Classical Values :: How long will I be allowed the safety of my own car?

November 24, 2010

How long will I be allowed the safety of my own car?

In a recent post in which I quoted a sour proposal of taking Amtrak as an alternative to flying, I asked a cynical rhetorical question:

Take Amtrak? How long do you think it will be before the mindless, unelected, nameless "they" who run our lives do the same thing with Amtrak and every other public conveyance?

How long?

It took Janet Napolitano only two days to admit what is obviously "their" plan for us:

Next step for body scanners could be trains, boats, metro

The next step in tightened security could be on U.S. public transportation, trains and boats.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says terrorists will continue to look for U.S. vulnerabilities, making tighter security standards necessary.

I hate public transportation, and fortunately for me, I do not have to take it anywhere.

Will they please leave me alone in my car? Or is that a rhetorical question too? After all, not only can terrorists drive cars and trucks, but a lot of damage can be done by a terrorist with a car bomb. Would it be paranoid of me to worry that the unelected bastards who have taken over this once-free country might decide to implement routine anti-terrorist roadblocks? You know, pull over drivers and strip search them too? I mean, don't we all want to be safe? And while our brave "security professionals" are at it, shouldn't they also do saliva testing for drugs?

It's a small price to pay if we all are to be safe!

And why should drivers be getting away with avoiding what all the rest of us have to put up daily? Besides, aren't they polluting more and hurting the environment? Shouldn't that come with a price? So wouldn't making the roadblock a "routine part of American life" be a very small price to pay?

Libertarians who talk about freedom simply are not living in the real world.

No we aren't.

I'm reminded of those fence posts again:

People will not know they are encircled until it is too late - like putting in all these very deep, robust fence-posts with no fence panels. All seems open. One day you will wake up and the panels are in, you are trapped and they can decide what law they wish to impose to nail whomsoever they desire.

When "terror safety" becomes more terrifying than the terrorism it's supposed to combat, what's safe about it?

After all, we don't want to fear the government more than we fear the terrorists, do we?

posted by Eric on 11.24.10 at 09:50 AM

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Comments

"Will they please leave me alone in my car?"

I assume that's a rhetorical question?

If not, the answer is no. You've seen this, right? Why would we suppose they'll stop there? The best we can hope is to nip this in the bud, but they'll keep coming...

Tom · November 24, 2010 12:59 PM

Remember implied consent? "You have the right to travel but driving is a privilege; therefore you imply your consent to DUI testing and so forth when you get a license." Well, this is TSA and HS taking it to the next notch: now flying is no longer a travel option, it's a 'privilege' for which you 'consent' to your 4th Amendment rights- among others- being trashed.

As to Amtrack, they've had lots of the airline-type "You may not have" rules for a long time, and are even worse about firearms; wouldn't even allow them to be shipped as checked baggage until forced, and then have delayed as long as possible:
The Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010, enacted into law on December 16, 2009, requires Amtrak to implement the procedures necessary to provide storage and carriage of firearms in checked baggage cars and at Amtrak stations that accept checked baggage, within one year of the bill’s enactment. This requirement applies solely to checked baggage, not carry-on baggage.

Amtrak’s current policy prohibits all firearms, ammunition and other weapons aboard its trains. This includes any being carried on the person, in carry-on baggage or in checked baggage. Please be advised that this policy remains in effect until Amtrak begins firearms carriage in checked baggage on December 15, 2010; starting on this date all passengers wishing to check firearms or ammunition will be required to follow the Firearms Policy.
So they've delayed a year on this; any bets as to whether they'll try to delay it further? Or make it even more of a pain than shipping one on an airplane?

Firehand · November 24, 2010 03:23 PM

After that, they'll scan you while you're walking.

Joseph Hertzlinger · November 24, 2010 11:28 PM

There are "backscatter" vans now being used to search for drugs and other devices on the streets in some locales As soon as there are more produced I am sure that they will prowl the interstates.

gb · November 26, 2010 09:38 AM