[GeoStL] Re: TERRORIST ALERT

  • From: Mike Lusicic <lusicic@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2005 23:18:45 -0500

Well, I was looking up the quote I wanted to use to see who said it, and found a couple more in the process.  Here they are:

"He who is willing to sacrifice freedom for safety deserves neither freedom nor safety." - Ben Franklin
"One useless man is called a disgrace; two useless men are called a law firm; and three or more useless men are a congress" - John Adams
Politicians and diapers should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it."--Mark Twain

The first one is the one I really wanted to reference regarding the whole terrorist thing, and the TSA and Patriot Act specifically. The have both cost us heavily in terms of freedom for what is really only a token "feel good" set of rules that anyone with a degree of resolve can get around. Which brings up the last three quotes.

To comment on Tim's example, this only supports the notion that the system is not truly effective. To be effective it would be overly oppressive, and half measures are useless, so scrapping the system is really the best solution. But the other thing this points up is the fact that enforcement is not consistent and rules can be arbitrary even at the same airport. I have traveled several times with items that were later deemed "weapons" and confiscated. Things you would never think of as weapons. They take cuticle nippers that couldn't do much damage at all, and allow anyone to board with 9 inch knitting needles that could kill someone as easily as a stiletto. You just cannot use "common sense" and come up with a definitive answer before going to the airport unless you get ultra-conservative. You probably can't go wrong if you Fed-Ex you luggage and come to the airport in a paper hospital gown so it will rip if you tried to use it to strangle someone. The only question is what you can carry your paper work in. Even there you could sharpen the edge of your driver's license so it could be used as effectively as a box cutter.

Just in case you were wondering where I stand on this issue (if it isn't already painfully clear), I was so tired of the sham of TSA that I drove every other week to Atlanta so I would not have to put up with the nonsense at the airport. I could go on, but alas, I need to get my child to bed. So I will cut it off at that. Y'all keep flyin' the friendly skies.


Glenn wrote:
-
Oops....

http://tinyurl.com/agufh

---------------------
Glenn



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