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Mother Found Guilty After Protesting TSA Pat-down of Daughter
Penurious Penguin writes "In 2011, en route to Baltimore, Tennessee mother Andrea Abbott was arrested after squabbling with the TSA over their pat-down and "naked" body-scan process. Initially Abbott had protested a pat-down of her 14 year-old daughter, though eventually backed off. When her own turn came, she refused both a pat-down and body-scan. This week, despite having no criminal record, Abbott was found guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced to one year of probation. A surveillance video of the affair shows what appears an agitated Abbott surrounded by various TSA agents, but seemingly contradicts the premise by which she was convicted. In the case against Abbott it was claimed that her behavior impeded the flow security-lines and lawful activity. Beyond Abbott's confession of issuing some verbal abuse, the video does not appear to display a significant blockage of traffic nor anything noticeably criminal."
Scum like that should be executed!
She didn't want to be fondled by total strangers in public. There's your crime right there!
the video does not appear to display a significant blockage of traffic nor anything noticeably criminal.
She was defying the TSA.
If they let her get away with it then pretty soon other people would be defying them, too. All protesters must be stamped on, hard.
No sig today...
... Land of the Freedom to abuse
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
Speed up a video, and everybody appears "agitated"!
Let this be a test case for the tweedledee and tweedledum, who wants the job at the White House so badly --- do they support a public fondl... [ahem] a pat down of a 14 year old American girl, in an American air port?
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
Well, the staff and she are fat so when they group up like that it impedes the other fat people trying to get around.
She wanted to deny the TSA staff their legal right to watch naked 14 yo girls!
Questioning the system will get you in trouble every time. It helps make sure that the cost of complaining or asserting your rights or asking for consideration or doing anything but keeping your head down and doing whatever you're told is too high compared to the (relatively) momentary discomfort and inconvenience. And it's pretty effective too. I know my rights- in encounters with the police, or when going through security at the airport - but when if a cop stopped me for no reason walking to the store (as frequently happens to my sister) and demanded to see my ID or search my bag....I can't say I wouldn't do exactly as she does and just go with it. I certainly do with the TSA's nonsense. The possibility of getting dragged off for some bullshit reason is a good threat. Even if it doesn't stick, it still sucked. You still endangered your job/vacation/whatever.
is that the woman doesn't understand they're doing this for her and other peoples safety.
Obviously we who dont carry weapons or explosives around with us know that we are clean and free, but no one else knows this, that's why these things are needed. I would personally prefer this "humiliation" to losing one of my family members because one woman would rather be free from the pat-downs/security scanning etc.
When was the last time you heard of an airplane hijack after we pumped up security? Uncomfortable, yes. Bothersome - heck yeah. But we live.
...one of them would jump right up to fund fighting her case all the way to the Supreme Court. What the hell, lunch money.
But they won't of course, because you can't be a decent person and be a billionaire.
This space available.
I'm sure an enterprising sabateur would have other methods of getting contraband onto a plane other than by stashing it on his body. I'm in china on holidays at the moment and everywhere we go there are scanners and x-ray machines. Funnily enough they don't seem to pick up the bottle of booze I carry with me: if I was a betting man I'd say they were turned off most of the time and are just for show. Yesterday for instance we had to get off our tour bus and go through security screening before we visited the Three gorges dam. Then we got back onto the bus and continued our tour of the site. I could have had brought anything with me so long as I left it on the bus during the screening process. America there are other ways of protecting your borders rather than suffering your visitors to this intrusion.
I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
What I don't get is by what rationale or principle video evidence can be ignored by a jury.
The rest of out out-of-control government is for your own good.
And don't you forget it.
hmm
I guess I'd have to fire myself (self employed).
I could probably keep my business going for a month or more if held in jail.
But WTF : In the case against Abbott it was claimed that her behavior impeded the flow security-lines and lawful activity.
Is that a crime? Seriously?!
Privacy is terrorism.
Let's step bavk and analyze what we're trying to achieve with these security measures by the TSA... We're truing to prevent the terrorists from killing more people, right?
Here's a simple idea for reaching that goal. Let's execute everyone. That way the terrorists won't have anyone to kill. Problem solved.
How could they be sure that she was not a Muslim
...where absolute conformity and submission to the machinery of bureaucracy and state surveillance is a precondition for being able to function for any and every citizen. The police state is strengthening its grip upon us. Upon you. Upon me.
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
Fondling 14 years old, that'd kiddie porn right there.
Welcome to the machine.
TSA = Totally Stupid Agency
Outrageous and disgusting... Are we as American citizens supposed to sit idly by while the politicians and corporations ride rough shot over our liberties and freedoms?!? Why the f#!k is this woman given a year probation when the TSA officials in the video are obviously the ones in the wrong here.. I don't fly anymore... Ya know why? Because of this TSA big brother bullshit. I refuse to be treated like a criminal in my own country where my hard earned tax dollars have apparently paid the way for these sycophants to bastardize our rights not only as citizens but as human beings. Am I concerned that terrorists have the ability to invade my homeland by way of an airliner? Sure... But, the thing is...... There already were terrorists before 9/11 and there have since been terrorists in and out of this nation and elsewhere. Am I willing to let the government fist f#!k my freedoms and my liberties due to those fears? NO! Terrorists are going to do what they are going to do, and these TSA pat downs/body scans while they may be some what of a deterrent to a criminal element of any nature, so is the end of my legally owned and well oiled rifle... I'll ask again... Are WE willing to sacrifice our liberties to be treated like criminals and in fact prosecuted like criminals over such ridiculous and trivial activities as refusing a TSA pat down in an airport especially when the only thing this woman is guilty of is defending her and her daughter's right to dignity, privacy, and decency? So, the TSA is already in place.. Instead of charging this woman they could have refused her service on the premise that she did not cooperate with the body scan or pat down, thrown her out of the airport and been done with it. She had no weapons, no drugs, no large amounts of money.. She had her underage daughter with her of whom she refused to allow full grown strangers to view her nude daughter and herself... Sounds to me like a mother that knows that something isn't right.. In an era where sick freaks kill, kidnap, rape, and torture children what seems to be almost daily anymore this woman stood up for her and her daughters rights and was punished for it. I could understand if she got violent, had a weapon, drugs, etc. etc, but she didn't... F#!k the laws that make this trash possible, f#!k the judge who passed the sentence, f#!k the TSA for bullying people into nude scans and searches, and surely f#!k the politicians that allowed this to ever happen in the first place. I love my country (USA), I love my people, but you and I should not stand for such blatant disregard of our liberties and human right to decency being so flagrantly violated. GODDMANIT, I AM NOT AN ANIMAL AND I WILL NOT BE TREATED AS SUCH!!!
Except that in Britain you aren't allowed to opt-out of or refuse the Nude-o-Scan!
Why doesn't the UK allow passengers an 'opt out'?
Yes, they do enforce this:
Doctor barred from flying after refusing body scan on health grounds
Air passengers who refuse a full body scan to be barred from their flights
Try to find an airport that doesn't have the Nude-o-Scan, last I checked LCY (London City Airport) was safe. Best to check before travelling though. Here is a list of airports with NoS that is kept updated by the members of the Flyer Talk forum: Complete List of Airports with Whole Body Imaging/Advanced Imaging Technology Scanner
Posted anonymously so I don't get hassled every time I fly from now on. Sad, but necessary.
... frog
-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjcu9s7CqM0
1) She didn't quibble. She argued loudly and refused a body scan for herself and her daughter. The alternative to a body scan is a electrical scan and patdown
2) She didn't comply with the patdown. At which point she should have left the line.
3) She continued to argue and obstruct the flow for 30 minutes. Yeah in the US not doing what a cop tell you to, and yelling at them while they are performing some duty whether it be redirecting traffic or clearing a street or searching people for weapons gets you arrested.
4) She then went to trial and a jury of her peers found her guilty. You have a right to free speech, you do not have the right to impede law enforcement.
There are substantial objections to the higher level of security that we as a country decided on after 9/11 including by sitting congressmen and senators. There is no reason to bypass the normal political process in the case of this law. What she did was not peaceful protesting of the policy it was arguing the policy shouldn't apply to her.
The government should set up an agency whose sole function is to prosecute people who object to the setting up of this agency.
"What a stupid idea!" I hear you say? You're another dangerous malcontent who must be investigated!
I am anarch of all I survey.
"Holding up a queue" gets you a punishment legally equivalent to prison? What the fucking fuck?
Did Obama order DHS to comply with the court order requiring the TSA to publish various statistics that'd make the nuddy scanners look bad? No
Anyways, you should always refuse the nuddy scanner and accept the pat down instead, if only for the radiation hazard.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
I wish Obama would be in some office where he could wield some executive power so he could show us how Democrats value freedom more...
(If I lived in the USA, I would probably vote for Obama as smaller of two evils... but it's not as if the security theater would be a partisan issue.)
Mother should have taught her daughter to yell: "Paedophile!!!" :)
And then brought it up in court.
It seems like if you have 4 TSA agents talking to you at one time, that is about 3 more than normal so that would have to slow down the lines in general. So if there is actually a regulation for that it seems like a legitimate charge, retarded but legitimate.
This is one of the reasons I DONT FLY anymore, I've taken several long distance trips in recent years, each one I rented a car and drove. I didn't have to worry about running up against some wannabe SS officer, I didn't have to worry about what in my luggage (I actually brought a rather large rifle on one of my trips because I had just bought it and wanted to get some shooting time in with it at my destination), and don't have to get felt up by some rent a cop. I find it disturbing that we've sunken so low here in the US, fifteen years ago if you would have said that in order to fly commercially you would have endure a pat down, or a virtual strip search they would have looked at you like you had just talked about being abducted by aliens.
When you want to visit the US as a foreigner, you have to either get a visa or sign a visa waiver - ever read what you are asked to subscribe there? What you "waive" away is basically all your rights. It's an outrage on its own. TSA is just icing on the cake.
Where Marx was right: healthy market capitalism eventually becomes state capitalism.
Where Marx was wrong: he thought this was a good thing.
The problem was questioning authority. I'm a bit of an expert on this. I find when I start questioning authority, mainly in a loud, commanding voice, 1 of 2 things happens. Either they cave in because they are sheep. Or they get really butthurt and need to make an example of me. Authority does not like being questioned, mainly when they are doing fucked up shit that needs to be questioned.
Did she get out of line? Probably. Emotions get flaring, it's easy to get a bit overboard. But watching the video, it seems to me there was a point, when she could of just walked away, and instead she came back to argue, bitch, or whatever. It's possible she got edged on by something being said, it's possible she didn't. But there was a point there when she could of just left, like they were letting her do, and she didn't. I'm guessing that is why she didn't win her court case, because of that action there.
Be seeing you...
You have the right to be forcefully searched, gropped, sexuaslly abused and treated as a terrorist by the TSA.
catching terrorist..... They should apply the NDAA to her and put her in a FEMA camp to never be heard from again... damn terrorist.....
... are just looking for an opportunity to cause drama and get their 15 minutes of fame. People like her would also be first in line to sue if a terrorist took down the plane her daughter was on claiming that TSA security wasn't intrusive enough.
The linked article is a summary to a poorly written article supporting the TSA's position.
Did a judge hand down the conviction? If not, this is why things like this should be handled by a Jury or her peers.
The U.S. is the only country in the world that allows a jury of peers. Peer is the critical
word here; it was meant to be a deliberate selection, not random, of individuals of similar standing in the
community of the defendant. So, if she's a single parent, the jury is make up of those type of people, preferably
from her community, at her trial. This is the correct and civil way to solve these issues.
A Jury trial is not a "right" in the U.S.A.; it's required by law. We have to make sure that law is enforced to its fullest...
On CNBC the other day, the head of some US travel association or whatever it's called was whining about how tourism to the US is in heavy decline. VISAs were mentioned, but nothing about how travelers are treated here.
Karma baby.
to China, the land of the free. So far, my US brothers and sisters, thanks God im not living in your country although I was dreaming of it whole my life before. This is just scary.
I'm afraid some crazies have gotten a hold of Slashdot. These whack comments are really 'Informative' and 'Insightful? " Come up with a better system to protect air travel you pseudo Libertarian loons, THEN you can protect the Western transportation system. Crazy broad from Tennessee and you all should just stay off airplanes and enjoy your stills and NASCAR.
She's lucky, really she is. The zealotry lies and incompetence of the Dept of Homeland Security, has resulted in quite a few deaths of US citizens:
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/25/valeria_munique_tachiquin_us_agent_kills
"In the wake of a dramatic increase in deaths at the hands of U.S Border Patrol agents, the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to launch a long-awaited investigation into the agency’s use of force. Since 2010, border agents have killed at least 18 people, including Valeria "Munique" Tachiquin, slain by a Border Patrol agent on September 28 in broad daylight several miles north of California’s border with Mexico. Tachiquin was a U.S. citizen and mother of five children. "
" And all of the witnesses tell us that the agent, who was in plainclothes, shot and killed Munique when he was standing on the pavement—not on top of the vehicle, not on the hood, but on the pavement—and shot her multiple times."
Goddamn bastards.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Good for you, neither did I. Even though he has about as much chance of winning this election, please consider taking the time to come to the aid of our (f)ailing democracy, and vote for Gary Johnson. The more people who vote for him this time around, the more likely the Demopublicans will have a harder time next election pretending (as they did in this one,) that no other parties or candidates exist.
It's not about sending a message to Obamney, or his party owners, they already know they're wrong. It's about sending a message to your fellow Americans who are nauseated at the thought of having to vote either for Obama, or for Romney, that it is NOT, I REPEAT, N O T a waste of time or effort to get together and vote for someone who IS on the ballot, but who isn't the nominee of the DemocRats or the Rapublicans.
Incidentally, I think Johnson wants to limit the TSA to checking out "high risk individuals only" and wants to legalize marijuana, and regulate it like alcohol and tobacco, either of these alone is enough reason to vote Gary Johnson, in 2012, but you get, as a free bonus, that he's not in the pocket of, or under the control of the D/R NC. Note, I'm not talking "medical" marijuana, I mean 'go down to the drug store, and pick me up a dime bag!'
Johnson believes in personal freedom and responsibility, and accountability.
Obama and Romney believe in keeping you scared shitless so you'll knuckle under and do what they tell you. Consider that as you get ready to cast your ballots.
This would be why I drove 17 hours to Florida with my family instead of flying twice in the last two year. It has actually been a fun and enjoying trip both times.
... all I can think is "Welcome to City 17."
I always thought the TSA was NOT law enforcement. Sure, they have a badge and a uniform, but so do private security firms.
"The hallmark of humanity is the ability to move beyond sensory inputs" - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
At least in the UK it would have been the other way round with the TSA officer incited on child molestation charges. Sigh, you americans watch as your country spirals down the toilet.
Good for you, neither did I. Even though he has about as much chance of winning this election, please consider taking the time to come to the aid of our (f)ailing democracy, and vote for Gary Johnson.
The guy who spends a million on 'admin costs', but $900 on advertising? You've got to be fucking kidding.
Human Rights Siege Heil!
City? County/State? Federal? (Is there much difference under Agenda 21?) Ah, I know, it must have been Happy Fun Court. You know, "Warning: Do not taunt Happy Fun Court!"
Is she going to appeal? She might ought to. Will she ever fly again? Why would she, as it stands?
That's the 1837 Upper Canada revolution, you understand!
We revolted against an oligarchic government of the rich and connected, known as the "family compact", and eventually gained "responsible government", in which the rulers were required to obey the law and could be thrown out for malfeasance. Heck, we could even defeat them in an election!
The similarities to the parent poster's state of arbitrary, unaccountable rule are striking, so much so that one of the regular discussion groups sponsored by our city councillor is known as "1837".
--dave (who was at 1837 last week) c-b
davecb@spamcop.net
So, I can get my TSA badge and go hang out at the local high school and feel up all the 14-year old girls?
I think I saw an ad to become a TSA agent on a pizza box!
It trivializes a gross invasion of privacy.
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
this is what "We the PEOPLE" have ALLOWED to get this far!!!
The stupid and scared people(sheep) of this country(Animal Farm) who have sacrificed freedom for "security" and allowed the continual erosion of our rights.
It is reversible but it takes a movement to do it.
It's disgusting and I agree with the people here who are pissed off but it's the continued apathy of these same people who don't vote and don't run against the current congress who are just as much a part of the problem as the TSA dick heads.
The hero (heroin) is Andrea Abbott who fought the good fight. There should be more support for her and her legal battle than talking heads. There should be more people fighting the 1% who are the PIGs of the "Manor Farm".
Her crime was not just against TSA but humanity itself, she clearly demonstrated that she did not have the means of proper legal representation in this case the video sowing to all interested parties that her being surrounded and accosted by agents at the same time other passengers seemed to be flowing by clearly negated the charges so the only conclusion left is that she was:
A) Not political connected to have this case dismissed (Should carry a 5 year minimum sentence)
B) Not able to hire the proper legal defense to dismiss the charges showing an obvious abuse of power by the TSA (I think life is appropriate in this case)
It was all a distraction so they could lift her child's iPod Touch and steal her iPad out of her carry-on. "Look! She's resisting arrest! Quick...grab her purse and wallet." "Ma'am you're going to have to discard that juicebox and toothpaste. You know how many terrorists have tried to hijack our planes with explosive toothpaste tubes these days and threaten our flight crews with those sharp little bendy straws?!"
The President of the Unites States, the Attorney General, the head of Homeland Security and the head of the TSA and their family’s should be have to go thru the pat down (by a random TSA agent) and body scanners every week, and it should be broadcast on TV and posted to the internet.
Can we please get rid of this obnoxious and worse, ineffective legacy of George W Bush?
naked picture of a 14 year old girl = tsa child porn!
2) She didn't comply with the patdown. At which point she should have left the line.
There is a $10,000 fine for failure to complete the security checkpoint, once you have started.
You don't get to leave the line.
bonus captcha: barrier
There was NOTHING WRONG with the manner and actions that the TSA took with this lady and her kid. Nothing. Don't want a pat down. Get the fuck off the plane. Don't fly. There are rules when you fly. They haven't just been introduced yesterday. If you don't like it, take the fucking train.
The pat down on the girl was perfectly professional. Nothing more or less. The mom is a cunt plain and simple.
Oh yeah she was convicted by a jury of her peers. If it had been a convinction by judge you would have heard people crying this was fixed. Now, even with a jury trial you here people bashing that as well. Go fucking live in Egypt or Syria or Bahrain for awhile and let me know if you have a problem with a goddam pat down.
The TSA itself includes the Federal Air Marshals so definitely the TSA is. The screeners I'd say are law enforcement assistance. They are tasked on collecting information for law enforcement.
She is guilty of disobeying authority and nothing else.
The TSA exists solely to condition the American people to a police state. This is it in action.
We have known since its inception it is but security theater, not security. So it must exist for some other purpose. Here we see that purpose revealed. Obey authority no matter that it is a flagrant violation of the 4th amendment, and you will be made a criminal if you refuse (unless you are rich, famous or powerful).
Question everything
Likewise, I went a few times on holiday in the 90's. But since Bush & the TSA, I don't visit, I don't accept contracts there, I don't invest there, I don't even fly over the country lest something I said upset some petty official that keeps some secret black list.
* Yeh Obama hasn't fixed it, I still blame Bush and the GOP Congress and wonder why you elected those morons again in 2010.
My outrage regarding TSA continues to grow, yet all I will do is sit on the internet and bitch because We The People have become so well fed and complacent we don't want to risk what we have for the sake of a little freedom.
Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you. And that prince who, relying entirely on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by greatness or nobility of mind, may indeed be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.
--Niccolo Machiavelli
Having lived many decades I am disheartened by the Soviet-like tactics that have become standard in the US. At least we still have freedom of speech to bitch about things, if little else.
We should start a page to remember all those poor people run shod by the TSA and the system. They are all made example of to keep the rest of the sheep in line.
Obama is standing on the shoulders of giants. Funny that you say "expansion" and not creation. See, he is expanding what is already there. I'm not saying it's right, but that's fact. Our entire legal system is built on this principle.
REAL abuse of executive power is invading a soverign nation and overthrowing its government with no just cause, and in the process fabricating evidence to try and gain support for your actions. To this DAY there has never been a reasonable explanation for our invasion and occupation of Iraq. While Obama hasn't fixed the mess he inherited in our country, and may have made some things worse, what we do know is that the intent of his efforts were to try and improve things, and more importantly his policies have not directly led to the deaths of thousands of Americans and others around the world. That is where I see a massive difference between this and the former president.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
The moment I watched the towers fall, I knew this is where it would end up. Whether anyone was "behind it" or not, the results are the same. The government and the Corporations that control it saw a PERFECT OPPORTUNITY to build the world them and their 1%'ers had envisioned.
The TSA is just part of a "broad based initiative" to turn the U.S. into a quasi-fascist Corporate state.
We are getting closer to that everyday.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
Philosophically is there a difference between fondling the genitals of a 14yr old girl because its your job versus fondling the genitals of a 14yr old girl because you derive sexual pleasure from it? Now lets suppose its both your job, and it arouses you? Seems to me the end result is the same.
The comic "Dirty Pair" nailed the description of the TSA and other chunks of Homeland Security a few years early with the World Welfare Works Association, a name that would fit the TSA like a glove. The TSA is now mostly pointless busywork that keeps people employed and is a force of destruction while pretendign to be a force for good. Getting rid of it would stop a LOT of money going into a lot of pockets and add a huge number of people with no recent use of useful skills to the ranks of the unemployed.
http://dirtypair.wikia.com/wiki/World_Welfare_Works_Association
People were calling him a traitor at the time, which is really my entire point.
Meanwhile selling guns to Hezbolla via Iran in 1984 was spun as the actions of a true patriot.
"Khan is extremely intelligent, but inexperienced in combat. His tactics indicate....2-dimensional thinking" - Spock (Star Trek Wrath of Khan 1982) That being said, why the 2-dimensional GUI of Surface/Metro? It just seems so....flat. Why didn't MS take advantage of a more 3-dimensional style of desktop?
...that's what you wanted, that's what you got. Stop complaining and bend over, damit!
The fact there is not a single argument in favor of TSA, or even re-working TSA policy, promoted to +5 pretty much tells me that (a) it is majority abhorrent (like racism), or (b) no one is really thinking about the issue and just having a knee-jerk reaction.
Even if the hypothetical pro-TSA opinion was irrational but still a reason (e.g. racist logic) I would expect at least ONE +5 for making an attempt, but since there are none, I find it proof that slashdot is not a particularly useful forum for meaningful discussion.
And for my strawman: this may sound like equivalency bias/fallacy in stating all positions are equal. I'm not saying that: I'm saying there isn't even an ATTEMPT to understand the benefits of TSA, and every argument against sounds like an awful Rage Against the Machine song (which is a redundant statement).
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
Nobody's in the streets protesting. Nobody but me is boycotting airlines. My letters to my Senator didn't even get a robo-acknowledgement.
Have we changed that much since the 60s?
If the people who are watching the scanner monitors are located in a private viewing room, the people on the security line should have a monitor so they can see the person watching the screening process. This way both parties watch each other and deters things like groups of gawkers crowding a monitor to watch the hot chick get scanned or attempting to snap pictures with a cell phone. Of course the camera would be positioned so that the passengers can't see the X-ray screens, a side view of the TSA agent would be more than enough. It might help the passengers feel a bit more secure but there is still the issue of strangers peering through your clothes.
It reminds me of one of the latest South Park episodes poking fun at the TSA, who installed cameras in everyones bathrooms. The person watching the screens was jerking off the whole time.
Ridiculous spelling makes English speaking people seem uneducated. Rolling over for repressive unconstitutional policy makes them seem like sheep.
Governments never work if you don't have check's and balances between those in government and the people of the country otherwise history repeats itself and you will not have representatives but rulers. Tsa pat downs, no privacy, scanners twice the power of x-rays, ndaa, patriot act, etc... these methods are in par with the old Soviet and Romanian communist systems.
This is what happens when you have sociopath's running this country or any country for that matter. Look at the hundreds of thousands of laws the u.s has on the books just to regulate every aspect of our lives. Disorderly conduct? There were cases where cops were beating some individuals up and because they tried to protect themselves they were charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, how nice, Vladamir Putin probably gets a hard on just reading about shit like this in our country. If the government is not for the people or by the people then it should not exist, the end. Every person has the right to life and pursuit of happiness on this land and if an authority person tries to beat you or shame you, you have the right to protect yourself.
Since TSA is not going anywhere the best thing people can do is not to fly anymore, boycott the airlines. For business, internet is cheap and there should be no problems in communicating from NY to CA through the net, same with communicating with family members through out the U.S. Use the train or bus to travel through out this country, or just drive.
Here's a simple breakdown. Number 1- the mother must know she does not have the RIGHT to fly, and therefore is subject to any whims the TSA has. She is consenting to the act by merely flying, if she doesn't want to be searched, no one is going to force her to be, all she has to do is leave. Flying is not a right. This is not a message in defense of TSA, it is merely fact. This is why she got convicted. Due to her behavior, it clearly made TSA nervous. And when people get nervous, they have to, for security and safety reasons, devout more personnel and time to that person. Because of this, they had less resources to search and secure all the rest of the passengers, any of whom who could be wanting to do harm. This mother, likely knowing what was going to happen once she got there, and though she has a right to be upset, caused the TSA to be distracted from their duties. She chose to act in such a way that the process was less secure for other people. Even if she only delayed 1 other person 1 second, she committed the crime she was found guilty of. And she would have. If you watch the video you can see how many agents they had dealing with her, and how calmly they were trying to do it to avoid such a situation. BTW, she only got a slap on the wrist, which is deserved and far less than what she could have gotten.
I went with Jill Stein this year because I wanted to make my vote speak to the DNC -- that I could be their voter if they didn't act like neocons and I figured Jill Stein would be the clearest representation of that. Many people confuse Republicans and Libertarians so I wanted to avoid confusion with my vote.
Sadly, except for one other green running for a state rep position, I basically had to write in my cat Boris for everything else (if you're in WA, you could also write in "Boris the Cat"). I decided to vote a straight neither GOP nor DNC ticket this year, cause they're both fucking disasters and nobody wearing either label, no matter what their intentions or personal qualities, can resist or overcome the corruption embodied by both parties. I just wish third parties would focus less on president and more on state and local contests. My cat is going to hate being US Senator, US Representative, Governor, Secretary of State, etc. etc. He's way too lazy to do all those jobs.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
And that is why in a free society, there must be consequences for police who cart a citizen off to jail (or just 'downtown') for inadequate reasons. Police procedure has become an instrument of punishment which can be handed out at any time.
... Or, you're guilty of whatever it was that you were doing that we now say, in retrospect, was a crime, even though it wasn't at the time when you did it.
This is the best restaurant I ever eat in
Pick up that can.
I think that's the right move. My friends are mostly on the right, so there's a lot of voting for Libertarians going on, not because they're desirable but because it seems the most clear protest vote. For one election there were tea party candidates that were distict form GOP candidates (you could tell, because they were running against incumbants in the primaries), which while that movement was co-opted afterwards shows that it's not impossible to get the parties to budge - they can be forced to form new coalitions.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
"Beyond Abbott's confession of issuing some verbal abuse, the video does not appear to display a significant blockage of traffic nor anything noticeably criminal."
Clearly she was redirecting the attention of a couple of critical TSA authorities so a terrorist could get through the line. It was a plan, I tell ya. A plan!
They only gave her one year of probation so they could cyber-tail her and watch for accomplices.
Nyark nyark.
Where do we gather with the protests signs?
Or we just wait our turn?
I was charged with disorderly conduct after finishing my first margarita of the evening. Tl;DR: I was arrested for finishing my first 3oz margarita and had to spend the night in jail with a $350 fine. I went to the bar at a casino and ordered a margarita. Since it was Cinco de Mayo it was only a dollar, and also only about 3 ounces of liquid since it was a 6 ounce cup overflowing with ice. They have a strict 1 drink/30 minute alcohol policy so I waited 30 minutes and requested another drink. The bartender refused to serve me because I was "acting drunk". I admit that I was laughing with my friends, but if laughing is a sign of being drunk then kids are alcoholics. I thought she was joking so I requested another margarita. After the second time of being denied I said okay...but it was too late. There were 2 security guards behind me asking me to leave the premsies. Completely bamboozled, I said "sure, whatever", to which a security guard informed me that I was being a "smart-ass". Not wanting to make a scene I grab my drink and finish the ice water that had melted on the bottom. Security did not like this. They punched my arm, grabbed my wrist (I recently had double wrist surgery) and cuffed me. 9 hours and $350 later I was freed in the middle of a corn field. These charges are beyond ridiculous
You forget it is also the home of the brave. Where 'brave' means so scared of the extremely remote chance you might be the victim of terrorism that they gladly give up their freedoms.
Land of the oppressed, home of the cowards.
Fun fact:
"Brave" comes from roots meaning something more like "bravado", i.e. "bragging, boasting, showing off, posturing". Even in English usage since the 15th century, the core meanings for much of that time had to do with being "showy", and where courageousness was intended, the word meant "showing courage", rather than "being courageous" or "having courage" -- so one could be 'brave' by pretending to be a bad-ass, yet still ultimately acting like a chicken-shit.
Sadly, that seems rather apt when applied to the behavior on display in the US of late...
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
Police procedure has become an instrument of punishment which can be handed out at any time.
That is the dividing line between the nation of laws and the police state. The USA always had small-town Sheriffs who abused their power against "undesirable" visitors. But today a SWAT team can throw you on the ground, shock you with a Taser, put a barrel of the gun to your head, and after they are done you will be glad that they haven't carted you away. Plenty of SWAT raids are done on wrong information, just because the police couldn't be bothered to knock on the door and ask - or even to check the street address. And, FSM forbid, if you mistake the police for burglars and try to defend yourself... your life as a law-abiding citizen effectively ends then. For some, their entire life ended at that point. If that's not a police state then what is?
What concerns me more is his desire to privatize the prison industry. You think jails are overcrowded now, what would happen if all the prisons were for-profit entities?
Has anyone else noticed that, as universally reviled as the TSA is, it is not remotely a campaign issue? Has any Conressional/Senate/Presidential candidate spoken about it?
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The current United States Code, Title 10 (Armed forces), section 311 (Militia: Composition and Classes), paragraph (a) states: "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. -- from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(United_States)#Twentieth_century_and_current
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Thus every male over the age of 18 and under 45 in the USA is a member of the militia of the USA, along with all female citizens who are members of the National Guard. This destroys the ambiguity, or adds to it, doesn't it? We just don't hear it that often, but every male USA-ian of the proper draft-able age is a member of the militia, and thus by suffix extension, also a militant.
The role of "unreasonable" (and therefore "reasonable" as well) within the context of the 4th amendment seems to me to be crystal clear: it is defined by the restrictions laid out next.
A reasonable search is one that has the predicates: probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, clear description of who, and what, is to be searched, and a warrant.
An unreasonable search is any search that does not meet those requirements. And, as the amendment says, you are to be free from those.
Ask yourself this: Does it make sense to say that the government is limited to searching only with these predicates... "unless it feels it's reasonable", where reasonable is left to an unknown, that is to say ultimately vague, definition?
Or would they more likely lay out those limits to, you know, actually limit the government?
Look at the other amendments. They're all explicit limits on the government. Why in the world would they take the time to write an amendment that only appears to be a limit, but isn't, based upon anyone's particular definition of reasonable at the moment?
Why not just say: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against searches and seizures, shall not be violated unless the government says it is reasonable to do so"?
Looks pretty strange that way, doesn't it? It certainly wouldn't be construed as a limit -- instead, that's how you would lay out a power. But it means exactly the same thing as your reading: If they think it's reasonable, they can just do it.
Why, if "reasonable" is the actual criteria in play, would they need a warrant at all? Why mention all those things, if they are completely optional, based upon someone simply saying "well, it was reasonable"?
Now let's flip it around: if a search can be performed without the laid-out predicates if someone (who is left undefined by the 4th) simply thinks it's reasonable, then the only time you'd need a warrant is when someone thinks that a search is unreasonable in the first place. Now: Is a known factor of probable cause a marker for an unreasonable search? Is the oath of some person something that makes a search unreasonable? Ultimately, if reasonable searches are free of encumbrance, when are the predicates intended to come into play?
It appears to me that any claim that unreasonable — and reasonable — are not defined by those predicates in the context of the 4th amendment requires an extremely strained, and ultimately unsupportable reading.
Well, do you see any such specifics in the 4th amendment? For that matter, can you cite anything in the constitution that says that the government is not held to the document's restrictions, or authorized powers enumerated therein, if it decides it wants something different or "other" at any particular point in time?
And let me ask you this: If the government can just make up what it wants any time, and the constitution isn't really a limiting factor, just sort of a starting point for any claim they want to make, why provide for amendment at all? If the government can add powers without amendment, and they can violate restrictions without amendment, what the heck is the purpose of amendment at all? And, why does it have such a high set of bars to implementation, if the idea wasn't that (a), the government is limited as described, no excuses, and (b) they can change that, but they have to work for it, that is, article five.
Again, the idea that the government can just do what it wants if it thinks it "has an interest" is contrary to the entire idea of the constitution. Were that the operative mode, the constitution is entirely superfluous. I submit to you that its very existence and wording cries out to say that it was not intended to be superfluous, but an absolute set of limits on government, both in authorized power, and restrictions on power.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
...said that they just want us to get used to this. The airport is where they're trying it out, but we'll see it in other places soon. And the whole thing is bullshit. How many hijackers have they caught with this?
Sadly, a Libertarian cannot force his views on another, and freedom cannot spread as does the cancer known as religion.