Monday, November 22, 2010

Living in a politically correct country

  The subject is the TSA. It's been the TSA for the past week, the story muffled the weeks before. There is no other story right now, as people hash out what is acceptable and what is not in government intrusion into our daily lives.
  In a way, that's good because at least we are having the conversation.
  On one hand, you have a few millionaires saying, "Please! Tax us more!" inviting more government into their lives.
  And that's fine. Tax yourselves. Nothing is restricting you rich guys from writing extra checks for the government. Let's be honest. What they REALLY mean is "Tax everybody who makes a lot of money more," thereby taking the decision away from the resistant rich guys. 
  But touching people's genitals in the airport, being callous about physical conditions, discriminating against those who have implants by examining them every time but not profiling a national from a country whose 19 citizens attacked this country on 9/11...these actions touch the hearts of people because they affect our daily lives.
  Most of us aren't millionaires.
  Most of us have no authority over The Lives of Others.
  Most of us bear no ill will toward those whose countries oppose ours.
  But this, THIS is ridiculous.
  It's been almost a year since the underwear bomber tried to take down a plane flying into Detroit.
  After it happened, Big Sis claimed, "The system worked" because citizens on board the plane tackled him and beat him down, not because any of HER systems had worked.
  Now we're supposed to be thankful because, almost a year later, Big Sis decides that feeling everyone's underwear is going to make a difference.
  First. What took you so long?
  Second. Are you serious?
  Is it UNDERWEAR that's the problem here?
  Is it BOX CUTTERS or 4 oz bottles of SHAMPOO?
  It's the PEOPLE who are the problem. It's PEOPLE who want to kill us, not underwear.
  What's next? 
  If someone hides a weapon in his butt, do we then examine everyone's, excepting a few that Big Sis ordains as uncapable of committing crimes?
  If someone hides a weapon in the baby's blanket, do we manhandle every baby to make sure there are no weapons?
  Slowly the vice is tightening and more and more restrictions are put into place every time there's another attempt.
  The answer is to profile. Ask questions. Profile behavior. Look questionable people in the eyes and talk to them. Verify where they've been. Take some of that money we pay the TSA and put 2 air marshals on board. Every plane. Don't waste resources.
  So while Big Sis mulls whether to EXEMPT Muslim women from these procedures (has no Muslim woman flown since the new policy was enacted? Why are we not hearing this?), the rest of us are treated like criminals.
  Over at Red State is a good synopsis. Here's a bit:
So, sexual assault, humiliation, and pedophilia are preferable to Janet Napolitano, John Pistole, and Barack Obama, than having the courage to profile actual would-be terrorists?Is this just one more way they’re “transforming” America?
Once again… 
Number of TSA Agents: 67,000
TSA’s FY 2010 budget: $7.8 billion
Number of terrorists caught by TSA: ZERO.

2 comments:

  1. The Republicans have to keep driving the theme that TSA is a harbinger of things to come under Obamacare. The difference is lives will be lost not just diginity squelched and flights missed. Eventually it may occur to the Democrats that they have a lot more to lose than elections.

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  2. I have mixed feelings about a lot of this. I really don't want to get blown up. But now they are talking about cavity searches and it becomes more and more ridiculous. I don't think I personally have an objection to the scanner, though I don't believe their line about the radiation being minimal. My problem is I just don't TRUST what they're doing. It's all so 1984, so Newspeakie. We are just moving closer and closer to a country governed by out of control whackadoodles, I think. But you're right. This is just the beginning and we have a chance to snatch it back before it rolls over the edge.

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