Opus 2026-109: Shared Goals

What do the TSA and terrorism have in common?

I have made several pilgrimages to visit in Reno.  It is a good time of fellowship and discussion.  I’m thinking about how I don’t want to fly.  The hassles of the TSA and government regulation in general have made that unpleasant.  I don’t want to drive.  It is a long journey and as much as I like to drive I shudder at the cost.  What about a train?

Consider how the elites are trying to take away our mobility.  They do not want us free to move around at will.  Regulations, check points, the extra cost generated by government demands, all go to discourage us from leaving our designated space.  That is why they are working on getting us out of our automobiles.  People are much easier to control and monitor if they are forced to walk or dependent on public transport.  Traffic jams also remove the joy and make a commute to work detrimental to our options.  Add that to making flying so unpleasant that many of us don’t want to do it.

The terrorist have the same goal.  They want us to change our lifestyle and cut out things which make it worth living such as mobility, which gives us a great deal of variety in life.  They want us to change our habits by avoiding places where people congregate.  They want to make us afraid to go to church.  They make shopping malls targets.  They riot in the streets.

One of the questions I keep hearing is, “What can I do about it?”  The frustration is that no one in Washington is listening.  True, but it is not congress that makes you stay at home instead of going to the swap meet.  It is your own fear.  What can we do?  Keep on living our lives.  Terrorists and government elites want to get you to change the way you live your lives.  One of the things you can do is keep living like Americans.

Get out there and celebrate the liberty we have left.

Use it or lose it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-057: Headlines: More Gaps Than Facts

It was the leading article on my phone this morning.  Later I found it at the Guardian and read it in more detail.  As I read I grew more and more frustrated with what was called “reporting” and “journalism”.  There were many facts that did not add up.  Most of the facts that don’t add up are from unconfirmed statements.

Sorting through the hype, a young Muslim man was chosen for random screening and the process made him miss his flight.  That could be a bureaucracy out of control or good police work.  I can’t decide from the sketchy details.  Beyond that it is almost like reading the New York Times.

One discrepancy is where he was when it all started.  The beginning of the article states,

“We got to the airport, and as soon as we got to check in, the lady behind the desk read my passport and then straight away said you’ve been selected for a random security check.”

Okay.  A random security check.  More on that later but it led to him being taken to a hotel room that made him miss his flight.  Later in the same article it says,

“Mr Miah boarded the onward flight in Reykjavik on 16 February but was escorted from the aircraft by security personnel.”

Okay, which was it?  Was he taken off the flight or stopped at the check in?  Did the reporter bother to read what was written?  Is there an editor in the house?

If  he was selected for random screening it says he was taken to another room and most of what is described I have experienced. 

“She took me to the room, made me stand on a stool, take my shoes off, jacket off, checked under my foot, got a swab to brush over my hand and bag, my clothing and school hoodie. They gave me the all clear and then I went. The search was about five minutes. There were five or six people in the room, two searched me.”

All of this I have been through except the standing on a stool.  That is a bit strange.  But like he said, it took about five minutes and then he was cleared.  How does that fit together with the second story of being taken off the flight?

This article is very poor reporting.  All quotes and facts seem to come from the offended party and his circle of support.  We even read, “Mr Miah is a popular and respected teacher at Llangatwg comprehensive school.”   Without accusing Mr. Miah of anything I would point out that similar descriptions are given to terrorists and mass murderers, after the fact. 

Toward the end there is the required Trump bashing and mention of the travel ban.  What is not made clear is that the travel ban would have not applied to a British subject coming from Great Britain, so that was just gratuitous stirring the waters.

I would guess that there is a lot more below the smoke.  What it is I don’t have a clue and evidently the reporter doesn’t either.  Lazy or incompetent?  That is something else we don’t know.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-77: Latex Gloves Replacing Jackboots

If I am ever arrested I will be in good shape.  I am learning the drill.  Every time I fly I opt out of the high radiation scanner and go for the pat down.  It is an obvious violation of our Constitutional rights regarding due process and probable cause but no one seems to care.  I am getting used to it.  Somehow I don’t think the police will explain each step of the way to me though.

Things must be getting tighter.  This time he checked my hair, maybe looking for explosive lice.  He also had me sit down and checked the bottom of my feet.  Bunion bombs?

If I were single I would retire and either move closer to the children or drive where I wanted to go.  Since I am not retired I will continue to make the acquaintance of a growing list of TSA employees.  Instead of brown shirts and jack-boots they sport blue shirts and latex gloves. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-476: Big Brother Takes Another Baby Step

Do you travel much?  I fly several times a year and I am growing to hate it more each time.  That is really the ultimate purpose of the TSA, to discourage mobility and isolate us.  It goes along with the subtle ways they are trying to get us out of our cars.

Now a new wrinkle is emerging.  They are starting to take away the option of avoiding the body scanners.  The camels nose is under the tent.  Total compliance is just around the corner.  You can check it out at a site called Slash Gear with a hat tip to Drudge.

If you don’t travel much you may not even think about it.  Airport security has had scanners for years that are designed to detect metal objects.  A few years ago they developed a more advanced design that gives a full body scan.  There have been a lot of headlines about nude pictures and such.  My concern has always been the radiation they put out to do the scan.  The government keeps telling us it is safe but they also tell us they are not listening to our phone calls or reading our e-mails.

So far I have been able to opt out of the radiation scanners.  It requires being frisked like a criminal and searched with no due process or probable cause, but who cares what the Constitution says?  Certainly not our government.  My concern is health, not nude pictures.  I figure if someone gets their thrills by looking at x-ray nudes that is their problem.  If I develop cancer because of their fetish, that is another story.

Now they can make the radiation machine mandatory.  It will start slowly, only suspicious characters will be required to be scanned but keep in mind that the income tax was only going to effect the rich. 

Coming to an airport near you.

Welcome to Amerika.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-94: The Popcorn Scare

I was traveling and trying to get my money’s worth.  The checked luggage was already at max but I had some popcorn I needed to get home.  In California it is hard to find anything but the standard yellow and white popcorn that comes in plastic bags or Orville’s original.  I was bringing home Black Jewell, Crimson Jewel, Baby Blue, and Autumn Blaze.  It was a good harvest this year.

I get it all in my carry on and am moving along well.  I am expecting trouble from our TSA warriors though.  As I watched my bag disappear though the mouth of the conveyor belt I paced it down until it got to the scanner.  The belt stopped.  Back-up was called.  At that point I had to move but when I got through the pat-down (I never go through the ray gun) I saw that my bag had been pulled over for further inspection.  It was no big deal.  I am glad to know that the TSA caught my popcorn.  Really.  On the scanner it could look like any number of explosive options.  The fact that they found it and checked it says they were awake.

Now as for my constitutional rights against unwarranted search and seizure, I’ll get back to you.

Meanwhile, rest easy.  The power of popping corn is not going to hurt you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-68: Headlines: Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

So now Iran and Hezbollah are members of civil society.

I have seen this referred to at several places but you can find a summary on Power Line.

It seems that our administration has decided to drop a terrorist state and one of its minions from the list of terrorist threats.  This is a sweet deal that the president has made.  For all of his talk he seems determined to allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and use them to threaten the rest of the world.

If you think TSA is crazy now, just wait until we face the threat of terrorists going nuclear.

Will America survive Obama?

I certainly hope so.  I am not planning on moving.  There is no place to go.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-69: I Am Safe to Fly

I am now officially not a terrorist. 

We flew to Texas over the spring break at my school.  As I was hurryng to get in line for my confrontation with the TSA I noticed a sign that said “Pre Screened” or something like that.  I had heard about this but had never bothered to file the papers to qualify.  When I was starting through the line I was waved to a different line.  This is the second time it has happened.  In the new line I did not need to take off my shoes or belt.  I left my computer in the case.  I walked through the old-fashioned metal detectors.  It was like turning the clock back 20 years. 

I thought it was because they felt I was too old and feeble to be a terrorist.  When I looked at my boarding pass later I saw two words I had not noticed before.  The magic words were “TSA Pre.”  Evidently some nanny state guru has decided that I am not a threat.

I am not sure whether I should feel vindicated or insulted.  I can be sure that I am better than you though. 

I think it is a temporary pull back by the oppressors.  The water has been getting hot too fast.  People have been waking up to creeping tyranny.  They will pull back a little, let things cool down and then ratchet it up again.

It is scary to think we have the government we deserve.  It is comforting to realize that I am not represented at any level by anyone I have voted for.

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-106: On the Street: Travel and the Sequester

I just flew across country, changing planes one time.  As much as it disappointed me, I did not see any holdups bigger than usual because of the sequester.  When I travel I always refuse to get a free x-ray so I have the pat-down.  The only issue was the total violation of my Constitutional rights of due process and probably cause.  The actual procedure was done professionally and with courtesy.  I am sure that some of King George’s tax men were professional and courteous, too.

My wife always seems to have issues but it could be because she makes insulting remarks to people.  She has found that by taking her black cat with her it tends to speed things up because so many of the people working for TSA seem to be extremely superstitious. 

Happy travel.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-172, Try the Back Door

Summer is my time to get to know the TSA up close and personal.  I spend a fair amount of time in airports.  Each trip means a trek through the screening process.  I am refusing to go through the new radiation dispensers so I live in suspense waiting to find out if I can walk through the old way or receive cheap thrills the new way.

My son introduced me to the marvelous efficiency of the screening process.  I was getting ready to get in line when he said, “Down stairs there is another entrance with short lines and no new scanners.”  Huh?  Sounds like a win-win to me, but can it be true?

Actually, yes.  We went down a level.  There was no line.  There were no radiation dispensers.  I walked up, showed my ID, emptied my pockets, took off my shoes and belt and walked through the non-golden arches.  All that was left was putting myself back together. 

If my geek son who can’t remember where he left his keys can figure this out, what about the terrorists?

Do you feel more secure?

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-116, TSA Is Still on the Job

I am on the road again.  Actually I am in the airports again.  That means contact with our version of the RCMP:  The TSA.  I have never consented to go through the new radiation scanners.  That means I get regular pat-downs.  So far it has been more an attack on my rights as a citizen than an affront to my personhood.  They tend to be polite and professional.  I would guess that tyranny is often polite and professional at first.  But it is still tyranny.

What is really strange is that there is no pattern to when I get the simple scan or the pat down.  I guess that is there version of random so that terrorists won’t know what to expect.  Maybe if the police were allowed to search random houses that would be okay, too.

I am just grateful that the terrorists are not as clever or as committed as they want you to think.

Happy traveling.

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-312, Plow and Crown: The Battle for Freedom of Movement

The struggle for liberty has some unsung heroes.  Henry Ford was one of the great pioneers of freedom.  He was responsible for producing a car that the average man could afford to own.  Another pioneer was Rockefeller.  He reduced the price of the fuel that would run those cars so that common people could afford to drive them.  Put the two together and you have a population that had the kind of mobility that previous generations could only dream of.  Unfortunately, future generations may also only be able to dream about it. 

Remember waiting to turn 16 so you could get your driver's license?  It meant freedom.  Your world now expanded beyond the range of your bicycle and sweat, limited only by your gas money and curfew.  Many young people would get jobs just so they could afford a car. 

As an adult you could work more than a few blocks away.  To put it another way, you no longer had to live close to the place you worked.  Your options were greatly increased.

Enjoy it while you can.  The modern nobility is working to take that flexibility away from you by restricting your freedom of movement.  Part of these elite masters are simply power hungry politicians who will have their own chauffeur driven, tax supported limousines.  Their allies and supporters are the greens who want to take away your cars and force you onto mass transit.  They want to put the fetters back on you.  They can’t stand your freedom.  Oh, and they want to save the planet.

If you go back to the middle ages you would find that one difference between a free peasant and a serf was freedom of movement.  A serf was not allowed to go very far from home without permission from his lord.  At school we practice the same control.  Students are not allowed out of class without a pass.  In many parts of the world you are not allowed to move around without your “papers.”  We have seen it in the movies.  The sinister Nazi says, “Let me see your papers.”  Have you tried to fly lately?  Every step of the way you are expected to produce ID.  You are controlled and photographed.  Last year when the TSA was doing their illegal search of my person their machine detected some stray chemical.  As a result my ID was copied and put into the system.  I am now flagged.  Will that come back to bite me?  Probably.  The Lord of the Manor is closing in.

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-117, The Touchy TSA

I had another chance to refuse to be radiated.  This time they were trying to put everyone through the rays.  When I “opted out” they took me out and did the pat down.  Other than the general loss of dignity being searched like a criminal in public and the violation of probable cause and due process protections of the Constitution, it was no big deal.  Since I am not a glamorous young woman the touching was basic.  There were no cavity searches.

Both times I have been patted down they have assigned the newest, least experienced TSA employee.  They have been polite and professional, but obviously had not done this much.  Each time I politely tell them that I hope when the courts come down on this I hope it is the suits that get nailed and not the ones “following orders.” 

And a good time was had by all.

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-9, New Terms: Nomocracy

This is a new term for me.  My spell checker does not recognize it.  I like it.  I usually use another term but this one sounds so high brow.  It means the “Rule of Law.”  I found it on Constitution Society Website.

For those into Greek and Latin, “nomos” is Greek for “law.”  People who are against any kind of standards in Christianity are called antinomians. 

The reason it stands out to me at this time is that it seems to reflect what is not going on in our country right now.  Our government seems to regard laws as something to be acknowledged only if they fit what the official wants to do.  A clear example of this is the searches being done by the TSA.  I am sure you are aware of this simple statement:

4th Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

When I was pulled aside and “frisked” the problem was not lack of courtesy, groping or improper searching techniques.  The problem was a lack of everything mentioned in the Constitution.  At least if they were profiling, there would be some sliver of probable cause.

This is antinomocracy.

Opus 2, Liberty, Law and TSA

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was able to travel across country to be with family.  This gave me a chance to experience first hand the screening techniques used by our government to keep us safe.  They were there and they were there to help.

Let me first of all give the details that were the same on both flights:
    Same airline
    Large international airports:  LAX, BWI
    Two hours early:
        Luggage already checked
        Few people in line
    Wearing exact same clothes
    TSA employees were polite and professional

Flying from LAX was easy.  There were several lanes open for the final check of carry-on luggage and our persons.  All of the new, controversial machines were blocked with yellow tape like they use at a crime scene.  All passengers were going through the old fashioned scanners. 

Flying from BWI was a different world.  Only one line was open but there was no back-up.  Everyone was being directed toward the new, controversial machines.  I watched people being posed with their arms out wide.  Off to the left was one of the old machines with a TSA agent standing beside it.  It was being ignored.  When I stepped up to the gap in the barrier, I pointed left and took at step in that direction.  I was immediately approached by the agent on the new machine.  He asked me if I was aware I would receive a pat-down search by going that way.  I mentioned the lack of warrants, probable cause and due process.  I told him he had to do what he had to do and I had to do what I had to do.  I also expressed concerns about the radiation since I fly several times a year.  He ignored my reference to my Constitutional rights and assured me there was no danger from the machine.  I expressed a desire to not go through the new machine.  He called over to the work center for the agents.  Everyone seemed surprised that someone would believe the sign that said the radiation treatment was optional.

It took them several minutes of calling back and forth before someone came forth to do the deed.  He verified that I truly wanted to go through this.  Everyone seemed shocked at my decision.  He told me what it would involve, took me to the pad with the foot prints and began the process.  I had been a random choice for a pat-down several years ago at KCI.  What he did was a little more detailed, but nothing offensive.  It was not offensive if I had been a criminal or there had been any probable cause.  As a free citizen traveling within my own country I found it offensive.  I would occasionally mention that there was no warrant, no due process and no probable cause.  I did so in a mild manner that was not designed to raise antagonism.  Again I say that everyone I dealt with was courteous and professional.  All touching was done with the back of the hand and no genitals were searched. 

Then it got more interesting.  The agent took off his gloves and put them in a machine.  The machine beeped.  I was asked to sit inside a roped-off area while more agents were called and everyone looked worried except me.  At that point I pointed out that they now had probable cause.  Something was going on but I was innocent.  Evidently the machine had detected some offensive material on the glove.  All I could figure out was that I walked through the outer sales room of a firing range the day before.  I handled no ammunition and shot no guns.  All my clothes were freshly laundered and I had taken a good, hot American style shower.  But the machine had spoken. They went through all my carry on belongings and took me into a private room.  I was thinking, this is it:  Cavity search.  Actually all they did was the same search they had done outside, but this time they took a picture of my boarding pass and ID.  I was then told I could go.  I asked if that meant I was a citizen again.  They laughed.

If I had the least amount of guilt over anything I would have felt intimidated.  As it was all they did was delay me about 20 minutes.  Oh, and trample my rights as an American citizen.  Oh, and I may show up on a no fly list soon because of my ID.  No big deal, right?

Again, let me say, they were polite and professional.  There was no groping or excessive touching.  But that isn’t the issue.  The issue is the growing intrusion of the government into our daily lives.  Life has risk.  The government can’t make it safe for me.  They can take away my liberty.  That is my concern.  I am not hysterical or ranting.  This is a quiet concern.

One of the ways that we compromise our liberty is by giving in to the pressure of time.  When I fly I arrive at the airport in plenty of time to go through the process.  What if you were on a schedule that did not give you that luxury.  Do you stand by your principles or miss your flight?  Even giving people that excuse, how come they were surprised when I insisted on avoiding their machine?  I watched the gate for over 20 minutes.  There was a steady flow of people through the machine.  I was the only one who opted out.  Are we in that big a hurry?  Are we that afraid of our government?  It is scary.