11 Comments
Sep 5Liked by Ben Cohen

Funny, I was traveling quite extensively throughout the Caribbean and the continental U.S. helping to administer a U.S. based all volunteer youth soccer program. At the time I was also helping my mother move from assisted living to a more intensive type of care for her dementia in Florida. I am a U.S. citizen from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

On one trip leaving home and traveling to Florida I went through the TSA in the U.S. V.I. and was instructed to move to a waiting area where I was questioned by TSA for about 5 mins and a 2nd wand search was conducted. My luggage was hand searched and I have to say I was a little freaked out. Anyway when they cleared me to go to the gate I asked if I had done something wrong. The TSA agent, who was still holding my boarding pass pointed to a designation on my ticket (quite honestly I don’t remember what it was) and said I had been picked randomly for a more intensive search. She explained it happens quite often throughout the TSA world as an extra measure of security.

While on my flight I wondered if it was perhaps because I had been traveling in and out of the country (different islands which are each different countries) and to the continental U.S. so much. Then shrugged it off. I had one layover in MIA but didn’t need to go outside and had already gone through TSA in a U.S. Territory so had no need to go through TSA again. I arrived safely at my destination and forgot all about it.

Was it a deep state plot? 😂😂 Give me a break please. If Tulsi Gabbard wants to travel to Syria and meet with terrorists, travel to Russia and meet with a dictator who would like nothing more than to see the U.S. democracy fail - shut up, take the search like a big girl and move on. What a complete crock of 💩

Finally, Taibbi has lost all credibility as a “purveyor of honest journalism “.

He also can shut up and go home, get in bed and lick his wounds after being destroyed by Elon Musk.

Expand full comment
author

Fascinating! I have a friend who traveled to Turkey and was put on the list for a while. She thought it was odd but didn't freak out about it. My sense is Gabbard loves being the center of attention and is delighted she can play the victim.

Expand full comment

Great piece! I wish more were paying better attention to such antics and very much appreciate the consistent reporting here. Keep it up please.

I don’t know why Taibbi parrots this Russia-friendly BS and why he consistently boosts dubious figures like Gabbard, and won’t speculate here, but the pattern is consistent AF.

Expand full comment

“I don’t know why Taibbi parrots this Russia-friendly BS…”

For the click$.

Expand full comment

I’m not so sure there isn’t more there.

Expand full comment

I used to like Taibbi’s writing back in the days when he was a Rolling Stone journalist and not a fluffer for alt right fuckery. I don’t know when he actually switched gears but it seems like it happened when he was exposed for being a giant asshole when he lived in Russia.

Expand full comment

What do you think MattT was making as a Rolling Stone stringer -- versus what he's making now in the MAGA media content empire? My guess would be low six figures before, and now $1 million+.

Expand full comment

“Gabbard is unaware she has two Explosive Detection Canine Teams, one Transportation Security Specialist (explosives), one plainclothes TSA Supervisor, and three Federal Air Marshals on every flight she boards.”

At least 7 people and two dogs on every flight she takes? On its face that strains credulity.

Expand full comment

“but the purpose of his inflammatory statements isn’t to provide readers with evidence based journalism, or even an informed opinion. It is instead to implant an idea.”

Nah mate, you’re being way to kind and in the very next sentence you use the actual key word but in the wrong context ‘subscribe’

That’s all he cares about, but not subscribing to an idea just subscribing to his substack and sending him your money, audience capture might be intellectually stultifying but boy oh boy is it lucrative

Expand full comment
Sep 4·edited Sep 4

Where do they get it from? Gabbard seems to be demonstrating Snowden-level paranoia. Ask Reality Winner — who, In 2018 (under the Trump “presidency”) was given the longest prison sentence ever imposed for an unauthorized release of government information to the media — who the tyrannical dictator might be.

P.S., from the “picky, picky” dept., there’s only one “L” in “Air Marshal”. “Air Marshalls” is an aerial clothing store. Or a wi-fi guitar amp.🤔😉😊

Expand full comment

FYI, Ben: The link in this doesn’t work. “URL can’t be found“ message).

“Gabbard appears to be on a TSA watchlist that the *agency uses* to “deploy law enforcement resources to focus on travelers…”

Expand full comment