TSA and the Abuse of Government Power
Reading the previous post got me fired up yet again, frustrated at the, to use Q Ball’s parlance, “ineptitude†of government. Notice I said government not our government. Because all any government is, is a group of people. And let me say this, people are stupid, people are careless, people are selfish, people are greedy, people are mean and people are evil. Not all, not most, but enough to make life in any free society very frustrating. And in places where freedom is not protected, life can be downright dangerous. Dangerous unless you are wiling to just keep your mouth shut and do as you are told. Since I said “where freedom is protected†I have to add that most people in this country seem to think that freedom is a natural state that mankind will always move toward. That couldn’t be further from the truth and brings me back to my point. These little inconveniences at the airport, the invasive nature of parts of the Patriot Act, the insistence on a national ID card are all part of an incremental erosion of the protections of personal freedom that one day are going to bite us in the ass. Have you read the Patriot Act? Its not easy. Try reading it and see if you don’t agree that it is very hard to figure out all of that document’s intent, let alone the unintended consequences that may result. There is no doubt that some of the Patriot Act was badly needed legislation. But even a lay person such as I can see there is some onerous stuff in there. Look at the definition of a terrorist in this law. And incidentally, most of these things are not protecting us from terrorists.
“Well,†you say, “ if they are not protecting us from terrorists then why is the government doing this? Are you saying that the government wants to take away our freedoms?†No, I’m saying the government is people and people are stupid. Case in Point. NASA is part of the government, ostensively a particularly smart part of the government. NASA spent years and millions of dollars to build a spacecraft. They launched that spacecraft, flew it all the way to Mars and then crashed it smack into the planet because they screwed up the conversion from English to Metric measurements. They didn’t mean to do it. I’m sure they are very sorry they waisted our time and all that money. Never the less the spacecraft did incinerated in the atmosphere of Mars. Thank God it was just time and money that we lost on that occasion.
We all need to support the war on terror because its real. However, since most of us cant actively participate in this war it is up to us to fight for our way of life and freedoms in another way. We have to stay vigilant and tell our representatives how dissatisfied we are with the TSA, the Border Patrol and every other government agency that has its own self interest at heart instead of those of the American people.
Want to get angry? Read these two articles.
Abuse of Government Power
Faced with the obvious problem of not being able to locate plastic explosives carried on the body, the Transportation Security Authority (TSA) — with its now expected ineptitude — has decided that, usual standards of morality be damned…more
Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona
U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers…more