The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is a racket. Not simply because it’s an excuse for public sector unions to lobby the government for more money, or because it allows its employees to sexually harass travelers in the name of security, but also because it serves as another arm of the surveillance state.
An investigation by The Boston Globe revealed that TSA’s Quiet Skies surveillance program uses flimsy pretexts to target innocent Americans regularly. And what’s worse, even the president of the Air Marshal Association, John Casaretti, believes the entire program is unjustified.
When it comes to selecting who gets targeted by this surveillance program, the criteria seems “fluid,” The Globe explained.
Do you have strong body odor? Do you touch your face often? How about watching boarding gates from afar? Do you fidget excessively or sweat? If so, you might be on their radar.
Even getting lost, and changing directions or stopping while moving through the airport, or even changing clothes may be enough to raise suspicion.
After a perfectly innocent American makes the Quiet Skies list, then a TSA air marshal is placed on the person’s next flight. Armed with “a file containing a photo and basic information,” the marshal must make notes about the target’s behavior and whether the suspect’s appearance changed.
Has the target gained weight? Does he have a beard?
Any “significant derogatory information” on these suspects is then written down. And if the target travels without any problems a few times, then he is removed from the list.
If this isn’t enough to make us all wonder what in the world is Congress doing that it continues to allow the TSA’s abuse of power, it’s hard to say what would be needed for Americans to finally rebel against this security theater.
Government-Airport Security Is Inefficient, So Why Not Abolish It?
Candidate Donald Trump once called the TSA a “TOTAL DISASTER” but once he moved into the White House, he did nothing but to help expand the agency’s powers.
Since its inception post-9/11, the agency has proven to be a hub of sexual predators, thieves, and incompetent screeners that actually make us less safe. Now, that we know it’s also an arm of the surveillance state, it’s hard to understand how Americans are simply not protesting this nonsense.
Perhaps, the idea that the government has already taken over every aspect of our lives has already become an accepted reality. And fighting it takes more energy than simply letting it take its course. But when will government be satisfied? When it has us all keeping an eye on our neighbors to report any suspicious activity? When it makes criminals of the innocent until proven otherwise? Or when it takes away our humanity to such an extent that we’re no longer able to defend the most vulnerable among us?
It seems to me that the time to be beyond outraged has already come and gone.
