Change we can believe in! Photo credit: dawwen.us/southcon
I woke up this morning to the sound of an airplane crusing over my head, it’s belly full of gasoline. I could imagine pretty stewardess walking past the little windows. Some order a whisky to calm their nerves. They can look down and see the jails, far from the city, the prisoners laboring outside for private companies, contrasting with the freedom of flying, of going to Cuba (not directly of course). The passengers were all able to pass security as others looked on in quiet desperation. But the number of people able to do this is dwindling.
Time reported the no-fly list at 31,000 back in 2005. What is the figure now? Over 700,000, as of April 2007 (p.67), now growing 20k a month, makes over a million people today, 1 in 300.* How has out government done so many honorable deeds? Well, in March 2008 in the “Audit of the US Department of Justice Terrorist Nomination Process” we learned that
“FBI field offices, at times, bypassed FBI headquarters and submitted nominations directly to the NCTC. This could result in the watchlisting of individuals without an FBI quality review…In addition to watchlist nomination activities, the FBI prepares terrorist-related intelligence reports that it disseminates throughout the intelligence community. Although the FBI did not intend for these reports to be official nominations, the NCTC created watchlist records and sourced them to the FBI…” (p.4).
And do people really believe it “makes the public feel more secure.” Why, because it’s just that much easier to get rid of a pesky member of society? Yeah, I feel secure knowing that I can go to check-in one day and be pulled aside to room 101. I feel secure knowing that the burden of defense can be put on me, as a random surprise as they won’t tell you if you are on such list, to prove I’m NOT a terrorist. And I feel secure knowing their definition of a terrorist is more succinct than ever.
But, you know what I really like? Not being able to buy a gun if I’m on this list, says our friend and former Freddie Mac director, Rahm Emanuel. And he’s right after all, as this is in accordance with Amendment 35 of the Constitution passed November 29th, 1959, the glorious day of Prince Emanuel’s birth: “No citizen of the United States of America shall insult a federal agent, or otherwise voice his or her opinion, hereupon losing his or her right to air travel, free speach, due diligence, all other rights granted to more patriotic citizens. Rahm Emanuel and his successors retain the right to insert any clause here during his reign.”
Start at 1:05 to hear freedom ring:
Welcome to the Obamanation. Fortunately for some of us, there’s still a way out.
*Yet now the mother of all information, Wikipedia, cites CNN as saying it is under 3,000. What are the law makers suddenly opposed to the concentration of power in the hands of federal agents? Does the government want to say that there’s a conspiracy against it to make it seem unwieldy, unjust, and…oh wait.
