Whatever happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave? In the aftermath of the failed attempt of the Christmas Day underpants (Fruit of the Boom?) bomber will we become the land of the strip-searched and the home of the paranoid? Apparently so. Let the overreacting, pantswetting, and cowering in fear commence. And let the newer, simpler Bill of Rights be written, "Whatever it takes to keep us safe."
Under the new rules, "[a]ll travelers flying to the United States from other countries will face increased random screening, and all passengers from more than a dozen terrorism-prone nations will be patted down and have their carry-on bags searched...The Transportation Security Administration notified airline carriers Sunday of the changes for all flights entering the United States -- with an emphasis on a "full body pat-down and physical inspection of property" for all people who are citizens of or are flying through or from nations with significant terrorist activity."
The countries on that list are Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Yemen.
Sen. Chuck Schumer suggested we should, "penalize countries that fail to implement tough screening standards at their airports. U.S.-based airlines should threaten not to fly into those airports either, in order to send a strong message about the importance of international passenger safety, he added..."You don't have to be Albert Einstein to realize that flights that originate in foreign countries pose a greater danger," Schumer said during a press conference Sunday."
Really, Chuck? Where did the 9/11 flights originate? Refresh my obviously faulty memory.
Former New Jersey governor and former head of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean, claimed that the Obama administration has been "distracted" by their domestic agenda:
Right, Gov. Kean. The administration should spend every waking moment focused on nothing but al-Qaeda and what might be their next move. News flash, that's exactly what they want.
Sen. DeMint joined Gov. Kean:
"There's no question that the president has downplayed the risk of terror since taking office," DeMint said, adding that "we need to get the politics out" of fighting terrorism. [How he said that without choking I'll never know.] Proving that he wants to "get the politics out," DeMint added this in an appearance on CNN:
I can only imagine what Sen. DeMint means by "interrogated - military style." Wait a minute, I think I have the solution. Let's appoint former VP Cheney head of the TSA, I'm sure DeMint would approve of that. Then let's waterboard every suspicious, Muslim-looking man, woman, or child who tries to board a plane bound for the US.
That would be absurd, right? Not according to retired Lt. General Tom McInerney, who suggested that we "strip search" every 18 to 28-year old Muslim man.
You know the world is upside down when the Fox News anchor is the voice of reason.
Can we get real for a minute? The facts of 21st century life are that airline travel is going to hold some degree of risk. The best we can do is to try and make that risk as low as possible within the bounds of a free society. That is, unless we intend to conduct a full body cavity search of every passenger. Do we really want to live like that? I don't.
Under the new rules, "[a]ll travelers flying to the United States from other countries will face increased random screening, and all passengers from more than a dozen terrorism-prone nations will be patted down and have their carry-on bags searched...The Transportation Security Administration notified airline carriers Sunday of the changes for all flights entering the United States -- with an emphasis on a "full body pat-down and physical inspection of property" for all people who are citizens of or are flying through or from nations with significant terrorist activity."
The countries on that list are Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Yemen.
Sen. Chuck Schumer suggested we should, "penalize countries that fail to implement tough screening standards at their airports. U.S.-based airlines should threaten not to fly into those airports either, in order to send a strong message about the importance of international passenger safety, he added..."You don't have to be Albert Einstein to realize that flights that originate in foreign countries pose a greater danger," Schumer said during a press conference Sunday."
Really, Chuck? Where did the 9/11 flights originate? Refresh my obviously faulty memory.
Former New Jersey governor and former head of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean, claimed that the Obama administration has been "distracted" by their domestic agenda:
"Abdulmutallab "did us a favor" by bringing terrorism back to the forefront..."We had an administration that's not focused as it should be on terrorism," Kean said, noting the time paid in the past year to initiatives such as healthcare reform and climate change that "distracted" the White House. "They weren't giving this enough attention. It's understandable but unacceptable."
Right, Gov. Kean. The administration should spend every waking moment focused on nothing but al-Qaeda and what might be their next move. News flash, that's exactly what they want.
Sen. DeMint joined Gov. Kean:
"There's no question that the president has downplayed the risk of terror since taking office," DeMint said, adding that "we need to get the politics out" of fighting terrorism. [How he said that without choking I'll never know.] Proving that he wants to "get the politics out," DeMint added this in an appearance on CNN:
"DeMint charged that the decision to put Abdulmutallab in the criminal justice system had already been damaging..."If we had treated this Christmas Day bomber as a terrorist, he would have immediately been interrogated military-style rather than given the rights of an American and lawyers."
I can only imagine what Sen. DeMint means by "interrogated - military style." Wait a minute, I think I have the solution. Let's appoint former VP Cheney head of the TSA, I'm sure DeMint would approve of that. Then let's waterboard every suspicious, Muslim-looking man, woman, or child who tries to board a plane bound for the US.
That would be absurd, right? Not according to retired Lt. General Tom McInerney, who suggested that we "strip search" every 18 to 28-year old Muslim man.
You know the world is upside down when the Fox News anchor is the voice of reason.
Can we get real for a minute? The facts of 21st century life are that airline travel is going to hold some degree of risk. The best we can do is to try and make that risk as low as possible within the bounds of a free society. That is, unless we intend to conduct a full body cavity search of every passenger. Do we really want to live like that? I don't.
I can see a lot of guys signing up for duty, thinking this might be better than Playboy.
No thanks, I'll just drive.
Gotta admit....seems like a fair swap. Could be, however, not all the women agree with this. THis is not so mch an X-ray as a black and white image of you without clothes on. I can see hordes of men lining up at the security checkpoints when Gisele Bunchen goes through the machine.
I'm ok with my soft tissue being seen on a full body x-ray, so long as there not being recorded for use later. I go to the doctor, and I do not feel violated when they have to see my body...or touch it. This can be done, so that there is a level of comfort for us. Lets see...No bombs made it on the plane. Hummmm Yep I'm pretty comfortable witht that.
Little known fact:
Originally Key wrote: "HOME of the free and LAND of the brave." But his wife, an English teacher, told him to change it.
You know, we can blame ALL this on the Wright brothers and Charles Lindbergh. Oh, I guess Alfred Nobel must take some blame too.
That works for me. And....more importantly, your idea saves US $10 million in prize money!
P.S. I understand those "full body scanners" show soft tissue detail.
I might note that the Republicans have stopped short of saying "Man was not made to fly, and as a consequence air travel is a pestilence on this earth!"
How about appearance profiling and just xray those we would want to look at?
What if we expand the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes into Arab speaking countries??
I have to admit that I agree with Carguy.
Yes, I agree 100% Carguy. Unfortunately, terrorists have no address or zip code. I think there should be some "international" data base to screen passengers. Problem is no can agree on what qualifies as "potential" terrorists and how to you get everyone to sign up? Most of the countries harboring extremists have had a bad history with the U.S.
PLease put me down for one vote FOR racial profiling. Last plane I was on, LOTS of people that should NOT fly naked. And I include myself in the census.
But let's admit, at this time, the NEXT bomb-bearing jihadist is most likely to board a plane overseas. We don't have a lot of control over the planes that come here from other countries.
They need to do the x-rays...I know there is alot of discussion about this. I would much rather my body be screened by a x-ray and KNOW that I'm safe.
I have the right to not be blown up by a freaking brain washed terrorist who can want to blow himself and the plane I'm riding on with him.
This would catch more then just bomb totting terriorist... smugglers of all sorts.
If there is an airline who does screen by x-ray and one who is not... who do you think I'm buying my round-trip tickets with???
Let me just say:
We trust our airport security to people that make slightly above minimum wage. Ever gone through security at Bush? Not so bright. No clue. Big clues were missed in this case.
If you have nothing to hide, you won't mind the additional precauctions being taken.
IMHO.... I hope everyone had Great New Year?
You DO have to admit....IF we start "patting down" everybody, you might get a lot more applicants for the job of TSA screener. I'm not necessarily saying "good" applicants, just more.
Does this mean we can keep out shoes on now?
I do think it would be a good idea to hold an international summit to have some agreed upon procedures for safety, who boards, how should we search, ect. I'm obviously not for flying naked and I don't want racial profiling anymore than anyone else, but I do think we need to be safe.
Not that I am overly modest....but they keep some of those airports REALLY cold.
I think I will restrict my travel to the train.
There was a clip on TV last night that showed a 30'ish woman being patted down. The intensity with which it was being done was almost erotic. At some point there is going to be some screaming about how they are doing this.
I liked Rachel Maddow's remark -- "everyone will be required to fly naked and unconscious"...it works for the "if you don't have anything to hide" group...