by Smitty
Libertarian Republican echoes The Hill quoting Ron Paul from the GOP debate on TSA thuggery:
Texas Congressman Ron Paul let it rip on TSA abuses of airline passengers (via TheHill):
“If the perpetrators were a gang of criminals, their headquarters would be raided by SWAT teams and armed federal agents,” he continued. “Unfortunately in this case, the perpetrators are armed federal agents.”
It is Obama-esque to talk vaguely about cutting the need to cut spending. Until we’re backing candidates offering specific discussion of which acronyms to elide from the federal budget, it’s not much more than posturing.
Let’s keep up the pressure on these politicians to recover the country from the Euro-weeny pit, people. Homo bureaucratus must not prevail.
TGIF, The Political Circus Edition “Make it Fast Make It Urgent”
http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2011/09/tgif-political-circus-edition-make-it.html
“Tough Talk, But Who Will Campaign On Eliminating The TSA”
Ron Paul specifically campaigned on that.
He said, in the debates, that he would allow the airlines to operate their own security.
This is one area where not sharing all the truth we possess might be the better part of valor. It would be better to emphasize “reform of the federal Departmental system”. Start first with hammering on the need to reduce the number of staff and curtailing the arbitrary nature of and lack of mandate for the regulatory over reach. Emphasize that much of the legislative responsibility is usurped by these departments and agencies. One important first step a president could take would be to not make any appointments to replace any of the political appointees who are on the way out, cut salaries and reduce funding for these behemoths. Just because there are people working at the EPA doesn’t mean there has to be ink cartridges and toner for their copiers or toilet paper in the bathrooms.
The TSA can be elminated, or perhaps significantly reduced to an oversight agency to regulate between the different airlines and airports.
Defederalizing airport security is a good thing. Has anyone actually enjoyed going through who isn’t an exhibitionist?
The lasting tragedy of 9/11 has been the erosion of our civil liberties and Constitutional rights, The Patriot Act , DHS and TSA have only been effective in stripping us of our liberties and invading the privacy of countless millions of Americans. They continue to humiliate and traumatize on our fellow citizens and claim it as a success.
This has culminated in TSA digitally strip searching and molesting children and adults with impunity. After a cost of over a trillion dollars, all that they have done is harass and molest passengers in a ruse intended to portray airport security.
“We’re beginning to see pushback, where people are becoming adversaries of the security systems that are put in place to protect them.,” said Brian Jenkins, an anti-terrorism expert.
“Now that’s a good way to destroy a security system, and we have to address that as an issue,” said Jenkins, co-editor of “The Long Shadow of 911: America’s response to Terrorism,” published by the Rand Corporation think tank.