Important look at the TSA.

The new Moorfield Storey Institute blog has an important article on the expansion of the TSA and Homeland Security into all realms of transportation in the United States. As we reported earlier they discuss how the government has set up searches at train stations, bus depots and even on highways for private vehicles.

More importantly, however, is that they note that the federal government has changed the justification for what they are doing to one that would justify federal searchers of people anywhere that more than a handful of people might gather.

Instead of preventing the use of airplanes as weapons of mass destruction they are now doing intrusive searches in any location that might be a site for a terrorist attack. That literally means everywhere. Read the full article here.

The TSA Expands into Bus Terminals.

So, who really thought that the TSA would stop at the airports? Not me.

The reality is that the Obama administration, with a kick-start from the disgusting Bush baby, are implementing a system that will allow the federal government to clamp down on all public transit.

Also note that the government is resorting to what amounts to internal passports. The TSA, to "solve" a problem they have created, has put into place a special pass. Frequent travelers can go through security checks with the federal government and with the pass can move through TSA checkpoints at a much more rapid speed. That system failed, much like everything else TSA did. But expect it to be back. The idea is that with this special pass one can get through security faster. That would be very close to an internal passport.

As the TSA expands to bus stations and rail stations you can assume that any individual the government wants stopped, even political dissidents, can be stopped. The Feds now operate on the assumption that there is no right to travel, only a privilege granted by the State. And like all other privileges it can be suspended as the Federal agents deem necessary.

Twenty years ago it was assumed that all Americans had the right to fly without Federal control over who may, or may not board a plane. Now that right is completely gone. All you need do is say a word that sounds disrespectful to the fatwad high shcool dropout thug in the uniform and they can make sure you DO NOT get on your plane. It was once assumed that government had to have search warrants to search your belongings and your body, or probably cause at minimum. Now they don't.

They are now expanding this system to busses and train stations.

And if you think this doesn't impact automobile travel you are very wrong. Remember how Willie Nelson was just arrested for possession of pot, that was a TSA checkpoint on the highway. It was a private bus that they entered and searched, not public transport.

And where are the Obamatrons in all this? Still worshipping their tinhorn messiah and pretending his "progressivism" is not the authoritarianism that it clearly is.

TSA strips disabled child of leg brace: don't find bomb.

The funny and the ugly of TSA

First the humor of TSA molestations. Here is a recent skit from Saturday Night Live regarding the new Total Sexual Abuse administration. Now that you laughed here is the very, very ugly side of TSA—and no, I'm not talking about Janet Napolitano.

Thomas Sawyer, 61, survived bladder cancer but now he has to wear a urostomy bag that takes the urine from an opening through his stomach. There is a patch that is sealed to his stomach, and through that the hose is attached so his urine can collect in the bag.

Sawyer was flying to a wedding and went through Janet's pornoscanner, which would obviously pick up something as large as the urostomy bag. He was then told that in addition to the scanner he now had to be molested by TSA agents. Because of the bag Sawyer asked for a private pat-down which agents at first refused him, telling him that they really don't have a place to do that. Matters got worse.

Sawyer has to wear pants that are too large for his body in order to accommodate the bag he has to wear. TSA forced him to remove his belt. As he tried to walk to the office for the pat-down his trousers fell down twice and he had to ask for permission to pull them up. He tried to tell the officials about his medical condition but they told him they weren't interested.

They had him remove his sweatshirt and then started running their hands down his chest. He told them that they had to be careful or the would break the seal on the bag. They ignored his warning. He said, "Sure enough, the seal was broken and urine started dribbling down my shirt and my leg and into my pants." The agents offered no help and left him to fend for himself. Sawyer had to board his plane soaked in urine.

Cathy Bossi is also a cancer survivor and a long-time flight attendant with U.S. Airways who has proven herself, repeatedly, to NOT be a terrorist threat. Because of her bout with cancer her doctor recommended she avoid the scanners. This meant she had to endure a TSA agent fondling her breasts, or in this case, breast. She lost one breast to the cancer and wears a prosthesis. The agent grabbed the prosthesis and demanded to know what it was. No one thought these TSA officials to be intelligent enough to figure out something that obvious.

Bossi told the agent it was her prosthesis, which may confuse the poor official as it is a big and complicated word, unlike those in the Dick & Jane books she normally reads. Bossi explained what it was and why she wore it. The agent informed her she would have to remove it for inspection. As might be expected Bossi found the experience upsetting.

Musa Mayer is another breast cancer survivor and has been wearing a prosthesis for 21 years. Because of that she had to be poked, prodded, fondling and touched by TSA agents. Mayer notes that 3 million women have had breast cancer and many wear a prosthesis, she wants to point out that all of them are now subjected to intrusive pat-downs because of it.

Remember, this is entirely the doing of Obama, Napolitano and the Democrats. While the Republicans are not friends of civil liberties, and certainly don't believe you have sovereignty over your own body, they did not do this. Obama, Napolitano and other officials in this administration are defending these practices. Obama needs to be sent into retirement permanently. You need to make it clear to the TSA agents that you resent what they are doing. You need to write Democrats and let them know this is alienating you entirely from their party and they will wish for the good old days of the 2010 election if they don't tell their party leaders to stop. And you need to let the airlines know that their silence on the matter is problematic and that you insist they defend their passengers.

TSA agents upset public doesn't like fondling.

The news has been filled with outrage by flyers about the groping and fondling that Janet “the perv” Napolitano has authorized. There is widespread unhappiness from this, especially those who have actually gone through the process. Travel writer Steven Frischling asked 20 TSA officers what they thought of the new pat downs. All but three responded and all of them hated it. Frischling said he was “that all 17 mentioned their morale being broken down.

One said: “When a woman refuses the scanner then comes to me and tells me that she feels like I am molesting her, that is beyond verbal abuse.” Really? Why is she surprised when she just felt up the woman’s vagina that this victim of TSA policy felt molested?

What has these TSA officials upset is that people don’t like them touching their genitals.

What is astounding to me, however, is what it is that bothers these people. One whined, “There is a big difference between how I pat passengers down and a molester molesting people.” Not really. If any member of the public did the exact same procedure to another non-consenting individual they would be arrested for sexual assault. The ONLY difference is that the TSA has government permission. Yes, molesters may do more than what the TSA does, but many DO NOT. There are people in jail today because they lightly rubbed the genitals of another person without permission. That is actually LESS intrusive than what the TSA does.

One TSA officer said he is hurt by the “comments being lobbed at me” and complains, “I am a person who has feelings.” I bet you do. So do the individuals who you are fondling. This is so incredibly narcissistic that it is hard to fathom. This TSA molester appeals to how his feelings are being hurt and doesn’t seem to understand the feelings of any of the people he is fondling. All that matters are his feelings. Well, guess what, those people being molested have feelings as well. And these searches demean them and make them feel powerless and destroy their sense of personal privacy. They say “hateful” things because they have just been insulted or hurt, some of them hurt very deeply. So, to any TSA official who might happen to read this: Get over it. People will hate you because you are doing hateful things. If you really expect us to love you after you felt us up then you are delusional.

One TSA official said that comments overheard at the airport “in my presence as I patted passengers down” were “painful and demoralizing” and says she doesn’t “know how much longer I can withstand this taunting. I go home and I cry.” Okay. There is a simple solution to this, stop fondling the genitals of unwilling people. This isn’t rocket science. This person is touching people in a way that most people find very uncomfortable outside sexual activity. They find it especially upsetting when a stranger, against their will, is doing it. And TSA officials can’t seem to understand why it is that people are saying “painful” things. Well, it isn’t hard to explain. You just ran your fingers along the woman’s vagina and between her buttocks, and under her breasts. That’s why!

People say they were molested for one reason: they were! That it was molestation with state permission doesn’t mean it isn’t molestation. It is precisely the same thing except you get a “Get Out of Jail” card from the politicians every time you do it.

What is particularly depressing me is how clueless these genital inspectors are. They repeatedly appeal to the idea that they are patriots, serving their country, or just doing their job.

The one who goes home and cries says: “I am serving my country, I should not have to go home and cry after a day of honorably serving my country.” Apparently any act is justified if a government orders you to do it. Sorry lady, but there is no “honorable” way to fondle people’s genitals when they don’t want it.

Another said: “It is not up to me to decide policy, it is up to me to carry out my duties as dictated (my comment: an appropriate word) by the Transportation Security Administration.” No, and when an employer asks you to do something that is repulsive and disgusting and violates the personhood of other people you have the obligation to quit that job. He may not decide policy but every day he chooses to carry it out, no matter how offensive it is to the people he victimizes with government permission. As long as he chooses to perform those tasks then he is fully responsible for them. This “I was following orders” excuse hasn’t been accepted since the Nuremburg trials.

One of the TSA officials actually brought up the Nazi comparison. I want to quote his entire remark and dissect it.

“Do people know what a Nazi is? One can’t describe me as a Nazi because I am following a security procedure of designed to find prohibited items on a passenger’s body. A Nazi is someone with hatred and ignorance in their hearts, a person who carried out actions of execution and extermination of those based on their religion, origins or sexual preferences. I work to make travel safer, even if I do not agree with the current security procedures. Further more, I am Jewish and a TSA Transportation Security Officer, an American Patriot and to call me a Nazi is an offense beyond all other offenses.”

Wow! How badly informed and illogical he is. First, he says he can’t be described as a Nazi just because he was following orders issued outlining the procedure he must follow. Yes, one can, if those orders or procedures violate the personhood of others then one can say precisely that. In this case that is what he was doing. And the following orders excuse is exactly one used by Nazi officials.

Next he claims the Nazis were individuals “with hatred and ignorance in their hearts.” Yes and no. Many Nazis were not particularly inspired by hatred, they saw themselves as patriots who were protecting their country on orders from their government. Many of them were inspired by love for the homeland, not hate. Many felt threatened by an evil force that they didn’t understand and thought they were protecting their homeland. They honestly thought they were involved in homeland security. Yes, there were hateful Nazis, and no shortage of them either. But the Gestapo and various police and military agencies were filled with individuals driven by motives NO DIFFERENT than those used by TSA officials today to justify their behavior.

This idea that one must be driven by hate to be a Nazi is one reason that Nazism itself was able to grab power. If the Nazis were simply seen as hateful, ignorant killers they never would have been elected to the Reichstag in large numbers to take power. The reason they did succeed was because enough good people saw them as homeland security against a menace. Enough good people supported the Nazis because they felt they had good intentions. Fascism dominates when good people have honorable excuses for it. So, the mere fact that this TSA agent thinks his motives are as pure as the new fallen snow does nothing to lessen the legitimacy of the insult.

He then describes Nazis as individuals who carried out “execution and extermination of those based on their religion, origins or sexual preferences.” That is both true and false. It is true that many Nazis did just that. It is also true that many Nazis NEVER killed anyone. In fact, the evidence, based on Nazi party membership, is that most people who were members of the National Socialist Party never harmed another person. Some of the most loyal Nazis were people in low-level positions who simply carried out the orders issued to them by a government that was out of control. Some never did anything more than push paper around in a bureaucratic maze.

Many card carrying Nazis did nothing at all to infringe on the personhood of another human being. That means that the average TSA official, sticking his hands between the buttocks of others, or feeling around their genitals, actually does more to infringe the dignity of other people than many low level Nazis did during the entire Third Reich. True, there were many Nazis who were much, much worse in what they did. But there were also millions of Nazis who did less than a TSA groper and molester does in a single day.

That some Nazis were so horrendously worse is not a justification especially since so many Nazis were also more innocent of violating others than this TSA official. That TSA agents are not as bad as genocidal Nazis is really setting the bar pretty low.

I really wish people would understand how good and normal Nazism can look to people. That is how it gained power, not through the excesses and extermination, which mostly took place AFTER the National Socialists were in control. When millions of supporters of Hitler said they “never knew” what was going on, the fact is they often didn’t know what was going on. They honestly thought they were patriots inspired by the best of motives. That is what makes such authoritarian regimes possible. In other words, the very attitudes of this TSA official underpin fascist tendencies.

I also find it odd that he singles out the Nazis for doing bad things to people “based on their religion, origins or sexual preference.” Yes, those are bad things. But would it have been better if the Nazis were more equally oppressive? The reality is that the Nazis, while they scapegoat specific groups were oppressive across the board. Plenty of German, heterosexual Gentiles were beaten, arrested, imprisoned or killed by Nazi thugs. Equal opportunity oppression is not an improvement.

This agent also says that since he is Jewish he can’t be compared to a Nazi. Sorry to break the news to him, but he can. Hard as it is to believe, there were Nazis who were Jewish or married to Jews. There were Jewish groups that actually endorsed the Nazi party. (See The Third Reich and the Palestine Question by Francis Nicosia.) It wasn’t that long ago that it turned out that the head of the Nazi group in Chicago, Frank Collins, was actually of Jewish descent, and the family name was originally Cohen. Collins was the head of the Nazi group that fought for the right to march through the heavily Jewish area of Skokie, Illinois.

The University Press of Kansas published a book entitled Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers which showed that as many as 150,000 German soldiers were Jewish and fought on behalf of Hitler, “including decorated veterans and high-ranking officers, even generals and admirals.” The author, Bryan Rigg, is a professor of history and former volunteer in the Israeli Army.

There is no excuse for TSA officials to do what they are doing. Following orders is no excuse.

There are very few groups of people who can stop the juggernaut of Big Government when it starts steamrolling over the rights of people. In this case, TSA agents are a group that could halt this practice almost instantly, if they wanted. They all told Frischling they opposed the policy. If just a substantial minority of agents went on strike, or resigned, the TSA would be forced to reconsider. Those of us who are boycotting flying, myself included, because of these policies will have little impact, unless we force the airlines to start opposing the government policy. Upset voters will be ignored; boycotters will be ignored. The Obama administration is used to ignoring the general public.

But these policies can’t be implemented unless there are agents willing to implement them. Janet Napolitano is going to dirty her hands doing it. Obama and Biden won’t run down to the airport and start fondling flyers; even Bill Clinton didn’t go that far.

Without willing TSA agents manning the stations at the airport these policies are dead on arrival. I cannot think of another group that could so quickly end the policy of “enhanced pat down” than TSA agents. If 25% of them called in sick in protest Napolitano would be seriously considering her options. No doubt she would fight like hell to save face and keep the policy, but she can’t do it without the TSA frontline agents cooperating.

So, when these agents say they can’t be blamed for the policy, the reality is just the opposite. They and they alone are the reason this policy exists.

Given that reality then the “hurtful” remarks people make may be a good thing, not a bad thing. If these TSA agents, instead of whining and crying at home, simply went out and got decent jobs, the rapid turnover would send a clear message to the government. If the bulk of TSA agents “just said no” then Napolitano and crew would have to back down.

Janet can issues all the orders and directives she wants. They are just pieces of paper until willing individuals put them into effect. And those willing individuals bear the responsibility for that.

TSA strips and "pat downs" young boy

Just watch it. This is what America has become. It is disgusting and offensive beyond words. Napolitano and her criminal conspirators in the TSA should be put on trial. Obama should be sent packing.

The absolute perversion of government.

I have tried to wrap my head around the latest actions from Janet Napolitano's brown shirts. I can not really express how disgusted I have become with the actions of the current government. They have taken this "security theater" bullshit to extremes, to the point that I personally think criminal charges should be brought against them.

Consider what the new "pat down" procedures mean. Government agents will physically fondle your genitals. Consider this description from a woman who recently was subjected to what can only be called sexual assault.

She felt along my waistline, moved behind me, then proceeded to feel both of my buttocks. She reached from behind in the middle of my buttocks towards my vagina area.

She did not tell me that she was going to touch my buttocks, or reach forward to my vagina area.

She then moved in front of my and touched the top and underneath portions of both of my breasts.

She did not tell me that she was going to touch my breasts.

She then felt around my waist. She then moved to the bottoms of my legs.

She then felt my inner thighs and my vagina area, touching both of my labia.

She did not tell me that she was going to touch my vagina area or my labia.

The government calls this "enhanced" pat down. This amounts to rape, as far as I am concerned. We literally have reached the point where government agents demand our compliance to allow them to fondle us in a manner that would put anyone else in prison as a sex offender. And YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, you are their slave who must obey or give up your natural right to travel.

John Tyner was flying out of San Diego when TSA officials (Total Sexual Assault) directed him to one of these new pornoscanners that the government has to take nude photos of your body (as well as the bodies of children I should point out). Tyner was reluctant to use this device and was told he would have to go through an "enhanced pat down."

Consider what I think the government intentionally did. They wanted to force Americans through the pornoscanners. But, since there is an option for a pat down, which takes more time. So they didn't want the public to take that option. To force people through the pornoscanner the Feds "enhanced" the pat down to include what has to be called sexual molestation. The "enhanced" version of the pat down is a punishment for anyone who "slows" down the security theater of the TSA. Rubbing the penis, or vagina, of members of the public is not needed to protect us from terrorists, it is meant to punish anyone who refused to cooperate with the pornoscanners.

Tyner said he didn't want to use Janet Napolitano's nudie machine so he was forced to go through the "enhanced" pat down. When the TSA agent was in the process of rubbing his hands all over his body, Tyner said: "You touch my junk and I'm going to have you arrested."

That is clear. Tyner was not saying they couldn't frisk him for weapons, just that the agent was not allowed to fondle Tyner's genitals.

And, the really great part of this exchange with TSA officials was that Tyner had the whole thing recorded on his cell phone. After telling the agent that he may not touch his genitals, Tyner was told: "If you're not comfortable with that, we can escort you back out and you don't have to fly today." This amounts to blackmail. Either you give them permission to take nude photos of you, or they will fondle your genitals. If don't give your consent to the molestation they will force you to leave the airport and force you to miss your flight.

There is no doubt here that the government agents were using the fondling of Tyner's genitals as the lever to force him to comply. Tyner ONLY withheld permission for the agent to "touch his junk," nothing more. He told the agent: "I don't understand how a sexual assault can be made a condition of my flying."

The agent said: "This is not considered a sexual assault." Tyner said: "It would be if you were not the government."

This reminds me of something that Sheldon Richman said about how so many people see government as a "morals launderer." They seem to think that if they act as government agents they are not bound by the same moral values as every one else. When you kill it is a crime, when government does it, it's collateral damage, capital punishment, or just DEA agents making a "mistake." When you take what is not yours it is theft. When government agents do it is emminent domain, taxes or tariffs. When you fondle the genitals of unwilling people it is sexual assault. When government agents do it, it is an enhanced pat down.

Can there be any more dangerous concept about government? The idea that moral laws don't apply to the State implies that the State may do anything it wants, to anyone it wants, at any time it wants. It says there are NO limitations

The government agent told Tyner: "By buying your ticket you gave up a lot of rights." That appears to be a section of the Constitution I missed—the part that says you voluntarily surrender your rights if you travel from one location to another.

How did we reach the point where government agents are allowed to fondle the genitals of any man, woman or child that wishes to fly.

And remember this is being done by the executive branch of the federal government, that means the person responsible is Barack Obama, the head of the executive branch of the government. The TSA is run by Janet Napolitano, who was directly appointed to her office by Obama. Anyone who still thinks Obama respects individuals rights in any area, is sadly mistaken.

I know that this can be mistaken, and I don't want anyone to assume I am suggesting anything, but I am surprised that these government-required molestations are not creating a class of home grown "terrorists" who are disgusted that the State has gone this far. I would hope that won't happen, I would hope the government wises up and ends this disgusting policy. But I don't think it will wise up, not under Obama, who actually doesn't give a damn what the public wants.

Perfectly Safe Airlines

That's what we do.

Government strips away your right to pee!

According to Air Canada, the travel Nazis at the Transportation Security Agency are once again using a minor incident to strip all Americans of freedom—actually they don't discriminate they are stripping everyone who flys within the US of their rights as well. There is good reason to be seated during take off and landing. But the new regulations, according to Air Canada basically make you a prisoner in your seat.

First, consider the circumstances. Some idiot from Nigeria tried to light a powder he had strapped to his leg. There was some smoke and popping sounds and some flames but no explosion of any kind. The flames were quickly put out by passengers and crew members and the man incapacitated.

So the travel Nazis are now allegedly announcing new regulations that chain passengers to the seats for much of a flight, if not the entire flight. The New York Times reports that the government "was vague about the steps it was taking, saying that it wanted the security experience to be 'unpredictable' and that passengers would not find the same measures at every airport—a prospect that may upset airlines and travelers alike." Great, now you can't even prepare to satisfy the increasingly strenuous regulations pushed by these bureaucratic thugs. And since when is this a "security experience?" That is like calling rape a "sexual experience." Experience has far too benevolent a feel to it to describe the way the travel Nazis treat people.

Here, however, are some of the new rules. "passengers on international flights coming to the United States will apparently have to remain in their seats for the last hour of a flight without any personal items on their laps." So, if you fall asleep, wake up one hour before landing with a full bladder the government mandates that you wet the seat because using the toilet one hour before landing is a security risk. Apparently it is not a security risk to use the toilet 62 minutes before landing but at the magic 60 minutes your urinary tract becomes a tool of terrorism.

It has been noted that one can't move about on a flight for about the first 30 minutes until the plane reaches cruising altitude. So any flight of 90 minutes of less means all passengers are confined to their seats by bureaucratic edict—remember these rules are not laws that are debated by elected officials. These are rules that unelected bureaucrats make up any time they feel like it. So unless you can hold your bladder for at least 90 minutes you should not board one of these flights. I think a flight of 95 minutes would be interesting as there is just a five minute window for the entire plane to use the toilet. Personally I hope there is a rash of people wetting their seats. And if I were the airlines I would send the stinky seats and carpeting directly to Janet Napolitano, the new Reichfurher for Homeland Oppression.

Napolitano, a Janet-Reno wannabe (which is bad news anyway you look at it), says that new measures are "designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere." Oh, joy! Don't you just love it when some brain dead travel gestapo member, the very people who didn't find the explosives that were strapped to the man's leg, are allowed to act in an upredictable way.

Airlines say that more incompetent TSA employees will be required to staff more check points to try to catch what the other incompetent TSA employees miss at the other checkpoints. The government's hope is that if you line up enough overpaid, under-thinking bureaucrats with the power to bark at people and act like mini-gods, that one of them will eventually prove useful.

And what I don't understand is the logic here. Everyone will be confined to their seats because a man, who was in his seat at the time, tried to light powder he had strapped to his leg. The man was "confined to his seat" when he did it—that didn't stop him from trying set the plane on fire. The individual in question would have been in compliance with the new rules had them been in place. In other words, they would have done absolutely nothing to stop the incident that happened. But then all the other measures put into place didn't stop this incident from happening either.

Meanwhile, people are refusing to fly in larger and larger numbers. Traveling to the US is such a horrific experience, due to the terrorists who work for Homeland Security, that tourism is down significantly. Billions of dollars have been diverted from the US economy by chasing away tourists. In addition, the US has merely soiled its reputation with world travelers as an unpleasant, nasty country to visit. Not long ago a friend told me that she and husband flew to China and had better treatment, and were treated more like free people, flying into China than when they enter the United States. Yep—a totalitarian nation is not as bad as the United States when it comes to travel.

Welcome to the world's largest prison.

The fear-mongering of Bush, combined with the hysterical cries of the "secure the border" crowd led to new restrictions. Of course, contrary to what the hysterics says, these restrictions actually restrict Americans not terrorists or would-be gardeners and day laborers.

The war on terror was a fraud from the start, it was always a war on Americans. Every measure that was passed was used, first and foremost, against Americans not against potential threats to the country. All the new spying on bank accounts isn't being used to crack down on drug cartels or international terrorists but on Americans who have funds overseas, where the greedy hands of politicians have a harder time grabbing them.

To "secure our borders" the government also imposed new rules on how Americans are allowed to travel. Of course, it wasn't Americans who flew the planes on 9/11 but Muslim terrorists, all of whom had official permission to enter the U.S. To protect you from the people they let in they restrict your movement.

Perhaps you don't think these new regulations and controls of Americans actually restricts movement. The data is in and it proves that it does. In 1972 Canada started keeping track of how many Americans visit that country. In the last five years the numbers have dropped in half. Canada's Globe and Mail reports:

Travel from the United States hit a peak in 2002, when about 43 million Americans crossed the border, but since then, it has eroded. One reason for the decline in recent years, said Randy Williams, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, was the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. Two years ago, passports became mandatory for cross-border air travel, and the original plan would have required passports for land crossings as of Jan. 1, 2008. While that was delayed, confusion over the need for travel documents kept some people home, Mr. Williams said. “Only about 30 per cent of Americans have a passport, so that limits the number we can attract into Canada,” he said.

Any economist will tell you that when you drive up the cost of something the demand goes down. Cost doesn't just mean how much money you pay. It also means how much hassle you have to go through to secure something, and what you have to give up in order to obtain it. Forcing Americans, who are visiting Canada for a shopping trip, to carry as passport meant that the number of visitors dropped. Passports aren't free, there is a great deal of hassle, more than ever actually, in order to get government permission to travel. That is what a passport is, it is government permission for you to travel. Something that was once consider a right of all free people is now considered a privilege which governments can dole out, and withhold, at will.

The world is a poorer place because of the morons in Homeland Security. They have trapped millions of Americans within the United States and they have discourage many millions more from visiting the U.S. Airlines are now avoiding connecting flights in the U.S. because the travel Gestapo mistreats and abuses visitors to our country. So, these measures are now keeping Americans from traveling abroad and keeping foreign visitors from coming here. Hundreds of millions of dollars of profits, both here and abroad, have been destroyed by this heavy-handed government intrusion. Government is the great wealth destroyer.

My recommendation: If you don't have a U.S. passport I urge you to get one. It will only become more and more difficult to get one. You are not a free person if you are not free to walk out of your own country. When you are restricted to a specific geographical area, by armed men, and only allowed to travel with special permission slips, you are a prisoner. It may be a very large prison but it is still a prison. Second, I also recommend that you try your best to send assets overseas, as a precaution. Be warned though, since the Bush regime was in power it has become very difficult for you to do this. Many overseas banks will no longer touch American clients due to the way our government threatens foreign banks that allow Americans to open accounts.

Of course, the American travel gestapo has been harassing everyone. Individuals who have connecting flights in the international section were forced to exit through customs and passport control merely so Big Brother could accumulate data on each person, even though who really aren't intending to visit the US. Individuals who only wanted to catch a flight from Canada to Mexico, with a brief US stopover, had to go through customs. If the U.S., for any reason, decided the person was unwelcome (and billions of people fit that category these days) they were not allowed to finish their flight to Mexico, but forced onto a plane to return to Canada.

The U.S. has mistreated foreign tourists so much that airlines are dropping the United States from their itinerary when possible. Air Canada had a flight to Sydney with a stopover in Hawaii. They dropped the stopover promising travelers their new route helps them "avoid the United States." Air New Zeland had a flight from Auckland to London, with a refueling stopover in Los Angeles. They dropped the US and moved the stopover to Vancouver, so that their customers wouldn't be harassed by the travel Nazis. Wikitravel warned:

You may wish to avoid transit in US airports because:

• Anyone arriving into the United States or one of its territories (like Puerto Rico) and not covered by the Visa Waiver Program requires at least a C-1 transit visa to transit the airport. This can be expensive (US$131 minimum) and time-consuming to obtain, and you can be denied the visa: the requirements are the same as the full B-2 tourist visa. If you arrive without this visa, even for a fuel stop or transit, and aren't eligible for a waiver, you will be sent home and recorded as having been denied entry to the US.
• The United States does not allow sterile transit, which means that even if you have an immediate connecting flight, you have to pass through Customs and Immigration. This is time-consuming and tedious (4 hours or more is recommended to be safe), and all travellers transiting in the USA using either a transit visa or the Visa Waiver Program will be photographed and fingerprinted.
• You have previously been denied entry to the US or overstayed in the US, and have been advised that entry may be refused in future. Transit entry is as likely to be refused as any other entry, it will almost certainly be easier to avoid risking it.

Discover America Partnership is a collection of businesses that rely on tourism. They have been complaining that government mistreatment of tourists has become so pervasive that American business is suffering. The U.S. government is scaring away customers. Geoffrey Freedman, of the group, says: "International travelers will tell you that they find that they are treated like criminals, that they are barked at by US officials. They simply feel unwelcome and that is leading them to choose other countries." The group estimates that these actions by Homeland Security thugs has cost around 200,000 jobs in the United States.

A survey of international travelers found that more of them listed the U.S. as the most unpleasant place to visit when it comes to bureaucratic abuse. Freeman noted that a survey showed that foreign visitors have "more fear our immigration officials than of terrorism or crime." (Alas, Mr. Freeman seems to think those are three distinct categories, as the US government proves, they often overlap.) All this means a dramatic drop in tourism.

So now the morons in the U.S. Congress have decided to fix the problem. Congress, which voted in the proposals that are scaring people away, wants to finance a program which will encourage visitors. Please note that none of the Congressvermin are suggesting changing the way we treat tourists. Instead they want to create yet another government program for the purpose of encouraging travel. Of course, such programs cost money. So the idiots in DC are wanting to pass a new tax on foreign visitors. They want to charge tourists who do come to the US an extra $10 on each trip in order to encourage more tourism.

John Burton, the European Commission's Ambassador responded: "Only in Alice in Wonderland could a penalty be seen as promoting the activity on which it is imposed."

Associated Press reports: "Sponsors have been promoting the law as cost-free to the U.S. taxpayer." Even that is not true. US travel thugs have cost the economy hundreds of thousands of jobs. Raising the cost for people to visit the US will only reduce the number of visitors even further. Americans will pay for the stupid proposal in several ways. More jobs will be destroyed and the tourism industry will suffer further declines. Hotels, theme parks, even National Parks will see less business and lower profits.

And the EU says that if the U.S. imposes a new $10 fee on Europeans, even those who aren't require a have a visa to visit, then the EU will consider retaliation by imposing a similar tax on Americans who travel. Personally $10 to get OUT of the Homeland Security States of America might be a bargain. But who wants to pay extra to visit a prison?

TSA inspector damages nine planes, puts lives at risk.

The Transportation Security Administration, who I lovingly refer to as the Travel Nazis, have struck again. No, this time they didn’t search a 90-year-old granny in wheelchair -- lest she have bin Laden hidden in her ho-hang. One of their inspectors went much further, at least in terms of the potential harm he could have inflicted. Actually he could have killed people -- lots of people.

This government bureaucrat decided to inspect a group of planes at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. All of them were part of American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines. The brain-dead TSA official wanted to see if he could climb into a airplane from the outside. So he scaled the planes by grabbing on to sensitive equipment on the outside of the planes.

He grabbed devices known as a “total air temperature probe”. These are devices which pilots use to see if they need to de-ice plans in flight. If you don’t de-ice you can crash. If you don’t know you need to de-ice, you don’t de-ice and thus you can crash. So it is important that you know and that means these little suckers are extremely important in saving lives by preventing air plane crashes.

They are so important that there are stickers pasted next to them warning people not to use them as steps. These warnings apparently are heeded by everyone except the inspector from the TSA. Since he is anonymous at this point let us just refer to him as Inspector Clouseau.

Because of Inspector Clouseau’s antics on the tarmac nine commuter aircraft had to be grounded for repairs. Nine planes full of people had their flights cancelled. A spokesman for American Eagle said: “It delayed a lot of folks getting to where they had to go yesterday. This was something we had never experienced before.”

The Allied Pilots Union was furious saying this inspector put a lot of people’s lives in danger. Only in the last level of inspections of the plane, by the pilots before takeoff was the problem noticed. Sam Mayer of the pilot’s union said: “We caught it this time, but who knows if this has happened other times ... and with other planes that are out there.”

Aero-News posted a very irate article on the bumbling inspector. They quoted a pilot on the American Eagle internet forum saying: “The brillant employees used an instrument located just below the cockpit window that is critical to the operation of the onboard computers. They decided this instrument, the TAT probe would be adequate to use as a ladder.” Another pilot said the TSA is “now doing things to our aircraft that may put our lives, and the lives our passengers at risk.”

Aero-News wrote:

This was an extraordinarily dangerous incident, folks. The TSA has neither the mandate nor the knowledge to inspect any aircraft for any reason. The stupidity of this matter is nearly unbelievable... until you hear that the TSA is involved... then it becomes understandable, though still tragic. And I can not tell you how frustrating it is, to see them continue to hurt an industry that they were created to protect.

The TSA has NO BUSINESS putting untrained personnel in a position to damage aircraft. Their bizarre games, in the name of security, do NOTHING to enhance security and do much to inhibit safety. Aviation personnel -- pilots, A&P's, ground personnel -- are all either licensed or supervised by licensed personnel and this kind of tampering, had it been accomplished by anyone else, would have subjected that person to criminal charges.

In this case, ANN strongly recommends and encourages the criminal prosecution of this so-called inspector and his immediate supervisors... it is a matter of time before one of these morons does something stupid and gets someone killed... and with the way these incidents are occurring, we believe it is a virtual certainty that a TSA "Inspector" will hurt or kill someone in such a manner. No kidding.

....We're fed up with the incompetence of this organization... and while it was simply 'annoying' when they were sniffing our shoes or trying to rip off our laptops, it gets downright threatening when they start tampering with our airplanes.