ocschwar

As if travelling on Greyhound isn't unpleasant enough, the TSA showed up in Tampa to screen passengers:

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/12/01....html#comments

This. Must. Stop.

IslandBased

Pretty desperate. Somewhere, there must be a terrorist....

Mikey likes it

I'm not the first to say it, but

We have become a nation of Chicken Little.

OldGoat

Do you want to fly today?

Do you want to ride today?

Liberty is a rapidly diminishing yet essential right.

N965VJ

I first heard about this nonsense last fall, but it's good to see this hit BoingBoing. Throw it right back to the "If you don't like the TSA, don't fly" crowd.

Deinonychus

If you don't like it, don't take the bus!!!

ocschwar

So, let's see:

If you fly - gate rape.

If you take a train - gate rape.

If you take a bus - gate rape.

And if you drive, well, remember that driving is a privilege, not a right.

So there is no more right to travel in the US now.

lostinthewash

In Knoxsville too?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ont-fly-2.html

Darkumbra

I'm not a US citizen - I one of those people who live in the mythical country to the north of you.

I do have a question for all Americans - when are you going to stand up and put an end to this? Everything is already in place for you to be stopped at ANY point for a full TSA style search and presentation of papers or you cannot go about your business. Given that this is now a fact... when are you going to roll that wheel off your backs and become, once again 'the land of the Free?'

Wally Bird

That's overstating it a bit. You can travel, but you may have to submit to a search and that may be violating several Amemndments to the Constitution.

In a perverse way, this is a good thing. It should be apparent by now that:
Congress is not going to rein in the TSA;
The courts are not going to rein in the TSA;
The TSA certainly is not going to scale back of their own accord.

While the indignities apply only to the comparatively few Americans who travel by air regularly, the rest of the population is NOT going to care. Much.
The TSA will only be stopped by a groundswell of public opinion and/or outrage. Airport naked scans and gropes are one thing, but if their arrogance leads them to think nobody will mind if it gets expanded to buses, trains, shopping malls, theaters and so on then they might just be mistaken. Badly.

Bring it ON, Janet. Isoruku Yamamoto 1941

gojirasan

You almost have to feel sorry for the TSA thugs. Seems like you have better chances of winning a lottery than finding a "terrorist". I'm sure the next step is going to be moving the goal post. Just redefine "terrorist" to include a large percentage of US citizens. Soon they will be roaming the country looking for "domestic extremists".

FriendlySkies

As others have said, so much for "Don't like it, don't fly!"

lostinthewash

As a fellow northerner ... if the US implodes, it affects us too, so we need to stand united with them and not just ask when they are going to deal with it. The Canadian existence, as much as we are unique, is SO tied to the US that we have to be concerned with the goings-on to the south. Their problems ARE our problems.

Yes, the Canadian government is refusing to allow CSIS to override the judicial and legal system, and yes, we are ensuring that civil liberties prevail, but ... our economy is tied so heavily to US trade, that all our southern neighbours have to do is hint at cutting off that flow, and our government will <porn references deleted> to the US will.

TSAscum

Well if we don't stand up and change, I think the change will come sooner or later. If we can't freely travel, over the years department of transportation will lose funding, DMV and car insurance companies won't be milking us dry (i'm sure they'll come for cars soon), cops will have a lot less to do (lose funding, less money from tickets). Over the years, families and friends will grow stronger together as people aren't able to move away, making us as a people stronger, closer and more in tune with each other as friends and neighbors, giving us stronger ties with more friends to gather and uprise.

Or else we'll turn into a total police state, and they won't be able to milk much out of us. Ruling with fear instead of respect never worked out too well for anyone in the long run. Depressed and oppressed workers won't produce much. We already have high rates of crime, depression, suicide, stress and bad health in this country, if they think that's going to get better by treating us worse, they're in for a real treat.

Letitride3c

Coming soon, unannounced and random, of course - to your hometown cruise port, harbor crossing, commuter ferry terminal, toll plaza at the bridges & tunnels, train & subway hub. ( .... casino bus departures ?? exempt or not, hmmm) It's all transportation related ....

These inter-agency team efforts, I wonder, would they be looking for sex offenders & child molestation suspects - possibly hiding behind a blue uniform, LOL. Just about the only thing left to do is to run an instant fingerprint check & do the body cavity check.

What a dear price many fellow Americans are willing to give up in the name of protecting the homeland from the terrorists - history being rewritten on the true meaning of Liberty, Freedom & Justice for All in the 21st Century.


Civil Disobedience - that's America's proud tradition !!