Where, or when, does the Fourth Amendment come into play here?

You know, I'm really not looking forward to boarding that airplane in December. Not because I dread the destination, no I can't wait for my two week mini vacation.

Recently these new "Backscatter Full Body Scanners" and the new (and more intrusive) body pat downs have been all over the news, and the internet. I read in another blog today about a guy who was denied boarding his plane because he refused to be violated and then groped by a TSA Agent, then told he was going to be fined if he didn't go through the process before leaving the airport! I just saw another news spot about them on TV just now (which inspired me to post this subject), and how people are getting sick of these inconsistent and cockamamie security measures being taken. I mean honestly, how far are we going to let the government and it's "Homeland Security" violate our Fourth Amendment rights in the name of "security"?

They strip fliers of their dignity by first making them take off their shoes to be scanned, then these ridiculous body scanners that are insanely invasive and revealing, that some say aren't 100% in terms of picking up on everything! And to top it of, some of these bonehead TSA Agents can't even conduct themselves maturely and professionally amongst themselves, nevermind what they might be saying about innocent passengers. To top it off, checked bags going UNDER the plane aren't even scanned with such scrutiny. Who the hell knows what might be going under the plane? Why go so overboard with person security, which can easily be circumvented with cavity bombs, under folds of skin, under breasts, etc, and be so lax about everything else entering the plane? Look at the package bombs from Yemen recently. The only reason those were caught were because of an informer within Yemen, who had definitive information about exactly what packages they were. It's ludicrous that we think people who have real intent to do some damage won't find a way around these invasive procedures and technologies.

Don't get me wrong. I have no problems with security as far as keeping people with intent to harm us off the planes and out of our country. But the inconsistencies, and the intrusion that comes along with them, are too much. Being groped in the expanded pat downs is tantamount to sexual assault in my opinion, and quite frankly invades my Fourth Amendment rights. (If you aren't versed in these, look them up. You really should know your rights.) I'm also not advocating for lessening the security in airports. What I'd like to see are methods that would be less invasive but more effective. Dogs, for example, are the best method of uncovering what would be explosive materials on a person. Metal detectors and less invasive pat downs can take care of the rest. There's also pre-screening technology that requires passengers to give their fingerprints and retina scans, a background check is conducted and if they're considered a low risk, they're good to go. High risk people would be subjected to the more invasive procedures on the spot.

We can't keep everything off of planes. People will always find ways to get contraband on them. But the extent to which we've resorted is insane. I already am extraordinarily uncomfortable with being touched even lightly on a bus by strangers. Do you really think I'd appreciate being patted down up to my privates in front of 50 other people? I don't think so.