Semper Fi. Loved your post, BTW. I, too, believe that the oath is a lifelong commitment that still holds despite being out of the Corps for over 13 years now. I swore it 10APR1990, the day before getting on a one-way flight to Savannah, GA.

One of my favorite interpretations is listed in my sig block. The other favorite does not apply to me, but did to some of my friends who got stuck in PI, SC during the winter months for boot:

U Suckers Missed Christmas

Stuck there in December is a lot better than stuck there in August (Take my word for it!)

Godwin's Law, Porism 1

As far as I�m concerned? Not that it should matter to you, but IMHO sitting on a ship in the Persian Gulf does not a combat veteran make. I agree your support was needed and it was definitely appreciated, but try hanging out with the 3ID in theater for a total of 30 months. Then and only then would you truly understand the meaning of �Combat Zone�.

But I�m not debating who�s paid more for their freedom�I merely stated that people who make comments such as �Here comes the famous 9/11 mantra again� (with a roll of the eyes no less) more then likely take their freedom for granted...and I�m entitled to my opinion.

To add to that�I take offense to that statement because we have still men and women in harms way�and to forget that or to make statements of that nature is just plain wrong and disrespectful, as it minimizes their sacrifices.

I also never said I thought the TSA was right or wrong in their tactics�I was merely voicing my opinion on how some of you were just plain whining like 2 year-olds because you were inconvenienced for a few minutes. BOOHOO �go tell someone who cares.

As for the frequent poster who was detained and complained about civil liberty injustice because of his comments? I was commenting on that as a matter of comparison to the severity of it. Now of course someone will say "An injustice to civil liberty, no matter how large or small, is still an injustice" but in the big scheme of things...aren't there more important civil liberty issues we could be focusing on then that?????????????

Notice how no one quoted my comment about the reason that most people were complaining was because they were irritated about not being in their seat for their pre-flight refreshments? Because that�s more then likely what started this whole thing. Why don�t you find something worthwhile to focus your energy on? Like maybe a concerted effort to make solar energy affordable? Or, how about the many proven cases of genocide going on in the world today? Oh, wait...that would require sacrificing your time...and I forgot...you all are complaining about having to wait a few extra minutes to get to your first class seats...so forget that.

And last but not least...if ANYONE would like to question my patriotism, dedication to my country, or my continued efforts to support and defend the constitution, you can PM me, and maybe we can sit down in an airport somewhere and talk about that face to face...over a cup of coffee maybe.

And remember...if you don't like the TSA, there is always AMTRAK or Greyhound.

And for someone who has such a complete lack of understanding of the constitution and foundations of liberty that formed this country and used to be a fundamental part of it, there's always North Korea, Iran, Venezuela....

So you were with the 3D ID (I have never heard it called 3ID) every time it was deployed to the Middle East? That is quite some time in theater. Appreciate you doing that. My brother, brother-in-law, father and myself have all served, though we are all out except for my USMC Colonel brother-in-law who has seen a few tours in Iraq.

I don't follow your logic at all. I actually find that people who carry the 9/11 mantra don't understand our freedoms and are more willing to give them up for perceived security. That is not the basis for our country. So I am unsure as to why you should take offense at that statement in the least. Where is the whining like two-year olds for being inconvenienced? The "whining" is due to the illogical and ill-conceived actions by the TSA that are being foisted on us as security when, in essence, it is not. Much of the SOP is meant to be convenient for the TSA and not for the passengers.

And it was just a minor inconvenience for Rosa Parks to sit at the back of the bus, too.

See the above response, which is what we said previously. What you may not consider worthwhile, may be very worthwhile to others. So it isn't best to belittle others about what you consider unimportant.

Actually no. That is such an old canard. Amtrak and Greyhound are requiring ID and TSA has been known to poke around there as well. In addition, some of us do need to accomplish our business in a timely fashion, which neither Amtrak nor Greyhound would permit. And I haven't seen that schedule on Amtrak to Maine, Hawaii, South Dakota, Alaska and Wyoming, or even Las Vegas. In fact, Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Denver (6 out of the 20 largest MSA's) have on average one train departure or less per day.

You didn't answer my prior query - were you carrying a firearm with a round chambered while working the airport?

And the question I have for you is this: If you're willing to allow the sacrifice of some rights and civil liberties, where do you draw the line? A brief detention at a gate screening? A longer detention and bag search at gunpoint (as Amtrak seems to be doing)? A day long detention and possible jailing of citizens as ICE is doing in some of their plant raids for illegals? When it affects YOU?

At what point does the end stop justifying the means? Were you a Supreme Court justice, where would YOU establish the line.

That would help set perspective here.

Not so. Amtrak is doing random boarding screenings at gunpoint. Dunno about Greyhound. (and while some of us are lucky enough to have a choice, there are plenty of places that don't have Amtrak service, and it is virtually impossible to travel to some places - even within the US - without getting on a plane).

Excellent post. TSA is an expensive abomination that should be completely dissembled and reconstructed as an agency that is focused on providing real security instead of the illusion of security, which is all they do now.

anything to do with the blurb i heard on the cbs hourly radio news this afternoon about weight limits to carry-on's (because of the "fuel crisis and pax being charged for checking bags) and who will be enforcing the limits?

Oh, god, I hope CBS got it wrong. I'm not checking my electronics. Period. I remember when TSA had those stupid templates. I don't recall which airline installed them at OAK, but they were smaller than the maximum allowed by my airline. I used to get into arguments with the security people there all the time, but that was well before the days of, "do you want to fly today?"

No, I don't want to fly. Not any more.

and iirc, the piece i heard did mention something about "remember those old sizing things as you used to put your carry-on luggage into the x-ray machine.....".

i'll sue if you'll represent me as i cannot conceive how the weight (and possibly the size) of my carry-on luggage will make amerika safe from ter'wrists and what the tsa would have to do determining that my 22" travelpro is a threat to our national s'kwerity

You've taken too many pucks... and I wonder if any of them were from me!!

Of course your 22" travelpro is a threat. And apparently also is every citizen. Especially those critical of our governmental, ahem, organizations. There is nothing our vaunted leaders won't do to inconvenience us and make us feel that we're better for it. A disgrace indeed.

I'll represent you if you sue if you agree to bail me out after I get arrested when I go ballistic when TSA tries to stop me from bringing on board what UA has no problem with whatsoever.

United was the culprit who installed them, and Continental was the litigant who went to court and forced their removal. I had an incident similar to yours at T-A in EWR, and the pre-TSA screener tried to prevent my CO-approved carry-on from going through. After arguing, I basically yanked the template loose and shoved my bag through.

The TSA doesn't control carry-on size, and I'd say any attempt by one airline to try and pull this stunt again will result in another trip to court.

Relax; TSOs are not going to be required to enforce the size limits.

(Personally, if I'm the ticket checker and encounter a Kettle toting wayyyy too many/large bags, I'll direct them upstairs to the baggage check, and set them up so they don't have to go through the entire line a second time. However, they're under no obligation to heed my advice or accept my assistance!)