Slashdot Mirror
ACLU Sues DHS Over Unlawful Searches and Detention
gavron writes "The ACLU has filed suit against DHS to stop the TSA from conducting illegal searches and detention. In the case at hand, TSA detained a Ron Paul staffer who was carrying $4,300 in cash in a metal box. The suit seeks to focus TSA searches on things having to do with increasing security on aircraft, instead of their current practice of 4th-amendment-violating searches, such as those of laptops, iPods, etc."
... a Ron Paul staffer with cash? I thought they all carried gold bouillon.
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Oh, it had to happen to someone important and/or with money.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
Why would they go after a metal box case? It's the one instance I could see the TSA legitimizing the search saying "we can't see what's in the box with the x-ray machine, could you come here an open it up for us." Seems like there'd be easier cases with the other abuses in with the TSA.
I hate the ACLU with a passion, however and as in this case, they have their uses.
It is not illegal to carry around large sums of money. Of course if you do, law enforcement will take it away saying it's drug related and you have to fight to get it back.
Finally, why didn't he just convert the cash to a money order or cashiers check?
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Sounds like someone was just asking for a fight at the airport.
You carry money in a money belt, not a metal box.
If he was carrying over $10,000 they could have reminded him of his legal obligation to file a CMIR. But he wasn't. Carrying $4,700 isn't a reportable event and is none of the TSA's business. (In case you don't know banking regulations: 31 CFR 103.23 requires that a CMIR be filed by anyone who transports, mails, ships or receives, or attempts, causes or attempts to cause the transportation, mailing, shipping or receiving of currency or monetary instruments in excess of $10,000, from or to a place outside the United States. The term ``monetary instruments'' includes currency and instruments such as negotiable instruments endorsed without restriction. See 31 CFR 103.11(k).)
He was a giving a talk on a seminar on why gold is better than cash. The $4,300 was part of his props.
Finally, why didn't he just convert the cash to a money order or cashiers check?
Unless you have an account with a bank, they won't do it.
Two, that's NOT for you to say. I agree carrying that much cash isn't the wisest thing to do, but unfortunately, the way the banks are, cash gets an IMMEDIATE credit to your account whereas a check, regardless of who issues it, means at least a ten day hold on the funds. Also, maybe this guy wanted to make a political statement and actually have grounds to sue the TSA. He actually put his ass on the line and is doing something about it; which more than I can say about your typical Slashdot pontificating whiner.
Three, I hate the ACLU with a passion.
Why?!? Did they defend a certain segment of the population that you hate? Like a black person? Or a homosexual? Or is it because they fought a town for putting up a nativity scene? Or is it because of their stance on gun rights? Even then, to hate them over that?!
You listen to AM radio, don't you.
About 10 ounces of legalized [ahem] medication.
It's just take a number and they aren't finished defending the First Amendment yet.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Unless you have an account with a bank, they won't do it.
the way the banks are, cash gets an IMMEDIATE credit to your account whereas a check, regardless of who issues it, means at least a ten day hold on the funds.
A. Every grocery store in America issues money orders.
B. Cashier's checks are typically deposited immediately. Typically Money Orders are deposited after they post.
C. There are a number of banks that will give you a cashier's check even without a back account at that bank.
D. With a business account, who cares if it takes ten days to clear, that's the cost of doing business.
In my other life, I eat cats.
After 9/11 I thought they lowered it to $10.000.
OK, seriously, I thought they lowered it for international travel to something like $5,000 but I couldn't find confirmation on that.
I don't think there is a limit for domestic travel BUT it would be wise to declare it with the airlines at least 24 hours before you boarded. It's also wise from a practical standpoint to either give up your rights and cooperate with the agents asking questions you have a right to not answer, or plan your itinerary such that you can miss your flight.
The bottom line:
Unless you are deliberately out to "test the system" you will just make your life miserable with nothing to show for it. On the other hand, if you are out to test the system and embarrass the TSA then by all means enforce your rights. Bonus if you have a reporter or better yet a live microphone/broadcasting cellphone with you at the time so people can listen in as its happening.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Unless you have an account with a bank, they won't do it.
Not true. I paid a security deposit with a cashier's check I got by walking up to a bank where I did not have an account and handing the teller $2800 in cash. There is a fee involved, though.
I agree carrying that much cash isn't the wisest thing to do, but unfortunately, the way the banks are, cash gets an IMMEDIATE credit to your account whereas a check, regardless of who issues it, means at least a ten day hold on the funds.
If your bank holds funds you have deposited via check for 10 days, you should get a new bank. I typically have access to funds deposited by check by the next day, two days at the most, without any holds.
"Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
Having spent time with the TSA, I can tell you first-hand that most TSA people are completely uninformed about their jobs, the law or just about anything they are doing. A TSA screener with half a brain wouldn't have done anything more than call in local law enforcement to perform any interrogations. There are standing instructions to inform law enforcement of anything including large quantities of cash. As to the performance of interrogations? Last time I was there, such things were never instructed. TSA screeners are not law enforcement.
The whole idea of "Department of Homeland Security" is born of a paranoid consolidation of power. It has done more to harm the efficiency of law enforcement and emergency services than it has done to help. The DHS should be dismantled and the pre 9-11 condition restored.
I am okay with government security screening, but only as far as their primary mission. If they do see anything else questionable, the ONLY proper action should be to inform actual law enforcement. "To observe and report."
You can't put a stop to official abuse unless you stand up to it. And, much as I disagree with Ron Paul and his supporters on just about every policy issue, that seems to be something that he and they understand and prioritize more than most people.
Yes, it sometimes involves personal inconvenience. That people are too interested in avoiding any inconvenience to stand on their rights is exactly what people who would whittle away at those rights rely on.
On a related note, see
United States of America v. $124,700, in U.S. Currency, United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit, No. 05-3295, August 18, 2006.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I-bonds and other inflation-protected securities are are the nearly-perfect hedge against inflation. If the government defaults on those we've got worse things to worry about than inflation.
The face value of "Forever stamps" go up with postage rates, which are supposed to track inflation. The downside is they aren't very convenient to trade and store.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I was making a joke. It must not have been that good if I have to explain it.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
It's also wise from a practical standpoint to either give up your rights and cooperate with the agents asking questions you have a right to not answer, or plan your itinerary such that you can miss your flight.
No, the wise thing to do is stand up and defend your rights, because if you don't, the government will continue to trample them.
The Federal Reserve Board's explanation http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/regcc/regcc.htm#determin/ of Regulation CC "Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks" is clear that funds availability is the same for U.S. Postal Service money orders and cashier's checks.
Furthermore, banks are permitted to withhold availability of funds from a deposit until the next business day regardless of whether the deposit was a money order, cashier's check *OR* cash. But banks can use additional excuses (esp. "reasonable cause to doubt the collectibility" what with the recent spate of cashier's check scams) to delay funds availability from either cashier's check deposits or money order deposits while they cannot delay funds availability from cash deposits beyond the business day after deposit.
standing is the other primary obstacle to getting your case heard other than evidence.
"If still these truths be held to be
Self evident."
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
If your goal is to ensure future travelers won't be bothered, the wise thing to do is make a stink.
If your goal is to make it to your destination on time the wise thing to do is cooperate.
If you want to do both, plan your departure several days earlier than you need it.
Pick your battles.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
FTFA: "Bierfeldt recorded the audio of the entire incident with his iPhone."
That's a felony in Illinois, and the recording would have been inadmissable in court. Yes, my legislators are liars who don't want to be caught doing something dishonest because of recorded proof. Of course, my previous Governor is headed to court (then hopefully prison) and the guy before that is sitting in prison right now.
And people wonder why our country is in such bad shape...
Free Martian Whores!
Forfeiture is rife with conflicts of interests. Those seeking forfeiture should never have more than a token stake in the outcome of the proceedings: enough to cover the marginal legal bills of prosecuting the forfeiture but not much beyond that.
For cash, burn it and destroy the ashes beyond recovery.
For everything else, sell it in a truly open auction then burn the money you raise.
Of course, this should only be done after all proceedings are final.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
TFA is light on details, so maybe this isn't what happened, but it is plausible:
Biefeldt leaves Campaign for Liberty without sufficient time to stop at a bank, grocery store, etc. before he needs to be at the airport to catch his flight. Therefore, although it may not be good practice generally speaking, Bierfeldt elects to carry cash on his return flight rather than converting the cash to a money order or cashier's check first.
All of which is irrelevent anyway. The simple fact is that, whether or not you think it is wise to carry that much cash on your person, Bierfeldt was well within his rights to carry cash on the flight. TSA/DHS is well overdue for a reality check in the court system.
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
>> and Os^Hbama doesn't make change
I saw what you did there. I bet you feel so proud and clever.
It's not like, you know, I've ever seen that before.
-dZ.
Carol vs. Ghost
Right, like I want to call ahead and give someone a heads up that I'm coming in with $40,000 CASH. It's almost as bad as putting stickers on my gun cases proclaiming (Steal me, sell me cheap in a high-crime neighborhood). WTF?
While what you say might be true(I don't know your bank and it's specifics), in general they will let you have access to the funds assuming they will clear. Then, if something goes wrong(another check was cashed before yours so the funds weren't actually available, whatever), the money will get taken back.
That can't happen with cash, no matter what bank you have or the situation.
I'm by no means a Ron Paul supporter, but I love reading about people who actively challenge the system. For some reason, our citizens have become more and more acclimated to surrendering their rights without question.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
This is just a simple case of some little dick trying to be a big dick and then cry about it when he got called.
Story time! You are on your way to Toronto to attend your cousin's wedding. But as you get into the airport, you realize you have no cash and haven't bought a wedding present yet! So you're not sure if the ATMs in Canada work for your bank and you approach an ATM. You're in a hurry to catch your flight which puts you in Toronto just to catch the wedding and in your haste, you accidentally hit an extra zero after punching in $500 and then hit enter. You're now holding $5,000 in nonconsecutive hundreds (this actually happened to my friend once).
Ok, you're not putting these in your luggage or jacket so you put them on your person and they make a noticeable bulge in the front pocket of your shirt but you don't want to lose them.
Guard notices the bulge as you walk through and asks you what's in your front shirt pocket. You look nervous and start to tell him a contrived story about being in a rush and having $5,000 on you--which is, of course, a hilarious mistake. TSA agent doesn't buy it and wants to know what it's really for. Guy wants to know who you work for. Sad thing is you were just laid off by Best Buy and the severance package of $7,000 is the only way that transaction to your checking account went through. So you tell him you're an unemployed guy going to Toronto with $5,000.
The TSA agent informs you they just arrested a guy with a bunch of cocaine on him in the airport and he's pretty sure you were his contact to make the deal and bring it over to Canada. You don't have any police record and were cleared to fly when you got your ticket but that doesn't matter. After missing the wedding and a night in jail, they can't make it stick and let you go.
You're a victim of better safe than sorry. When--guess what--it's not illegal for you to walk around with $5,000 cash on you.
Nice story, huh? Be a shame if it happened to you. But I'm sure I just have an overactive imagination and we all have nothing to worry about.
My work here is dung.
"Bierfeldt recorded the audio of the entire incident with his iPhone."
Need to make a record of your Constitutional rights being violated?
There's an app for that.
The intrusive security behavior of the TSA has all kinds of negative economic consequences, discouraging people from flying hurts the airlines, it also makes conducting business harder, and it separates families (with secondary but significant financial consequences). I'm very reluctant to take my family anywhere, it's such a great hassle to have your lunch and medications interrogated and seized.
And the difficulties of domestic travel are nothing compared to international. "Free Trade" makes no sense without the free-flow of people. A lot of what makes America economically appealing and strong is its openness and flexibility. I feel the travel clampdowns and growing hostility to foreigners plays a greater roll in the current economic meltdown than it gets credit for.
"The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
I don't necessarily care when I get to my destination or if I miss my flight (airlines are usually flexible), so when TSA gives me shit I love to give it back... However, if the trip is personal I try to put on the mindless drone attitude.
from 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
You're a dumbass. Or a troll. Probably troll. The "Os^Hbama" pretty much seals that deal. But still, I would like to point out that Obama's been in office currently 1/16th the time that "Lord and Saviour Bush Jr." was in total. It takes time to undo that kind of retardery. Come back in another 6 months, when he's able to stop putting out fires from the monkey he took over from.
A: Grocery stores usually limit the money orders to under a thousand dollars.
B. Not all banks cashiers checks are treated the same if the check is over $2000.00.
C. Banks close typically at 4:00 in the afternoon except in some parts of the world.
D. What difference would this make anyway as the whole thing was none of your or the TSA's business.
Why bother
I don't think there is a limit for domestic travel BUT it would be wise to declare it with the airlines at least 24 hours before you boarded.
For the love of everything holy, WHY?!?!?!? If there is no legal requirement to declare the money, then for what reason would it be wise to declare cash with the airlines before boarding a flight? Is the passenger sitting next to you or a flight attendent possibly going to have a reasonable fear that you might bludgeon them with a wad of cash?
It's also wise from a practical standpoint to either give up your rights and cooperate with the agents asking questions you have a right to not answer...
From a practical standpoint, maybe so, but why should we, as law-abiding citizens of what was once one of the freest nations in the world, be forced and willing to hand over those freedoms to a thug just because he wears a uniform?!?!? If I don't have a legal requirement to answer the question, you don't have a legal right to detain me. PERIOD. The sooner we as a nation start getting outraged at abuses of power and start standing up for our RIGHTS the sooner we can live in a country we are proud of again.
Unless you are deliberately out to "test the system" you will just make your life miserable with nothing to show for it.
Maybe. But maybe Bierfeldt just seized an opportunity that presented itself. I admire his courage, and hope that, should I ever be in a similar position, I would do likewise.
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
that's why you have a gun, fer feck's sake!
(PS you already HAVE the NRA to fight for the second, why do you want TWO organisations to fight for it? Which one do you give your money to if you care about the second but not the fourth, for example?)
If the lawyers do their jobs and weed out people who can think it will be a short day for you.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
E: None of the above matter, as the government has no say-so in whether or not we can carry large amounts of cash with us. (At least as far as I know... )Nor should they, it's none of their business.
Here's another way of looking at it - maybe it'll work better in the context of slashdot: Sir that laptop looks very expensive. Where did you get it? Do you have a receipt? If you don't answer me, maybe you want to answer the DEA. Or police. Or both.
Same thing, just a different asset.
Are you by nature a f***ing idiot or did you get an advance degree from Notre Dame in stupidity?
With regard to how wise it was, he did make it to airport security with the cash, so it can't be that bad a decisions.
I'm presuming that the TSA is doing their job well enough that people aren't getting mugged inside security or on planes, but who the hell knows?
That really just leaves him getting off the plane with it and into some vehicle. At which point he's as safe as if he'd driven to the bank before flying. (Assuming the two locations have relatively the same amount of crime.)
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
Only if you have a history of writing/depositing hot checks. The 'Check 21' initiative a few years ago did away with most of the delay of posting paper checks. The only delay now is how long to takes a merchant to physically get the checks to the bank. And for large merchants, even that delay is removed with EFTs (the checks are just sent through the back after the fact for your records).
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
I know I'm supposed to hate the DHS because they're a bunch of evil government bureaucrats that want to take away our rights. But aren't I also supposed to hate the the ACLU because they're a bunch of stupid liberal do-gooders who sue you for discriminating against left-handed dwarfs?
We NEVER EVER did that kind of stuff.
When the screeners (I was in testing) found something it became a L.E.O. issue and they called them over to handle it. I worked at ANC and people forget all the time to take their gun out of their pocket or carry on. It wouldn't even make the local news (You really need to live here to understand that for so many reasons, so I am not going into details) but even those really stupid people did not always get arrested. We just did a local and NCIC check on them and if they were clear they lost their weapon (or it was returned outside the secure area) and everyone went on their way. Go a head ask my why I quite (which is not easy to do) - Sorry I signed 3 different documents saying I wouldn't tell. BUT they have made some improvements "agency" in actual security. (jerks not with standing).
Side note: I love going thought the check points and saying "Hey I used to work for the TSA" Then the "Why did you leave?" questions from a Screener. Followed by my "Do you really want me to say in front of all these passengers?" Always good for a laugh.
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
How often did you hear over the past decade that "real estate was the safest investment you could make"?
Real estate is the best investment for the long term. The problem with the housing boom and bust was that credit was easy to get and people paid too high a price in the belief prices would always rise. Another problem is what people bought. If instead of buying a single family home they had bought a multiplex house, one with more than one apartment, they could have lived in one while renting out the others. Let renters pay part if not all of the mortgage.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
at the end that says "You're free to go".
That's a man that knows the law. I admire his statement and his tone of voice. He listened, asked 1 question, and answered.
I respect that.
The jackasses earlier in the audio recording, not so much. They're too shit-full of themselves... and they know they are breaking the law and thus avoid stating so.
This audio recording is priceless- because without it we'd have no proof. It's a pity the audio was released now- they should have waited until the court case to display it AFTER the affidavits were taken.
the international banks removed the last vestige of gold standard from the U.S. dollar? (Nixon had done it officially
Before Nixon did, FDR took the US off the gold standard. FDR outlawed private ownership of gold. What Nixon did was end the Bretton Woods system whereby national governments and international organizations could trade gold for dollars.
Without a standard, there is "freedom" to print money pretty much at will.
Fiat money.
In any case, whata it boils down to is that while metal prices might fluctuate, a standard is still necessary. Even metals are a better standard than none at all.
Instead of a standard based on gold or another commodity the standard could be a mix of commodities, such as a blend of precious metals and gems as well as food crops.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
And he had to use real money, $4300 worth, for the prop?
No, the money wasn't a prop, it was "from the sale of tickets, t-shirts, stickers and campaign material."
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
ACLU considered themselves idealogically to be a "liberal" organization, and no self-respecting "liberal" was a promoter of gun rights.
If you don't support the right to bare arms you aren't really a liberal, true liberals believe in liberty and small government.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Wake me when the National Rifle Association stops defending handgun ownership. (Handguns are not rifles.)
It's nit-picky to be sure, but all modern handguns that I'm aware of are rifles (rifled barrel) as opposed to smooth-bores (no rifling). That said, the usage of "rifle" in common speech has come to mean "long barreled firearm intended to be fired from the shoulder".
The stuff the NRA does that bothers me are things such as fighting trigger locks
Excuse me mr robber while I unlock my gun and load it." Bang you're dead.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
just wish the ACLU would say "Yes, it's an individual right, yes it's important, but the NRA does a way better job so we'll leave it to them". They don't have to fight that fight, but acknowledging that it should be done would be good.
The ACLU does not consider the right to bare arms to be an individual right, only a collective one.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
This is a guess:
The 2nd amendment is one of the few 'rights' that has many large industries lobbying for its continued existence.
The ACLU most likely figures that the 2nd amendment is well taken care of, and does not need their help.
If you listen to the audio of the incident, you may notice something funny. That is how FAST he was let go once they found out it was political contributions.
The ACLU will attack with the ferocity of a pit bull if the First Amendment is under even a vague threat. They are equally fanatical about Fourth Amendment and Fifth Amendment. They don't just take the obvious cases: if a student is forbidden to wear a black armband, that's a "free speech" violation under the First Amendment.
The Second Amendment, however, will have to look after itself; they won't spend any time or effort to help anyone in a Second Amendment case. If you can find evidence that shows the ACLU helping anyone, anyone at all, with a gun rights issue, please post evidence. (I'd love to be wrong on this one.) A city (Washington, D.C. for example) could pass a law forbidding all ownership of all guns to everyone, and that's not a clear enough Second Amendment violation to prompt the ACLU to act.
That link you provided is a great example. Here's some text:
The Second Amendment is very clear: "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Many people, including the ACLU, take the intellectually dishonest position that the odd introductory clause ("A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,") relegates this right to some sort of state's right. There are ten Amendments in the Bill of Rights; apparently nine of them refer to individual rights of the people, and one of them, given a position of prominence (second from the top, right after freedom of speech!) is a mere state's right. Oh sure, and I am Queen Marie of Romania. (And We are not amused.)
Read some of the writings of the founding fathers, and there is no doubt at all what they meant in the Second Amendment. When the Second Amendment was written, "the Militia" was the whole of the people (or at least the adult male citizens, but we would reject this restrictive view today). At that time, "well regulated" meant "in good working order". So overall, this is approximately the same as "A well-educated Populace, being a good thing, the right of the people to own and read Books, shall not be infringed." Would anyone seriously try to argue that "the Populace" and "the people" are not the same thing?
Now, an organization like the ACLU is supposed to be a pit bull on rights issues. I want them to protect the rights of people I hate. And I'm here to tell you: they just don't do their job on the Second Amendment. Not for Nazis, not for skinheads, not for drug dealers, and not for ordinary citizens.
The Second Amendment does have its friends. The NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation are doing the sort of job the ACLU ought to be doing. They get vilified for this, of course. I believe that some of the state-level ACLUs actually do take the position that the Second Amendment means what it says; I am talking specifically about the national-level one.
P.S. Here's a picture of a poster made by the ACLU, an "Illustrated Guide to the Bill of Rights". The Second Amendment isn't on there. I saw an even more egregious poster made by the ACLU, which presented ten paragraphs that were not numbered; the ten paragraphs were the First Amendment, the Third Amendment, and so on, with one of the longer Amendments split into two paragraphs so there would be ten. I wish I had saved a link to that; I can't seem to find it now.
http://www.nickschweitzer.net/2007/07/19/TheACLUProtectingYourAbridgedRightsSince1920.aspx
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
It is no different how you are being a big dick by not letting me look through all of your possessions, with the poor excuses of "They aren't yours" and "These things are mine" and "You have no right to touch and keep my property"
A person standing up for their rights is not a dick, however making demands you have to right to make is being one.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
If you have any major organizations in mind that do zealously defend all civil liberties, feel free to mention them. I'm only aware of different sorts of piecemeal organizations. I pick and choose the ones that seem to best cover the range of civil liberties I care most about. In my case, the ACLU and EFF seem to most frequently defend the rights I'm most interested in (especially free speech).
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
The ACLU is primarily, as you point out, an organization focused on the 1st, 4th, and 5th amendments. This is not a secret to anyone. You may wish they were different, but they are what they are. Are you interested in the liberties guaranteed by those amendments? If so, I don't see a reason not to support the ACLU; it doesn't preclude you from additionally supporting other organizations focused on other civil liberties.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
As far as airports are concerned, unless government owns the airport it should not be screening people. Now I have no problem if an airliner wants to screen people boarding their planes but not the government.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
The ACLU has taken the position that owning the means to self defense is a "collective right"; the same position as every state that institutes draconian gun laws. They also use the same glib and anachronistic interpretation of what "well regulated" means that is common to all groups opposed to citizens owning the means to self defense.
I am not arguing that they should have to protect every civil liberty, they can do what they want. I am saying that they have actively taken an anti-gun legal stance. They are not neutral. They have lent their public voice to the anti self defense side.
Who knows? Maybe they did it in order to retain a certain membership level since that is how they get money. In our current polarized political environment it is hard to step outside of one of the established camps without losing membership.
It does not matter. In 10 years, the state will probably confiscate all guns at the same time that 80% of former anti-gunners have changed their mind. Welcome to the American police state.
Well, it's been almost eight years since a plane has been hijacked.
And how many hijacks were carried out before DHS? Sure 5 planes were hijacked in one day but when was the last one before that? Searching, the last hijacking I found that happened before 911 in the US was FedEx Flight 705 on 7 April 1994, 7 years before 911.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
I-bonds are only a hedge against inflation to which the government will admit. Over the last 40 years, official measures of inflation have been massaged into disingenuous articulations that even a child could perceive.
Someone considering the use of "forever postage" as a viable store of wealth must not have much wealth to protect. Furthermore, I do not believe that there is anything that would prevent the post office from going out of business, slowing their delivery times, or for that matter decreeing that it takes more than one "forever stamp" per first class letter.
"inflation protected securities" and "forever postage" are both nice sounding names, but using these names to linguistically solve your problems is only going to lead you into trouble. Look deeper into how things work before trusting them.
The last flight hijacked that originated in the US before 9/11 was in 1976.
In 1994 an employee of FedEx tried to hijack a FedEx plane, FedEx Flight 705.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
all this guy did was hold up other travelers who were trying to get to their destination and make life harder for himself.
No, by doing what he did he's stood up for everybody's rights. You may be willing to give up liberty so you can feel safe, even though you never will be, but many of us prefer to live as freemen.
If the ACLU has their way, then security will removed completely
Good!!!
making not only air travel unsafe
Proof it!!!
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Well, I don't like them because they keep forgetting about the Second Amendment.
The NRA and others already fight for those issues.
I didn't know before but ACLU opposes the individual right to bear arms. ACLU's position is that the right to bare arms is a collective right. I used to support them, but I longer can. It'd be fine if they held no position but in opposing an individual right, when all the other rights in the Bill of Rights are individual rights, I will no longer support them.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
cash gets an IMMEDIATE credit to your account whereas a check, regardless of who issues it, means at least a ten day hold on the funds.
Only if you have a history of writing/depositing hot checks.
It may work that way where you bank, but it's not that way everywhere. I am on disability however my sister gets the money not me. She has the money electronically deposited in an account she opened up as my representative in the same bank I have my own account. She then writes me a check from that account. Now if I deposit the check into my account at the bank before, I think it's 1 pm, I have to way at least one day before the money is available. If it's after that I have to wait at least 2 days. I once had to wait a week, even though the check was from the same bank as my account is in. Because of this I started cashing the check after which I'll deposit the cash in my account. If I do that the money is available right away.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
coke was a nickel
...
I presume that means that cokes were 6 oz.
I seem to recall paying a dime for a 16 oz long neck bottle of Coke, with a deposit.
a gallon of gas was a quarter
Yeap, that's what I paid for gas when I mowed lawns.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
The only lots I ever met against bare arms were fundamentalist Muslims and OSHA.
------ The only greater hazard to your liberty than n politicians is n+1 politicians.
You know, if we've already devolved to the point where we uncritically accept that we have to be "cleared to fly" in order to buy a ticket, then the game is already lost. Once we've conceded that the government can ban us from flying, arguing which of our possessions we should be allowed to fly with seems like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
I would like to find a public statement of what the TSA can and cannot do. There must be a definition of where the handover takes place between capable officers and these, well, misguided wannabees. I understand they have a function somewhere (apparently), it's just hard to pin down IMHO.
What I hear is someone who has been given special powers having no clue about what his powers are and what are the rights of the people they detain. This is an incredibly dangerous situation, and especially the question for someone's rights ("am I required by law to answer the question") is simply not answered in an acceptable fashion.
It's interesting that his question is turned into a refusal to answer - that is not what he does. I also like the appearance of that eternal dead duck: "if you have nothing to hide"..
I am glad this was taped - these guys need some serious correction.
Insert
Let's just say I... "disagree" with what you just said. ^_^
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In short it is called the "CSI Effect"
I've also consistently noticed that defense lawyers very often come off as slimeballs trying to get an obvious bad guy off the hook
I tend to notice that more than the searches and rough interrogations, sometimes they do make a point of chasing down a warrant, and I guess the warrant stuff is sometimes implied.
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
What is the world turning into when a man can't walk around with cash without telling the government about it?
Is any employee of TSA and by virtue that of DHS actually an officer of the law? I am pretty sure the screeners are not. However, if they are it would appear that they are doing their job very poorly.
Some things that truly bother me about these proceedings are)
1) the staffer was NEVER mirandized
2) since such questioning is by nature self incriminating, he was NEVER offered access to counsel, private or public
3) since when is carrying around a large sum of cash $4700 indicative of a criminal activity. That isn't really that much cash in the grand scheme of things. Maybe he was going to pay for a used car off of ebay?