What Happens When Local Industry Crosses Paths with the TSA in Lousiville

In Louisville, Kentucky -- home to Louisville Slugger, America's most famous baseball bat manufacturer -- the TSA has a special warning display near the security screening area at the airport.

Sadly, this is the closest thing to "local flavor" that I've seen at any of the otherwise uniformly-grim TSA outposts around the country.

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Comments

pheezy says:

wow. ridiculous!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Triborough says:

That is most likely their collection.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Olivander says:

Hahaha! I'll have to show the spousal unit this. She used to live there. She has a mini-bat, of course.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Vidiot says:

what, so you don't bludgeon the cabin crew to death with a mini-bat? Idiots.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

jonathan_carpenter says:

Boston TSA wouldn't allow live lobsters onboard (available for sale right outside the security area) because they were packed in ice (frozen liquid).
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

KE5FX says:

At MCI (Kansas City) a couple of years ago, they had the same type of display case with various weapons and chemicals. No baseball bats, but they did have a chain saw!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

jhritz says:

I'm always impressed by the legible and well-thought out signage that the TSA puts together. This glass display with a big red slashed circle in the check-in area would be much better than the icon of what looks like a trouser leg at the start of the security line.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

pvt_waldo says:

RE: lack of local flavor and TSA...

The Missoula Montana airport has some good local flavor and humor. The two footprints you stand on when getting "the search" are grizzly bear footprints instead of the normal shoe print.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

pgarne01 says:

The lobster problem has been solved (or at least addressed) by packing in frozen peas or niblets corn.
I've been using same on my aching knees for years.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

tesmerjg says:

I can't believe you were "allowed" to take a picture of this ludicrousness. You're probably on like 100 different watch lists now.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

scooter_b_69 says:

As a Flight Attendant, I'm glad they don't allow these on airplanes!!!! Granted most of the TSA's rules are BS, but this is one that only stands to reason.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

vrtclsmile says:

If only they'd listened to the Kid From Brooklyn:

www.thekidfrombrooklyn.com/video_disp.asp?vid eoid=1183
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

vrtclsmile says:

Sorry - language on video NSFW!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

daveboudreau says:

I think the TSA is well within their right not to allow a bat on board. Those mini-bats look like they are about 14-18 inches long and I assume they are made out of solid wood. They appear very comparable to a police baton and we have all seen the damage those can do. TSA has made some jackass moves here and there but this one seems pretty reasonable.

Very nice display case though! I know if I saw that I would think twice about trying to get my bat on board for risk of losing it.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

ddh says:

These are free souvenirs if you take the tour at the Louisville Slugger museum, which is why so many people try to take them home in their carry-on. The museum warns you that you have to check all their bats including these if you're flying home. They'll also ship them for you (not free).
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

DeoxyribonucleicAcid says:

our government is phucked.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

dpdougp says:

what does the TSA do with all the crap the confiscate?
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

horseycraze says:

those bats are headed straight to gitmo. i'm impressed you were able to take this picture btw--did you take the shot discretely?
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Telstar Logistics says:

Yes, I snapped this with the Telstar Tinycam.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

lonely_is_an_eyesore says:

This is nothing new, so there's no reason to complain about the newer TSA regulations. My brother had a mini baseball bat confiscated by airport security in the 1980s. Any knucklehead who tries to bring a baseball bat on board needs their head examined. Put it in checked baggage!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer says:

I'm imagining an airplane full of people wailing on each other with mini bats. LOL!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

NineInchNachosII says:

this is Bat Country!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

jimmybuttons says:

just plain BATTY!!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

proteusguy says:

Actually I think we'd all have been better off if every passenger on a plane was issued one of these bats at their seat. 9/11 could have never happened. You see - for those of you want to disarm everyone else - the fact is that the good guys FAR outnumber the bad guys and for every one idiot that wants to get out of hand and cause trouble, there are a few hundred people next to them ready and willing to keep them in line should it come to that...
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

genesis says:

what's next ? they gonna check guys man-sausage to see if it might pose a danger ? sheesh, only in America.
The terrorists must be going..."ROFL!!!!"
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Vidiot says:

Well, proteusguy, 9/11 will never happen again -- I doubt we'll see any more aircraft hijackings. Pre-9/11, if your plane was hijacked, your best bet was to keep your head down and don't make any trouble, and you'd most likely get out alive. 9/11 changed the script, making a hijacking into a death sentence. So if anyone is unwise enough to attempt a hijacking now, passengers realize that they would have nothing to lose and would most definitely fight back -- we saw this realization sink in with UAL 93.

I'd wager that al-Qaeda is much more likely to do something to keep us off balance, trying a different tactic. An electronic attack on key computers? A dirty bomb at Disney World? Blowing up a shopping mall in Kansas City? That would be much more likely to occur, I'd say, than them repeating the same tactic.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

sga1120 says:

HAHA, that's awesome! that's one of those moments, you know you'd be kicking yourself if you didn't have the cam handy :)
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Drew Thaler says:

They'll let you take a big 35-lb carryon which could easily be used as a bludgeon just by itself. But a mini-bat inside it? Oh hell no.

Let's all hope for a competent executive branch in 2008.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

mikeq314 says:

Working at the airport, I see more people bring in chainsaws wrapped up or in a box than people bringing in bats at the checkpoint...
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

marc0047 says:

Consider posting to this group?

TSA incidents
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

Pgh Photographer says:

Alot of you guys posting your emotional rants make me laugh. If the knuckleheads used their heads, they should have put the bats in checked baggage, but no, they of course didn't think, and tried to take it right onto the plane in their carry-on. Stupid travelers. I'm glad TSA is showing people how dumb they are. But then again, I read these posts, and people still don't get it, and probably never will. Stupid.
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

Crashworks says:

When owning a baseball bat is a crime, only criminals will play baseball.
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

Natasha Lloyd says:

You've been blogged.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

puck-man says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Security theater, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Autistic Psycho says:

Heh, no lobsters will be getting through on my watch. :P
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

Sabbath Photography says:

I couldn't agree more with "wageorge".
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

puck-man says:

wageorge: so what is exactly 'stupid' about carrying a sport item onto a plane? How is that more stupid than a newspaper, a walkman, a book etc.... just because it is more usable as a weapon?

Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

DeoxyribonucleicAcid says:

those who defend these actions of the tsa are missing the facts.

1. if liquids can blow up a plane they can blow up in an airport. even when in a big barrel in the middle of hundreds of people waiting to get through tsa "security." iow, making people ut their evil fluid in a barrel while going through security poses another risk.

2. forging a boarding pass is about as difficult as falling off a mossy log. iow, the 'do not fly' list is a joke.

3. tsa routinely misses evil crap in carry-on baggage despite the trillions we've spent on our "security."

4. the terrorists have won. we changed our ways of life and have allowed a corrupt government to take away our rights and liberties. now people say, 'well we haven't been hit so it must be workring.' that logic is inaccurate at best.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

puck-man says:

DeoxyribonucleicAcid: you said it all.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

DeoxyribonucleicAcid says:

it's funny.

last year i took my family to hawaii. on an inter island flight we went through tsa "security" and our child -- at the time one-year old -- was forced to remove his sandals. said sandals were 3" long, 1.5" wide and .5 inches deep (sole).

what exactly was the point?

on that same trip we went to see the arizona museum. we stayed in honolulu before traveling on for the sole purpose of seeing this great national icon. problem was that our son had a virus that gave him the runs. needless to say we needed to have diapers and cleaning supplies everywhere we went. problem was dhs had made it illegal to carry any such materials into the museum. if you've been, there's a video portion and two boat rides to take it in -- no bags allowed. that meant no diapers, no wipes, etc.

this 'war on terror' should be renamed the 'war on common sense.' it's fucking absurd.

i express this opinion regularly and freely. often i'm told i should be careful. my response? fuck that. this isn't nazi germany despite what the chimp living in the white house might think.

those bats should be used on some federal government employees.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

puck-man says:

DeoxyribonucleicAcid: I agree, this huge fear driven machine that the government and media has created is worth billions to them and is fed by our rights and freedoms yet hardly anyone seems to notice or speak up.

I started my Security Theatre group some time ago and have ben inviting peoples images. I have received several emails from people saying they are to afraid to make public statements as they don't want any trouble when traveling...

Smells like a dictatorship to me when people are too afraid to speak up when they are being done wrong.

Would love to see you express yourself on my group, if you want.
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

ms tineah says:

I live in the Louisville area. Every time I fly out I love seeing this collection of bats. Thanks for sharing!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

the_big_e says:

I've been to Louisville a couple of times and seen this thing. The problem, I think, is that by the time most travelers see it, they've already waited in line for security--and their bags are already somewhere in the bowels of the airport. So they're pretty much stuck.

My recollection is that the museum does make a point of warning people against trying to carry on full-size bats--I'm curious that they don't seem to adequately emphasize that the tiny bats (and they are pretty puny, sorry, "police baton" guy) are verboten too.

But I've also wondered whether they don't just empty out the bin, take them back to the gift shop, and put new stickers on them.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

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What Happens When Local Industry Crosses Paths with the TSA in Lousiville

Comments

pheezy says:

Triborough says:

Olivander says:

Vidiot says:

jonathan_carpenter says:

KE5FX says:

jhritz says:

pvt_waldo says:

pgarne01 says:

tesmerjg says:

scooter_b_69 says:

vrtclsmile says:

vrtclsmile says:

daveboudreau says:

ddh says:

DeoxyribonucleicAcid says:

dpdougp says:

horseycraze says:

Telstar Logistics says:

lonely_is_an_eyesore says:

Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer says:

NineInchNachosII says:

jimmybuttons says:

proteusguy says:

genesis says:

Vidiot says:

sga1120 says:

Drew Thaler says:

mikeq314 says:

marc0047 says:

Pgh Photographer says:

Crashworks says:

Natasha Lloyd says:

puck-man says:

Autistic Psycho says:

Sabbath Photography says:

puck-man says:

DeoxyribonucleicAcid says:

puck-man says:

DeoxyribonucleicAcid says:

puck-man says:

ms tineah says:

the_big_e says:

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