is reason enough to believe in some of the very conspiracy theories his show attempts to expose but his objections over the TSA tactics have merit.

I have plenty of objections when it comes to flying given the current state of security at our airports. The tally of terrorists detained by TSA security measures still stands at zero and that number says alot. It says that the TSA is a failure of an agency -- an agency created out of fear. An agency which hires the unhirable and places them in charge of security for an agency created in some rather unscrupulous ways -- maybe even unconstitutional -- should have no place in America.

Maybe Jesse Ventura should bodyslam one of these glorified mall cops next time he's hassled and forced to endure a pat down if he ever goes back to flying commercially.

They can see your naked body

How did airplanes ever stay in the sky in the pre-9/11 world?

It's a miracle that we don't have to stroll htrough airport checkpoints nude in lieu of all of the various forms of searches and scans we are subjected to now before boarding a plane.

Well, if you thought that getting naked was the answer to the security woes of America's airports, you may be suprised.

The TSA (the flunkies who couldn't get real security of police jobs) has ordered a handful of full body scanners that give TSA officials a full body image (sans face) of the person being scanned.

Just think of it, the guy who barely graduated from high school sitting in a dark room near the new full body scanner can look at your naked body. It's like a randomized sci-fi version of a virtual Playboy magazine with people that most would not want to see naked.

I fail to see how these exorbitantly priced machines are going to do anything but create longer lines and longer waits for the disgruntled travelers who already have to empty their pockets, open their carry-on bags, remove their shoes and turn their stomachs inside out so all can be seen by the prying eyes of the TSA.

Has America changed?

As we made a trip, as far too many old married couples do on a Friday night, to the local Menard's store I asked the missus a question which I frankly haven't had the intestinal fortitude to do before tonight in serious fashion.

"What is your second career choice?"

This question was meant with silence and then the response of "I don't know, when I chose this before I started college, there were plenty of jobs advertised in the newspaper."

If you're unfamiliar, the wife has a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts with a focus on Graphic Design/Graphic Arts. Essentially, she has the more advanced version of my college degree but I am the one with the job in that particular field. But back to the conversation.

She continued, in a flustered state of disbelief, by saying "I don't know what really happened."

Of course, I was quick to respond.

"September 11th, 2001 happened. No matter how rosy people paint the economy and the job market and its growth, the growth isn't in professional areas like ours. I remember how easy it was to find graphic design jobs before that day."

I really do remember how much things changed almost instantly on that day. Advertising, which is truly the lifeblood of many graphic designers/artists, thrives on a strong economy. It's pretty damn simple to figure out. If people have money, they buy stuff which keeps businesses open and they can afford to have fantastic sales and promote the hell out of their establishment. All is good for me. People buy houses and cars, Sornie gets some overtime and a nice stack of his own benjamins to stimulate the economy. Advertising starts to stack up and maybe a new position gets created allowing the wife to get her foot in the door at some prestigious ad agency.

But on 9/11/01 people got scared. They stayed at home. They closed up their billfolds. As people spent less on "luxury items" (i.e. cars, bigger houses) those core pools of ad dollars dried up. Energy (fuel) prices went up too. People stuck with their older cars and insulated the house they had instead of moving on up the ole' property ladder. Sornie's overtime dried up and the old lady stayed at her job she took in lieu of a job in design as the openings for graphic designers shrunk as companies downsized in the wake of less advertising dollars being spent.

Long story short, that's why it's been simply brutal and borderline excruciating for the missus to nail down a graphic design job.

But what can y'all do? You can drop me a line about openings for the missus in the graphic design world in the best damn city in all of America for graphic design and printing -- the good ole' Twin Cities!