Duty to Country

I plan on helping with this:

http://www.minutemanproject.com/

TSA Has Caught 922 Terrorists!

How many terrorists has TSA caught? According to a CNN article, "Local police arrested 922 people at checkpoints, though how many of those resulted in convictions is not known." (SARCASM) 922 terrorists! That's great! (/SARCASM)

And TSA is keeping guns off of planes:
-"A test last spring by the Transportation Security Administration showed screeners found knives only 70 percent of the time and missed one in four guns."
-"During March, the first full month the TSA was in charge of screeners, 409,801 items were confiscated, including 4,711 box cutters and 55 guns. Last month, 326,793 items were taken, including 1,132 box cutters and 61 guns."
-"'If that's how many they've found, how many still got through?' he asked."
Let's answer that question. Looking at these statistics (about 60 guns per month found at a 75% success rate), that means about 15 guns and at about 800 box cutters per month make it through the checkpoints and board aircraft. Isn't it amazing that the skies are not raining blood from all the carnage onboard aircraft? In fact, I have not heard of a single shooting aboard a plane, even with 15 guns per month. I wonder why that might be. Perhaps because these people are NOT terrorists?

"He credits the TSA with making air travel safer." Oh really? Look at this:

"David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said the vast majority of confiscated items are things people simply forgot to leave at home."

"Airports have various ways of getting rid of items taken from passengers. Washington Reagan National Airport sends them to a metal grinder before they're melted down, while several California airports -- including San Jose Mineta International Airport and Oakland International Airport -- offer them on the eBay online auction site, Turmail said."

I don't fly any more. A few months ago I found a live 9mm round in my jacket lining. I don't know how it got there, but I shoot often so I wasn't surprised (although I scolded myself and told myself to be more careful). I had flown with that jacket only a few weeks before, and while I will never know for sure, the bullet was very likely there when I flew. Had they seen it, they would have arrested 923 "terrorists."

I am afraid to fly because it is unsafe. It is VERY unsafe, in fact, every time you fly you are SURE to get searched for anything that TSA or the airport wants to steal from you, at gunpoint, so they can sell it on eBay. And if they find anything they don't like, you risk going to jail and/or getting convicted on felony charges, even if it was a mistake. I would rather take my chances with the terrorists and a gun in my hand.

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/03/10/airport.security.ap/

Too Many Laws

One of my biggest beefs about this country is vast number of laws. Laws are needed for a civilized society, but when there is a point where it becomes too much.

I will submit that our country is one that almost every citizen is, if all truth be known, according the the law, guilty of at least one criminal offence (remember that's one for EACH of your MP3's...). I would also submit that a very large portion of these people would be guilty of one or more felonies. In fact, as for those of us who try to make a point of knowing the law well (like myself), we begin to realize that not only is it exceedingly easy to commit a "serious" violation accidentally, it is at times difficult not to. The more you know about the law and the more you realize how much the government can do to you if you slip up, the more paranoid you get. It seems that in some way, they ARE out to get you.

This nation needs a major change. It's time we stop putting behind bars those who try their best to abide by the law and contribute to society and labeling them "felons." Something is wrong when a vast majority of the population can be called "criminal" or "felon." I am seeing way too many good people who do their best to follow the law have their lives destroyed by the government (like a man who is facing two felony charges for NOT shooting someone, ask in a comment if you want to know more).

I heard of a book the other day that talks about this. I have not read it but I am thinking about getting a copy. Here is a link to it:

http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&method=cats&scid=33&pid=1441226

Just so you know: I believe that most people in prison are most likely there for a valid reason. I just seems to me that too many good people are being slammed behind bars for stupid reasons, and I believe that people should not have to be constantly afraid that they might accidentally break the law and have to go to prison (do you know what going to prison would do to your family?). I don't like that if I am facing six men claiming they are armed and claiming they are going to kill me, I have to be more afraid of what the government will do to me if I defend myself (or how much the lawyer will cost) than I am afraid of what the six men will do if I don't. It almost seems better to take my chances with the bullet in my chest and hope the ER can save my life. That's WRONG.

More Airport Security Lunacy

Warning: I am about to rip into airport security. If you can't handle it, please leave. If you disagree with me, please feel free to leave a passionate but civil and respectful comment. I will return the respect.

I heard today that airport screeners are being warned to watch out for watches with altimeters and built-in lighters. Can anyone explain this to me? This is more proof as far as I am concerned that the whole point of airport security is to simply control, regulate and/or monitor American citizens. I have to admit up front, it was not clear to me that they have banned these items, but it sounded like it- but it really doesn't matter if they are banned or not.

Let's take a look at both of these types of watches.

I am an electrical engineer, I know something about electronics. It would be extremely difficult to use an altimeter watch to trigger a bomb based on altitude, at least in the passenger compartment. Major modifications would need to be made to the watch, it would in fact not be a watch any more. I have a hard time even believing that it would be possible. Besides, with a pressurized cabin I would assume the altitude reading would be terribly inaccurate. But- they have a convincing enough argument that Joe Stupid Public who believes whatever he hears will fall for it and bend over.

Butane lighter watches. Watches are allowed on planes. Lighters are allowed on planes. Watch lighters aren't? You know, they should just strip us down and cuff us before we get on planes.

Forget the watches for now. I understand that the watch issue here is actually minor compared to the rest of airport security. Someone explain how this whole airport security makes us safer, and why it is worth the government intrusion. Besides, if a terrorist even can make it to the airport, the government has failed their job. In my opinion, anything more than the most minimal airport security should not even be necessary because terrorists should not even be able to make it into the country. All this time, effort and manpower should be put into keeping the terrorist jerks from crossing the border to begin with. And I don't want to hear anyone saying that they are working on that too, because I live in Arizona. They are NOT working on it.

I have yet to have anyone convince me that this airport security is anything other than an illegal search and a presumption of guilt. They have to search me and my effects to prove that I am actually a law-abiding citizen who just wants to go visit grandma. "But if you are law-abiding, then you have nothing to hide." Do you really think the 4th Amendment was put in place to protect criminals? No! It was put there to keep the government from doing what they are doing to law abiding citizens.

All that said, I would rather die in a terrorist attack on a plane with my entire family aboard than to see our government do this to our freedoms. That said, I would be more likely to fly with only minimal security, because I prefer the threat from terrorists to my own government ignoring my rights. That said, I don't fly any more.

-Calan

"A man who sacrifices Freedom for Security, deserves neither."

-Ben Franklin