It’s a heartburn-inducing hobby of mine to search for logic in the policies of the Transportation Security Administration. For a while I thought I was the only person that noticed or cared that their official shoe policy (whereby most shoes don’t need to be removed, and you will only be “encouraged” to take them off) is often disregarded by their goons.

I’ve since realized that the people who care about this stuff are busy with deviations from a more important policy document, the U.S. Constitution. At issue presently is whether a government–issued ID card is required to pass through airport security, and whether that requirement violates our right to travel freely. Incredibly, the government’s answer is that while the actual procedures are secret law , you are allowed to pass airport security without ID credentials.

Of course everyone knows this is not the case, just like like everyone knows you are often required, not encouraged, to remove regular shoes. The challenge is to prove that falsehood, and do something about it.

One seasoned traveler, returning home from a privacy conference (and evidently emboldened by it) recounts his harrowing experience trying to find the boundaries of the ID presentation rules. Mr. Hasbrouck wasn’t testing the supposed no-ID travel possibility. He was willing to present his credentials to government employees, but wondered if and why he had to show them to an unidentified contractor.

For his curiosity he was rewarded with an interrogation by the Washington Metropolitan Police, culminating in this fun dialog:

—You have a record for this sort of thing, don’t you?

—Not that I know of, sir.

—Have you ever been arrested?

—Yes sir. I have a Federal felony conviction for refusing to register for the draft .

—Why wouldn’t you do that?

Police sarcasm has got to be one of the greatest tragedies of our civilization. It’s always utterly wrong and falls flat, but you just know the dumb cops think they got in a good one. And of course there’s nothing to be done about it. (Or is there ?)

Hasbrouck seems to have gotten through the harassment all right. He made his flight, his story has been linked from all over the place, and even the TSA is going to “look into” it. All of us who care about privacy and the responsible rule of law but are too chicken to confront TSA (or “Airserv” ?) employees owe him for his trouble.

It’s just another case of the Internet incrementally saving the world. We know the government is behaving badly right now. Communications technology unfortunately strengthens their ability to snoop on conversations, track innocent people, and maintain their own secrets.

But the same technology in our hands is even more empowering: we can hold them responsible. Stories of abuse that previously would have circulated in only in fringe, xeroxed ’zines are now being read widely by non-hippies across the world.

We’ve learned to tame large corporations with weblogs. Seemingly impenetrable government bureaucracies are up next. It’s pretty astounding, to me anyway, that the mass storytelling and idea sharing we’re participating in now was impossible a short time ago.

TSA, you’ll soon become the people’s bitch like you’re supposed to be. Sit down, shut up, and facilitate safe, pleasant travel.