Taking National Security Seriously

You might have already seen this item in the Daily Mail about that young girl who had to endure a lengthy and quite personal TSA pat-down after bringing a Capri Sun through security:

‘I felt like screaming the whole time’: Girl, 10, left traumatized after TSA agents aggressively pat her down for nearly TWO MINUTES at the airport

•Vendela Payne, ten, was stopped at security because she had accidentally left a Capri Sun in her carry on when she went through security

•She and her family were traveling from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to San Diego on December 30

•Vendela was pulled aside for extra screening after the liquid was found

•Her father, Kevin Payne said he and his daughter felt the security check was excessive, uncomfortable and inappropriate

•Vendela’s pat-down, which Payne filmed, took nearly two minutes

There’s video at the link to the British daily, just in case you need a good reason this morning to feel ashamed for being an American.

The story is doubly embarrassing when juxtaposed against this item from December 10:

The White House has dismissed a suggestion by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his country possesses a hydrogen bomb.

The country was “ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb”, state news agency KCNA quoted him as saying.

If true, the development would mark a significant advancement in North Korean nuclear capabilities.

But White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Washington’s evidence “calls into serious question” Pyongyang’s claim.

(Hat tip, Daniel Halper.)

In fairness to the Obama Administration, North Korea didn’t actually detonate a hydrogen bomb for an entire three-and-a-half weeks after Earnest made his gutsy call. So maybe that was the right call for a few brief seconds on the morning of December 10 of last year.

The White House might not take nuclear threats seriously from North Korea, but feel safe knowing that the TSA takes no chances with little girls armed with juice pouches.