DOJ Could Ban Texas Flights Over Anti-Patdown Law 377
hellkyng writes "The Department of Justice may ban flights from Texas because of the Anti-Patdown law making its way through the legal system. Says Rep. David Simpson, 'Someone must make a stand against the atrocities of our government agents.' Should be interesting to see if Texas can pave the way for grope-free flying fun."
Re:Update on this story (Score:4, Interesting)
Too bad our lawmakers are so spineless. That is a battle the FAA would lose. The TSA has done nothing to make us more secure. Every attempted airline incident has been stopped by passengers and/or air marshals. I am sure they would say you just don't here about all the good stuff they do. I say BS.
This doesn't sound like Texas politics... (Score:5, Interesting)
This bill sounds like something John Wayne would support, which means it should be gravy to pass through the Texas house.
Re:Counter to federal laws? (Score:4, Interesting)
So I give up my constitutional rights if I pass a sign saying that the passing beyond it voids my rights?
Re:Update on this story (Score:5, Interesting)
Before the Civil War, people referred to the US as a collective, "the United States are...". Afterward, there was a shift to the singular, "the United States is...".
Re:Update on this story (Score:4, Interesting)
I know. I literally have not flown anywhere since 9/11. I consider it a matter of principle to keep up with my little boycott. Whenever it is mentioned in my family, they say "oh, you don't like to fly". I say "no, I would love to fly, I just refuse to do all the stupid shit I have to do before I get on a plane". And their response is always to cock their heads like dogs learning a new word.
It's been 10 years of this, and they still find it easier to think I'm a giant pussy who doesn't want to fly, rather than accept the idea that maybe all those security checks are completely pointless. If you've *had* to fly since 9/11, you've pretty must just accepted this and gone on with your life. But to someone who still tries to do the right thing even if no one will ever notice or care, it sucks.
Re:Update on this story (Score:5, Interesting)
It's like drugs. Most adult Americans have tried drugs without any ill effects. And most think that what they did should be a felony. And most think what they did shouldn't have been a felony when they did it if they were caught.
People have inconsistent ideas. They hate pat downs. They want to be able to go through without them. They think them useless and ineffective. And when brought to a vote, they'll hate on their fellow Americans enough to vote from spite (wanting the other guy to get patted down) rather than voting with reason and forethought.
Re:Update on this story (Score:4, Interesting)
People believe in 20 contradictory things before breakfast. It's entirely plausible that 50% of Americans would simultaneously want others patted down for security reasons provided they themselves had legal protection against it, without even realizing that a contradiction even exists.
At Long Last (Score:5, Interesting)
Have we no sense of decency?
It was all fun and games when it was graft and bribery on a multibillion spend to put millimeter wave scanners in a few security lines. It was obviously stupid because the devices can be fooled by concealing things in body cavities. In a sane world, the criminal justice system would put the Bush-era TSA people who planned this scheme on the stand, where they'd say "well, we thought it was a good idea at the time;" any high-school educated jury wouldn't believe a word of it, and would hand out prison sentences for the various criminals involved in the federal security bureaucracy and device vendors. Security apparatus steals tax money, news at 11, complete with body scans of preteen girls.
But in these crazy times, in for a penny, in for a pound. Instead of just letting people opt-out of being scanned (no reason not to, since the devices are only reaching a few percent of travelers anyway, and even an illiterate petty criminal can explain why they're worthless for stopping terrorism), they're trying to push the issue with the also ineffective but highly titillating federally-funded full body massage.
Perhaps it's an experiment designed to determine just how debased the American people have become - how ignorant of their own rights and heritage. In which case, well played.
With all the ways I don't seem to see eye to eye with the Tea Party and the Texas government these days, it's a genuine pleasure to find some common ground, and say, I take my hat off to them.