So what can I do about TSA patdowns?

If you do ever have to fly for your work, you should be able to do research and find out whether the airport you're flying out of uses the scanners (not all airports have them currently).

There are some groups out there who are opposed to the TSA procedures and might be worth supporting. The big one would be the ACLU.

Hope this is helpful.

Hey Jo,

Why should you resist?

Flying isn't a right. It's an option.

Now I'm a bad flyer.

But I'd rather intrusion at ground level, than worrying about what a fellow passenger's planning at 35,000 feet.

There are bad people in the world. And flying is inherently unsafe.

So take the passengers out the equation, and we dodgy flyers only have to worry about the airframes and the engines.

And that's bad enough.

So anything that makes airyplanes safer is fine with me.

But, of course, you may think you've got the right to get blown out the sky!

Regards

Whacko

JoNightshade said:

IN ANY CASE, let's please not turn this thread into an argument about TSA policies.

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Damn, I so wanted to go after what Whacko said.

All you can do is start some kind of a political action committee and get them to change the law. If you could start some kind of a movement that could petition the government and the airlines, you might be able to get them to do something. I think the best way to deal with the situation is to go after the airlines. They have the lobbyists etc., already in place, to do the fighting for them. Orchestrate boycotts wherein people who agree with you unite and do not fly on a certain airline for a month. The following month you do the same thing to another airline. Unless the airlines are hurting, nothing is going to happen. Sadly, I don't think there is anything that one person, devoid of a following, can do.

If you do something, let me know... I'm onboard!

Protest.
Write your representatives, copy it to every airline at the airport(s) in your area. Copy it to the airport board. Copy it to the local media. Copy it to the companies that make the fuel the airlines buy.

Get anyone and everyone you can to do the same thing.

Above and beyond all that, don't fly. Don't rent cars at the airport. And, in your letters, tell them why.

We are a society that runs on commerce. Our wallets and purses will change minds.

I seldom post in the political threads, but I'm with Benjamin Franklin, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

I entirely disagree with many of the Supreme Court's Fourth Amendment rulings of the past 30 years. Earl Warren and his court essentially gave us many of our Fourth Amendment rights, which have been steadily eroded over the past few decades by a much more conservative Supreme Court.

Because the Supreme Court decides constitutional issues, it seems to me there is little the ACLU or anyone can do until the essential makeup of the Supreme Court changes. The ACLU does a superb job arguing for greater Fourth Amendment freedoms, but it doesn't matter how good your arguments are if the justices on the bench have fundamental philosophical differences.

In short, it seems to me the long term cure is to elect democractic presidents, who can appoint more liberal justices. The Supreme Court sets the tone in these matters, and people act on what they know the SC will rule constititutional.

ETA: I also agree with the person who just posted -- boycotting airlines would also help a lot. Unfortunately for me, the only time I fly is when I need to go from California to the east coast. I just can't drive.

Teriann said:

In short, it seems to me the long term cure is to elect democractic presidents, who can appoint more liberal justices.

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I don't know. Look who ended up on Obama's shortlist last year for the Supreme Court.

Michael Wolfe said:

I don't know. Look who ended up on Obama's shortlist last year for the Supreme Court.

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Well, there you go. What can we do other than breathe a sigh of relief that we didn't have to to see who would have been on McCain's short list, and who would be on Ms. Palin's list should she ever be in a position to appoint Supreme Court justices.

I am an appellate lawyer who argues on behalf of indigents in California courts, so I know all about the futility of bringing good arguments before less-than-sympathetic justices.

*now I'm going to run away from the politics threads because I really don't like getting into political arguments!*


Also, adding: Earl Warren was a Republican nominee who surprised the heck out of everyone when he started issuing opinions! Maybe you never really know. And Earl Warren is my hero. He's make short work of the TSA policies, I believe.

Teriann said:

*now I'm going to run away from the politics threads because I really don't like getting into political arguments!*

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I didn't mean to start an argument, or make you run away.

It sounds like you're against the TSA policies, and I am too, so we're on the same side here. I understand your point about McCain and Palin. But at the same time, Obama and Napolitano are not on our side on this issue. Especially since the body scanners/pat-downs haven't made it to the Supreme Court yet, Obama's policies and nominees for various jobs (like Napolitano and John Pistole) are pretty critical. And look at what we've gotten from all of that.

Michael Wolfe said:

I didn't mean to start an argument, or make you run away.

It sounds like you're against the TSA policies, and I am too, so we're on the same side here. I understand your point about McCain and Palin. But at the same time, Obama and Napolitano are not on our side on this issue. Especially since the body scanners haven't made it to the Supreme Court yet, Obama's policies and nominees for various jobs (like Napolitano and John Pistole) are pretty critical. And look at what we've gotten from all of that.

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I wasn't worried about you arguing with me!

And I totally agree with you about Obama's appointments.

I guess there isn't a good solution to the problem, other than boycott (but too many people depend on flying) and trying to keep alive the awareness that police states are very bad things. Educate our children? Show them historical patterns, how fear is traditionally used to rob people of democracy?

I just have to chime in. Jo, writing your reps is not futile at best. When my husband was declared 100% disabled because of PTSD they said since it was a mental disorder he couldn't have his benefits in his hand. They would get back to him about assigning a fiduciary, but they didn't.

We began a campaign of letter writing, not only California reps, but his home state and anyone who was on a committee dealing with veterans. Our California rep, he went to bat for us and I am eternally grateful. His office called once a week while they worked on my husband's case to let us know what was going on. Within a few two months of writing, the VA did what it should have done eight months before and released the money hubs deserved.

We made so much noise they had to listen. Now, if the VA gets even a whiff of me calling a congressional, they're on the phone calling me to deal with it instead of giving me the run around. Not everything is 'fixed' between us and the VA but writing works, you just have to be tenacious and not give up.

Sorry, it's off topic, but I hate to hear anyone say writing their rep is worthless because it's not true if you approach it the right way. Rabid. Dog.

Teriann said:

I guess there isn't a good solution to the problem, other than boycott (but too many people depend on flying) and trying to keep alive the awareness that police states are very bad things. Educate our children? Show them historical patterns, how fear is traditionally used to rob people of democracy?

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All of those things sound good, but yeah, they're more like steps than solutions. There is no quick fix to this, imo. And unfortunately, I see a trend of airport security getting worse in the future, not better.

Opt out. All the way out.

Don't fly.

Make it known why you won't fly. In writing to those you must, in person to those you can. That's the education part. If you can afford the time or money, support like-minded groups.

That said, the TSA's arrogance isn't the problem. It's a symptom of bloated government that no longer even pretends to be responsive to the people, and which can apparently justify anything in the name of national security.

If you can, shrug. If you can't, look for opportunities to starve the beast. Gardening and barter are great hobbies.

If you want to do something against it, you do everything said above. Also when the subject comes up in the next election cycle, (And do your best to make it come up at the next election) vote with that in mind. You can also write letters to the editors of newpapers, keeping the protest of it all alive. Donalte money to someone fighting for the cause, if you can.

Or, if all else fails, find a way for people to grow wings, ergo avoiding the need for airplanes to begin with.

I once told a cop, during a pat down, that if he arroused me he was going to have to finish what he started...

The pat down was very quick...

That's a good one, Jo.


Just what they want to hear.

JoNightshade said:

Okay, I'm giving writing letters another thought. Since I'm, y'know, a writer and all that.

Maybe I should be targeting my (former) party. Write letters to all the head Republican honchos and tell them I've just registered libertarian because of their stance on the TSA screenings.

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Excellent. And don't forget to support John Mica, Rep. Florida. He's been pretty vocal in his opposition to x-rays and patdowns. . . .

Turn your head and cough.

Take a Quaalude and enjoy it?

Wear tight shiny disco pants, and ask for seconds?

Pack you trousers with Bananas, and sing
"I'm a Ape Man, I'm a Ape Ape Man, I'm a Ape man . . ."

Write letters. Lots of them. Be reasonable. Be Calm. Be rational.

Tell everyone why this is wrong, why it needs to stop- and offer a better solution.

Get enough people to agree with you, and the politicians will fall over themselves to do what you want.

Will this happen over night? Will it be quick?

No. But if this is really important to you, it shouldn't.

whistlelock said:

Tell everyone why this is wrong, why it needs to stop- and offer a better solution.

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Which would be what exactly, make them swear on their mothers life that they will abide by the