One of the most popular petitions on WhiteHouse.gov right now calls for the abolition of TSA — that disastrous transportation security bureaucracy that has managed to spend money we don’t have, violation rights left and right, and inconvenience millions of travelers. All while failing to catch a single terrorist.

The petition calls for the agency’s budget to instead, “fund more sophisticated, less intrusive counter-terrorism intelligence.”

I couldn’t agree more. Instead of costly and ineffective searches of every single individual passing through the airport — toddlers and nuns alike — how about adopting Israeli-style counter-terrorism procedure?

Screen people before they even get to the airport. Profile those who have visited suspicious countries recently. Keep metal detectors, bomb-sniffing equipment (basic security precautions), and develop or adapt additional technology to ensure safety. Fully utilize a “trusted traveler” program, in which individuals who travel regularly and who undergo background checks are less hassled.

But do away with the crotch-grabbing and diaper-searching. Stop with blanket regulations that require a 78-year-old, wheelchair-bound grandmother traveling with Suzy and Johnny to Disneyland, to get out of her wheelchair for a patdown. It makes absolutely no sense but wastes precious time and tax dollars.