TSA: 10 Years Old & None The Wiser (PHOTOS, INFOGRAPHIC)

In the 10 years that the TSA has existed, there have been countless public blunders by the agency that just can't seem to get it right.

From John "Don't Touch My Junk" Tyner to the TSA's "Get Your Freak On Girl" note the American public seems to simply not be able to get enough of the Transportation Security Administration, for better or worse.

The TSA is a "cumbersome organization", Kate Hanni, Executive Director of FlyersRights.org (a non-profit organization with 50,000 members dedicated to bettering the conversation between travelers, the airlines and the Government), and blogger for The Huffington Post, said in a phone conversation, "There are some 67,000 employees at the TSA. It's security theater," she added.

Christopher Elliot, a consumer advocate and blogger, echoed Hanni's statements to The Huffington Post: "The TSA is costly and bloated ... one hand doesn't know what the other is doing."

As Geoff Freeman, vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, told The Huffington Post's Andrea Stone earlier this week, "Travelers are appreciative of some of the steps TSA is taking, but by no means content with the security screening process."

Clearly. A petition sent to the White House was started online September 22 to "abolish the TSA and use its monstrous budget to fund more sophisticated, less intrusive counter-terrorism intelligence." The signature goal was 5,000. As of Friday, there were 30,843 signatures from people all across America.

Things first seemed to take a turn for the worse when the TSA began patting down the American public in November 2010, though surely there was anger prior to that date.

Herewith, our favorite moments involving the TSA. And, check out a timeline of the TSA from 11/19/01 to today below.

For everything TSA, check out our Big News page here.

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Comments

[MiddletownHal]

09:15 AM on 04/26/2012

Thank God the TSA was able to spot that 4 yr old terrorist and get her so worked up the kid now has bad dreams. Can't wait to see one of these TSA agents busted for child endangerment & abuse. If they ever did that to my kid, I may be unable to take responsibility for my actions.

[ssawbf]

03:54 PM on 11/29/2011

Men and women are all there are.
if he wants to dress like a woman and chop his penis off that is his choice but it DOES NOT make him a woman.
Man in ladiesroom should be arrested at the least.
If my daughter or wife was in there when he went in I would have beat him senseless.

[Mike Klaus]

05:53 AM on 11/22/2011

But government is our friend! It is altruistic, efficient and wise! How can you say such mean things about government?

[Mark Clemons]

11:12 AM on 11/20/2011

Ron Paul says he will fire the TSA and return their functions to the local air port. good move vote ron paul

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

03:35 AM on 11/21/2011

RP won't do anything cause he's two slices of baloney shy of a sandwich. You do know he said that only gold and silver can be legal tender right? FAIL. That's the first thing that needs to go.

[HSaxon]

01:15 PM on 11/19/2011

The TSA is the reason I no longer fly. We shouldn't have to make the choice to either be irradiated and have our privacy (and clothing) virtually stripped away, or to accept a patdown that is tantamount to sexual assault as a condition of air travel. I'd sooner spend the extra time driving to my destination than to have some creep shove their hands down my pants under the guise of enhancing "security".

I am a peaceful, law-abiding American citizen and I refuse to be treated like a criminal.

[Sherylynne Klein]

08:53 AM on 11/19/2011

Typical of Huffpo, this article has flaws. In my opinion, the most glaring is, "Things first seemed to take a turn for the worse when the TSA began patting down the American public in November 2010, though surely there was anger prior to that date." TSA's presence in the airports, replacing the former private company, did not occur until 2002. Pat down has been the procedure of the TSA from its very inception! Pat down was performed if the metal detector signalled and, also, on a random basis. The method of pat down has changed numerous times in the past 9+ years and the detection equipment passengers must pass through has increased detection capability.

[dsharlee]

07:49 AM on 11/19/2011

I will concede that there may be a few misguided TSA agents out there, but overall I am very appreciative of their sensitivity during patdowns, and of the requirements that help to assure my safety during flights. If you don't want to go thru the security procedures, don't fly.

[racetrak3]

07:46 AM on 11/19/2011

wow...that 52 yr old woman from Oklahoma is hot !!!

[soli]

08:04 AM on 11/19/2011

I have no idea how much plastic surgery she may have had on her face, or if she had breast augmentation, but I agree with you.

Although, the bleached hair with the dark roots takes away from the rest of her.

[amecincco]

07:02 AM on 11/19/2011

As with many I disagree with TSA's security tactics. Sadly to say, those who work for TSA are caught in the middle. This is just another government BS implementation of "we are doing something about your safety". In the meantime, pre- 9/11 other forms of security "we are doing something about your safety" were in place. Unfortunately, it proved useless in preventing the events. Nevertheless, what will stop someone from using something that is already onboard a plane to commit a crime? They should stick to the metal detectors, infrared and sonar technologies. Pat downs should be a last resort if the latter systems trigger an alarm. WTF? If a person has a steel plate in his head, are they going to perform brain surgery next at the airport just to clear him? By the way I have never and even more reason now, ever flown on a plane except in the military. Its about human and civil rights not safety. If it is about safety, why is it not used on other means of transportation?

[lunadiner]

04:14 PM on 11/19/2011

Because those barbaric Saudis didn't use trucks or boats. We are not sufficiently imaginative to wage an armed coflict with Saudis and Jordanians. Arabs can live where they live because they've made alternative water sources. Poisoning every drip of water in the Arab world would inspire a few dicy evenings.

[bizman132]

05:24 AM on 11/19/2011

Looks to me like someone ran off with Madame Trousseau's wax figure of Loni Anderson.

[voteRepub2012]

05:16 AM on 11/19/2011

Get yo freak on girl. LOL

[MrFletcher]

04:54 AM on 11/19/2011

Boycot airlines for 6 months, when they go into negative and their light bills dont get paid, the fuel bills dont get paid. It wont take them long to get rid of the hassle agents at the terminals

[Ricky Johnston]

04:25 AM on 11/19/2011

The reason they have so much trouble is the people that are hired to do the job. They are not of the caliber a person needs to be to do their job.If you want to see if a man is a man, give him, or her, some authority! They will abuse it 99% of the time. Esecially ill-educated inner-city people who couldn't get a job anywhere else. And I hate to say it, but they are mostly blacks. And they get to,"Give it to the White Man!" I haven't flown sincw 911 because I enjoy driving and I don't go overseas. I haven't seen all of our great USA yet!

[Yellow Hand]

07:20 AM on 11/19/2011

And you are still allowed to drive? I have to be screened every time for the knee replacement I have and I can say for the majority of the time TSA agents are professional, many are retired or former military and they are not "mostly blacks." They have a very thorough screening process for hiring including testing so there is a caliber of folks who apply that should be in the job. It is the DC policy makers in Homeland Security you should be venting about. How would you know anyway if you have not flown since 2001?

[PleaseNoPolitics]

01:37 PM on 11/19/2011

Apparently you've never been to the Atlanta, Georgia airport...

[tfcrow]

01:11 AM on 11/19/2011

I'm Heaving on a Jet Plane.

[TNTtnt]

04:59 AM on 11/19/2011

Don't know when I'll get back on again...

[frank1946]

01:03 AM on 11/19/2011

I'm a Sucker for a Blonde Pretty Woman in black undies................how do I apply to TSA
for a Job ?

She is lovely !

[cityinthesea1990]

02:28 AM on 11/19/2011

She's 97% plastic. I thought she was a mannequin.