Slashdot Mirror
TSA's VIPR Bites Rail, Bus, and Ferry Passengers
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."
He is the only candidate that is against this sh*t...
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.
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.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
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.)
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.