I think that most people are forgetting that ANY search without due cause is a violation of our civil liberties.

I used to fly... a LOT.  I have 350,000 frequent flyer miles to prove it.  I traveled every week for work and it was a relatively hassle-free routine.

After 9/11 I was stopped for a search EVERY SINGLE TRIP.  I'm in my late 20's.  I have long, dark hair and I fly first class (free upgrades from having America West Gold Elite status).  I guess I "fit the profile".  Whether you are a 60 year old granny, a pregnant woman or a long haired twenty-something is NOT JUST CAUSE to have your body searched.  The American public DID NOT sign up for random OR discriminatory invasive searches.

The reason 9/11 happened is NOT because weapons were brought on board, it is because the POLICY was flawed.  The policy used to be that the pilot was to cooperate with a terrorist in the hopes that a compromise could be made and the plane could be safely landed.  The terrorists took advantage of this flawed policy and we paid a terrible price.

Do you think that any pilot or passenger these days would allow someone to take control of the cockpit?  Box cutters, nail clippers or scissors, I'm gonna jump on the bastard and stop him.  I bet the passenger next to me would gladly kick his teeth in while I held him down.

These days, I avoid flying unless I REALLY need to.  I've been home a total of 3 weeks this year.  The way things are going, the only way the feds will stop harassing the public at aiports is when those airports are closed.

I feel badly that the airlines are in such trouble.  It's not really their fault.  The fault lies with the government's invasion of our privacy.  People don't avoid flying because they fear their plane will be hijacked by terrorists, they don't fly because they fear the terrorism imposed on them by their own government.

It's a damn shame.  Once again the innocent are paying the price.  Innocent travelers are subjected to harrassment and airline employees are losing their jobs.  The terrorists didn't achieve their goal when they took down the towers, they achieved their goal when we gave up our freedom.


-Mike...

... Good post Mike, welcome aboard [newbie]!

Thanks!  It's nice to know there's still some true conservatives left in this country [:D].

-Mike...

[b]mike_decock:[/b] That is exactly what I was saying.  Welcome aboard!

I'm skeptical of anything that comes out of lewrockwell.com.

I agree with Paul. I fly 4 to 6 segments a week thru Atlanta Hartsfield on business and have never seen anything like this at the security checkpoints. The TSA employees have been nothing but courteous and professional, a step above the security contract employess pre TSA. They airlines can say all they want about the reduction in the number of people flying, but every flight I have been on since 9/11 has been full or over booked.

I did fly out of Portland, OR in November, 2001. This was pre TSA, the lines were out the doors into the 1st checkpoint, but I did not notice anything more than the lengthy 2 1/2 hour delay. Glad I arrived early! Many people missed flights.

Ouch.  I flew internationally on Sep 21, 2001.  Leaving Phoenix - no lines no problems.  Leaving LA - same thing.  Course, the airports were spooky empty.

My only complaint with the entire process is - I do not believe it is making me any safer!  I would rather they mandate locked flight decks (they have) and mandate at least one qualified individual have a weapon in the cockpit.  

I would also support more flight marshalls.  

BTW, the reduction in passengers is real.  The reason the flights are so full is a reduction in flights as well.  I think if you check the schedules 3 years ago veruss today, you find a lot of direct 2nd tier flights gone (i.e. Phoenix to Cinci, Louiseville to Salt Lake).   And fewer overall flights.

This is exactly what happens when people of very low intelligence (the airport screeners) are given superior powers.

A secondary problem is that the overwhelming percentage of the lemming population will actually put up with this type of treatment becasue they "feel" safer.

[b]Damn guys, the terrorists have already won.[/b]  [:(]

One more thing, if I were in that man's shoes and I saw someone from my family being violated like that, I [b]know[/b] I would probably be locked in in jail for the rest of my life.  I could not "turn the other cheek" and simple walk away.  I would be livid.


CMOS

For those who had doubts about whether this really occured, you can find more here: [url]http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30159[/url]
And the Free Republic article is still there, they try to delete duplicate posts, the original post at [url]http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/810504/posts[/url] has 1120 replies & is still active.

I'm sorry.  There is no additional information in the second article.   There are still doubts as to WHAT happened.  That SOMETHING happened is clear.  That it happened as Monohan stated is not clear.  Multiple articles of the same story do NOT prove anything.  Both articles state his story, and the TSA story.

Since we weren't there, we do not know.  It is still a case of his word against theirs.

Haven't read any of the posts on this thread.  Don't have to. The title says it all, and I totally agree.

Wife's niece is coming down from the midwest next week w/her two little ones---on the bus; precisely because of the crap that goes on at airports.

I'm not sure I'd fly even overseas any more. If I had the time, think I'd take a boat trip.