Jesse Ventura vs the TSA

Former-governor Jesse Ventura is no stranger to controversy. As a former pro-wrestler, you might say he thrives on it. And he has been a tireless campaigner for Libertarian values. So, it should come as no shock that he has decided to take the TSA to court over the new pat-down or scan policies of the Transportation Safety Administration. He has an interesting different take on the situation as he has both a Libertarian angle and an Americans-with-Disabilities Act angle, as he has a titanium hip.

According to the lawsuit, Ventura received a hip replacement in 2008, and since then, his titanium implant has set off metal detectors at airport security checkpoints. The lawsuit said that prior to last November officials had used a non-invasive hand-held wand to scan his body as a secondary security measure.

But when Ventura set off the metal detector in November, he was instead subjected to a body pat-down and was not given the option of a scan with a hand-held wand or an exemption for being a frequent traveler, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said the pat-down "exposed him to humiliation and degradation through unwanted touching, gripping and rubbing of the intimate areas of his body."

It claims that under TSA's policy, Ventura will be required to either go through a full-body scanner or submit to a pat-down every time he travels because he will always set off the metal detector.

Outrage has become somewhat muted (or numbed) since the original flare-up around Christmas. It'll be interesting to see if this is a catalyst for more activism, or if the American people are too tired of the issue to care at this point.