Newsstand - Former President of KHQ-TV, The Spokesman-Review Arrested for Threats at SIA

klxy.com Article (http://www.kxly.com/common/getStory.asp?id=29252)

"James P. Cowles, the former President of Cowles Publishing Company, was arrested Monday afternoon at Spokane International Airport.

Airport police say he refused to allow security screeners to search him, then made what were interpreted as threats to the screeners."

More and more people are getting angrier and angrier at the stupidity of the TSA's idiot policies and rules.

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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

Rules are rules and I dont see why he is the exception not to be searched.

In europe this is the nrom and we get on with it as part of the trip.

In the USA it seems its a really big issue.

Surely it only take a minutes to let them check you over and then you are on your way.

I say this without having been in the USA\ since December so unless things have become amazingly bad I dont see what the issue is and if he was kicing off about who he is and not been searched then fine, make him walk.

[This message has been edited by Steve Fenton (edited 06-11-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Steve Fenton:
Rules are rules and I dont see why he is the exception not to be searched.

In europe this is the nrom and we get on with it as part of the trip.

In the USA it seems its a really big issue.

Surely it only take a minutes to let them check you over and then you are on your way.

I say this without having been in the USA\ since December so unless things have become amazingly bad I dont see what the issue is and if he was kicing off about who he is and not been searched then fine, make him walk.
</font>

I've been in the UK and other parts of Europe several times since December, and trust me, I have never been hassled in any foreign country the way I am hassled here in the USA.

It is a "really big issue" in the USA because of the morons at the top (and bottom) of the TSA ladder.

Again, I repeat, I have never been hassled in the UK or France or ZRH or Spain the way I am hassled here at home. Airport security where you live is in a completely different world than here. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Steve Fenton:
Rules are rules and I dont see why he is the exception not to be searched

In europe this is the nrom and we get on with it as part of the trip.

In the USA it seems its a really big issue.

Surely it only take a minutes to let them check you over and then you are on your way..</font>
There's a little thing here called the fourth amendment. Unfortunately it seems to be somewhat non-existant since Bush, Ridge, Ashcroft, and their minions have passed the PATRIOT Act and other similar legislation.

Being searched by private organizations prior to boarding a plane was tolerable and quite OK, as this did not involve the government in any way-- but when the TSA was created and given the mission of "securing" our airports all this changed.

The TSA needs to be disbanded and control over airline security returned to where it belongs-- the individual airports and airlines. In this case, the private sector security force was far less intrusive and just as effective in security screenings.

Just when I thought that the gate rapes had ended I am hearing of more and more incidents where they are being done again. Just like with the shoe rules. Things are getting progressively worse, not better.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The last time something similar happened was back in November, when a passenger threw his or her shoe at a security worker.</font>

If the new shoe rules don't change, you might hear more about incidents like this.



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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

So what you are saying is that we have some self appointed high powered officials who basically think that now they have the uniform and a walkie talkie they are the new elite task force for the USA.???

I thought the airlines were in some sort of pact with your government to get everything sorted out ? is this it.

Hardly an election winning move. On the other hand not finding any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq will win him too many votes.

Be interesting to know how much yur new security has cost the tax payer

You know, those shoe rules are really starting to bug me also. Coming home from vacation and wearing slip on, open toed, completely rubber shoes, I was told to remove them before going through the magnetometer or I would "have to go through additional security screening". When I asked why, all I got was a repeat of the remove your shoes thing. No reason, except "then you will have to go through additional securit screening". Again, I hadn't even stepped through the metal detector yet. Walking barefoot through a public airport terminal? ICK!!

I, too, dislike the inconvenience of the airport searches, but when the computer spits out my name, I comply with as good grace as I can so as to minimize the hassles and delays for everyone. I have no sympathy for the rich and powerful who curse, threaten, or throw shoes at employees who are only doing their job. According to the article, this was only the second arrest in 7 months -- not an excessive number considering some of behavior I've seen there.

You assume too much when you state, "...employees who are only doing their job." The ones who are in fact only doing their job are seldom a problem. The problems are usually caused by or at least involve TSA employees who are on a power trip or believe -- erroneously -- that they are the free world's last line of defense against the forces of evil. These zealots give the TSA a bad reputation.

Bruce

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Steve Fenton:
Rules are rules and I dont see why he is the exception not to be searched.</font>

Refusal to be searched is sufficient cause to not allow someone to fly -- at the discretion of the airline. Refusing to be searched is not sufficient cause to arrest someone.

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin

Just to offer an opposing view, I'd like to point out that the Cowles family and their cronies pretty much run Spokane, have for decades, and this could very well be a case of a high-strung rich bugger not wanting to be treated like us peons, rather than the fault of an overzealous TSA agent.

Mr. Cowles was arrested for threatening to kick the a** of the screener who was wanding him, not for refusing to be searched. According to the buzz in Spokane he kept yelling "you don't know who I am" during the incident. The joke appears to be on him because the screeners truly didn't know who he was!

Serves him right for being an arrogant **** and thinking he is a cut above the rest, pratts like this desrves the old bend over and spread em treatment as well

I feel bad for this guy....

Going through a TSA checkpoint with a short fuse IS GOING to get you busted... I never try to go through if some work related or personal thing is ticking me off, otherwise I KNOW the moment the moron reads my face, I get the 2nd search and I WILL pile a load of abuse on the screener....

Don't take cell phone calls from people who can push your buttons before getting through a TSA checkpoint...