Israel Matzav

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Krauthammer on airline security

Let's hope Charles Krauthammer is right and that 'don't touch my junk' will become a rallying cry against the Obumbler, Janet Crapolitano and their politically correct friends.

The ultimate idiocy is the full-body screening of the pilot. The pilot doesn't need a bomb or box cutter to bring down a plane. All he has to do is drive it into the water, like the EgyptAir pilot who crashed his plane off Nantucket while intoning "I rely on God," killing all on board.

But we must not bring that up. We pretend that we go through this nonsense as a small price paid to ensure the safety of air travel. Rubbish. This has nothing to do with safety - 95 percent of these inspections, searches, shoe removals and pat-downs are ridiculously unnecessary. The only reason we continue to do this is that people are too cowed to even question the absurd taboo against profiling - when the profile of the airline attacker is narrow, concrete, uniquely definable and universally known. So instead of seeking out terrorists, we seek out tubes of gel in stroller pouches.

The junk man's revolt marks the point at which a docile public declares that it will tolerate only so much idiocy. Metal detector? Back-of-the-hand pat? Okay. We will swallow hard and pretend airline attackers are randomly distributed in the population.

But now you insist on a full-body scan, a fairly accurate representation of my naked image to be viewed by a total stranger? Or alternatively, the full-body pat-down, which, as the junk man correctly noted, would be sexual assault if performed by anyone else?

This time you have gone too far, Big Bro'. The sleeping giant awakes. Take my shoes, remove my belt, waste my time and try my patience. But don't touch my junk.

It's time for a change in Washington. Get your hands off my junk!

Labels: airport security, don't touch my junk, TSA

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

In the US, the terrorists have won

I'm sure you've all heard the story of John Tyner, the 31-year old computer programmer who refused a full body scan in San Diego on Saturday, and then, after hearing the description of what the TSA agent was going to do to him, told the agent "don't touch my junk or I'll sue you."

Videos of this incident have gone viral, but the videos are quite long. Here's an interview with Tyner on Fox News, which features the key part of the encounter with the TSA agent and then tells what happened afterward.

Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Hot Air).

TSA has decided to get back at Tyner by opening an investigation against him. The investigation could lead to a fine of $11,000 - it will probably take far more than that in lawyer's fees to conduct the investigation.

But the losers here aren't Tyner or TSA: It's the American traveling public. Since 9/11, Americans have accepted more and more invasions of their privacy. In fact, so has anyone who travels to the United States. Sure, we have to have security, but is the full body scanner really necessary? Of course not. If you rely on a machine to do the job rather than people, people will find (and have found) a way to beat the machine. The US continues to do what I accused it of doing four and a half years ago: Looking for yesterday's terrorists.

In the US, the terrorists have won. If people stop flying (and many people say they will in light of the strip or grope security), the American economy loses, and one of the terrorists' main goals is to shut down the American economy.

Seen against a full body scan or groping at your private parts, is profiling really so invasive?

Labels: don't touch my junk, full body scanner, John Tyner, racial profiling, strip or grope