Actually, I have no fear of flying. I’ve always enjoyed flying. (Or did before they shrank the seats to about half a normal adult’s size.) My problem these days is fear of airports. Or more specifically, fear of TSA security lines. Of course, it’s possible things aren’t as bad as I imagine. I haven’t had … Continue reading Fear of flying
(In fairness it should be noted that in recent tests the TSA did detect 5% — five percent! — of the explosives and weapons sent through their checkpoints … ) Continue reading And yet we keep funding it
“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary’ invasion than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval.” Those are the words of Judge Richard J. Leon of the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia as … Continue reading Judge comes down hard on NSA phone tactics
Still scratching my head over the TSA’s decision to allow small knives on planes again. Where’s the logic? The knives they are going to allow (blades up to 2.36″ long and .5″ wide) have longer blades than the box cutters used to hijack the 9/11 planes. How are they not a bigger threat? This makes … Continue reading Aren’t knives worse than box cutters?
CNN anchors are currently discussing the possibility that a woman arrested this morning on a flight diverted to Bangor, Maine, had an explosive device surgically implanted in her body. Reportedly an inspection by several doctors on board confirmed that she’d had no recent surgery (although not all surgical incisions are visible externally … ). Any … Continue reading Stay tuned for new TSA search techniques
I’ve already ranted about the TSA’s invasive groping and scanning in the name of national security, so I won’t launch into that again. However, I do want to lift my glass to the New Hampshire legislature for proposing a law that would criminalize such behavior. As noted in its introductory text, the NH bill (HB628-FN) … Continue reading TSA searches lack probable cause
