TSA's VIPR Bites Rail, Bus, and Ferry Passengers 658
OverTheGeicoE writes "TSA's VIPR program may be expanding. According to the Washington Times, 'TSA has always intended to expand beyond the confines of airport terminals. Its agents have been conducting more and more surprise groping sessions for women, children and the elderly in locations that have nothing to do with aviation.' In Tennessee earlier this month, bus passengers in Nashville and Knoxville were searched in addition to the truck searches discussed here previously. Earlier this year in Savannah, Georgia, TSA forced a group of train travelers, including young children, to be patted down. (They were getting off the train, not on.) Ferry passengers have also been targeted. According to TSA Administrator John Pistole's testimony before the Senate last June, 'TSA conducted more than 8,000 VIPR operations in the [previous] 12 months, including more than 3,700 operations in mass-transit and passenger-railroad venues.' He wants a 50% budget increase for VIPR for 2012. Imagine what TSA would do with the extra funding."
Ron Paul 2012! (Score:4, Informative)
He is the only candidate that is against this sh*t...
Avoiding the USA (Score:4, Informative)
Is it any wonder why many people simply avoid the USA? I know I avoid it whenever I travel. I go so far as to pay extra to stayover within Canada rather than Newark when I travel to the Caribbean. I lay over in Toronto not Newark because I know I'll have way fewer issues. I know there is a TSA in Canada but as my flight will not enter into the USA, it's so much simpler to deal with rather than on a flight that terminates in the USA. Whole different set of rules it seems.
Keep up this Neo-Nazi crazy shit guys! You're only killing your tourism industry.
Re:Well, so much for... (Score:4, Informative)
Not by a long shot. In fact, I don't know a single person who doesn't despise them, and I am a conservative. Come to think of it, I don't remember ever seeing anyone on the Internet saying anything but negatives about the TSA.
Why the hell it still exists is a mystery to me.
USSR (Score:2, Informative)
Realize that in the former USSR there were similar controls (and even current Russia has some of these controls still), where people had in their passports. Yes, INTERNAL passports, that had name, birth date, parents' nationality! So in case of USA that would be nationality and religion, have to keep those Muslims on a short leash, right? There was a bunch of personal information there and the PLACE of where they live, so the address basically, and one couldn't really move from place to place without this document and couldn't really move from city to city without a lot of bureaucracy and it was actually designed in the first place to ensure a larger farmer population, to keep people from moving to cities, because living in Russian villages is not exactly wonderful (to say the least), and the gov't wanted to keep people working in these 'collective farms'.
Also this worked well for all the antisemitism in the country. Also USSR (and now Russia) had and still has this document, where they put information about every place of work, it's a 'work-book'. So one didn't need a resume, this was an official document, very important if one wanted to work at all.
Everybody was 'equal', except that some people were MORE equal than others, especially the members of the Communist Party.
For some reasons I see so many of these OWS protesters saying how they want socialism in USA [slashdot.org]. They have no idea what that actually means, they truly need to pay attention to people who LIVED in systems like that, here is a funny video about that. [youtube.com]
People, stop before you completely screw this up for yourselves, it is NOT the right road, you are going the WRONG WAY.
The right way is to STOP the GOVERNMENT from breaking your free market capitalism. You had the most prosperity before federal government politicians figured out how to crack your system by breaking your monetary system (counterfeiting the currency, started in 1913, together with the prohibition, which is not a coincidence, US gov't used to make 50% of revenue from alcohol sales), and they started taxing your income, which is totally wrong. Taxing income is wrong for government, because government is a spending item.
Gov't spending should be PROPORTIONATE to your spending, not to your income, otherwise gov't can consume your entire income and you will have nothing left beyond the bare minimum, you won't have any savings and won't be able to invest into anything on your own.
Well, they have already achieved that goal. Majority of US citizens don't even have 1000 dollars in savings. [cnn.com]
People, this is NOT about the 'rich' not paying some kind of 'fair share'. In fact the rich are paying much more, both, fractionally and in absolute numbers than anybody below their earning bracket. But it's OK for the rich to bear more cost, but it should not be that with more money, the income is taxed at higher rate. Well, the income shouldn't be taxed, period, but if it is taxed, it cannot be set so that majority can vote to steal more money from a minority. This is pure political BS propaganda, this is how the government takes your eyes off the ball.
The ball is that your economy is screwed, and it's only going to get worse, not better. No more better, it's going to crash and burn and you will with it, and the rich will probably escape that.
What you need is to crash and burn your government before it does it to you and you need to get back to actual sound monetary system and real Constitutional principles of government, where gov't actually only acts on its authority and doesn't grab power, so that it can sell it.
That's why you really need to vote for Ron Paul and support him in every way, because I like America, but I will never do business there again if you turn it into USSR (by stupidity, not even by design.)
Re:Illegal Search (Score:4, Informative)
It's not illegal if you consent to the search. If a policeman pulls you over for speeding, it's illegal for him to search your car. But if he asks if he can search your car and you say "yes", then it's ok for him to search. You have voluntarily given up your 4th Amendment right for your car to be searched without a warrant. (And before anyone brings it up, the law is different for pursuit in the commission of a crime. But if all you did was speed, the cop cannot search your car without either a warrant or your permission.)
The problem is too many people just agree with these searches like sheep. Unfortunately, airports and Amtrak are government-owned, so if you refuse the search the TSA can refuse to let you board. But buses and ferries are private, and the TSA has no authority to prevent you from boarding if you refuse the search. (Though the bus or ferry company could refuse on the advice of the TSA if the ticket contract allows it.)
Re:I wish they would... (Score:2, Informative)
I tried that yesterday at Chicago Union Station. I was selected for a screening by Amtrak police and I refused under 4th amendment grounds. The first officer immediately informed me I COULD NOT leave. I asked if I was under arrest and he said yes I was. I asked him under what pre-tense was I being arrested. He lied and said that it was illegal to refuse a search. I then repeated to him verbatim the 4th amendment. At this point 6 additional officers surrounded me and told me I could not use my cell phone nor could I put my hands in my pockets. After several intense moments where one officer unclicked his gun belt to try and intimidate me, they finally escorted me (all 10 of them) to the Amtrak ticket counter where I was given a refund and put on a life-time no-ride list for Amtrak and officially banned from entering Union Station for the rest of my life. At then end, 6 Amtrak cops escorted me to the door. Fascist jack booted thugs: your tax dollars hard at work.