January 5, 2010 11:22 am

TSA confiscates Play Doh from a kid

Follow @chrisspags More from Chris Spags >

In light of the recent terror underwear bomb attack attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the TSA divisions at every airport are expected to crack down in an effort to ensure that nothing like that happens again. And they’ve already proven to be hard at work. For proof, look no further than New Orleans International Airport where they’re fighting terror..by confiscating a small child’s Play Doh.

On a post-Christmas flight out of New Orleans last week, the TSA confiscated young Josh Pitney’s Play-Doh.

“You know all you have to worry about is it getting in the carpet – a small problem to have as opposed to a child who is entertained for half an hour,” said the child’s mother Christy Pitney.

“I had the kids and my husband was there with all our bags, she continued. “Josh and I were sitting, getting our shoes on and, my husband kind of motioned to us and said – they took our Play -Doh.”

Pitney continued, “And the man from TSA was taking every can out at a time and putting it on a table, and Josh saw and he started fussing. I tried to explain that those were the rules, but it turns out it’s not prohibited on the TSA’s website – so apparently those are not the rules.”

Christy was right. Play-Doh is not a prohibited item and it is allowed on board.

In the TSA’s defense, when reached for comment, a spokeswoman said that TSA employees are encouraged to use their discretion. I mean, other than when a guy with an explosive crotch is waddling through terminals like he’s wearing a diaper after being on several different government watch lists. Then, hey, let’s not get too crazy. A man’s got to fly.

It’s probably a case of “better safe than sorry” though. Have you ever been around a small child? They could find a way to injure themselves in a box full of pillows. This kid might have been trying to make delicious Play Doh McDonald’s hamburgers and ended up accidentally MacGyvering his way to a plastic can of C-4. A child with any object is at least as dangerous as a 2nd tier James Bond villain.