2002: An Airport Odyssey
Constitution Suspended?

March 8, 2002

Taliban Special Olympics

Is it possible that Stanley Kubrick foresaw the future of airport security in his 1968 sci-fi film, “2001: A Space Odyssey?”

What better way is there to depict the “screening” thugs at our nation’s airport security portals than Kubrick’s vision of dumb apes achieving supremacy during a tribal dance of bone crunching intensity.

Why not just cede control of America’s airports to the bin Laden loyalists who were too mentally and physically impaired to be relied upon as human bombs?

Case In Point

On February 27th, Joe Foss, a grandfatherly 86 year old, was terrorized by the security personnel at the Phoenix, Arizona, airport because he was carrying an item with sharp edges.

“So what…this is necessary to protect the flying public,” would be the desired response from the propagandists from the nation’s capital. And, to a very limited extent this might be true. But not at the expense of all common sense, Constitutional rights and civility!

Joe Foss is, among other great attributes, a retired U.S. military General. He is also one of America’s greatest surviving heroes. General Foss is a top ace from the World War II Pacific Theater and a Medal of Honor recipient.

That “item with sharp edges” in General Foss’s pocket was the Congressional Medal of Honor presented to him in 1943 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The honor this nation’s newly Federalized airport security morons presented to General Foss was a series of three consecutive strip searches.

In the General’s own words courtesy of a CNN interview:

It was a nasty group of individuals that I couldn't seem to make understand. And I was trying to show them this medal, that it had all the inscription on the back there. About me receiving it from the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and so forth.

But no one seemed to know what was going on. And then I said, "What happens to the stuff you take from me?" And they said, "Oh, it's destroyed." And I said, "Well, you aren't taking that medal, that's for sure.

And, of course, the questions that they asked and all -- it was so nonsensical, the whole thing. There's no way you could catch a terrorist. In fact, you'd be -- while you were looking at some clown like me, the terrorist would go by.

In Perspective

A simple perspective of this exchange reads like a dark satire.

While: (1) human rights nabobs cry a river of tears for the al-Qaeda prisoners in the Camp X-Ray detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (2) the I.N.S. is too busy accepting bribes from drug dealers to protect U.S. borders (3) the Congress is increasing the size of the federal bureaucracy (4) American taxpayers are wasting millions of dollars to protect the rights and comfort of Taliban Johnny Walker (5) the extended “victims” of the 911 attack are unleashing their lawyers on the U.S. taxpayer and (6) the U.S. military is solving the problems of the entire world…AMERICAN HEROES ARE BEING TREATED LIKE CRIMINALS BY MORONS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT!

The security screeners at the Phoenix airport are so stupid and arrogant that they not only do not recognize a Congressional Medal of Honor when they see one, but they would also be willing to destroy the same. Talk about idiots!

How Does This Happen

When the Federal government took control of U.S. airport security on February 18th 2002, it was inevitable that another page of America’s Constitutional heritage would be relegated to the trash heap.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a creation of the congressionally legislated Aviation and Transportation Security Act, was created and authorized to assume control of the nation’s airport security responsibility from the airlines.

TSA head John Magaw said the biggest difference with the government in charge would be consistency.

And, true to form for a government bureaucrat, Mr. Magaw has thus far been correct.

There is a consistency of inefficient arrogance pervading the airport system with the full tyrannical force of the U.S. government coercing its citizens into unconstitutional and humiliating behavior. September 11th opened the door for increased federal usurpation of civil liberties and post February 18th has bureaucratized that authority.

Who ever said that September 11th was a license to trample to the rights and dignity of law abiding American citizens?

What To Do

American citizens, for all walks of life, should be outraged at the treatment afforded to General Foss. This same treatment is daily being heaped upon the grandfathers, grandmothers and even children of American citizenry. All of this occurs while the PC crowd worries about the “rights” of illegal immigrants.

A good starting point for fixing this problem would be the immediate expulsion of all illegal immigrants from the shores of this great country. There is nothing to justify the erosion of citizen rights in the face of non-citizen abuses.

Accountability for the federal screeners is also in order. The airport security screeners are working for the flying public and, as such, should treat the flying public for what they are…the customer.

There is nothing that justifies the maltreatment of a law abiding U.S. citizen by airport security personnel. If a degree of unpleasantness is necessary to protect the flying public, that is not a license for rude behavior on the part of some questionably qualified “wannabe” police state bullies.

Strict standards of conduct must be established for airport security personnel. There must also be accountability on the part of these same personnel. Treat the customer with respect and civility or have your employment terminated.

But…is government bureaucracy ever accountable?

Don’t worry…before this fiasco is over, your grandmother will be publicly strip searched while a member of Congress waltzes through a frequent flyer VIP security zone.

This writer would be inclined to treat a rude airport security bully worse than a Taliban soldier. At least the Taliban soldier admits to being the enemy!