The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion. –Edmund Burke

[The American people have been fed numerous lies as of late.  From lying about why the government needs to kill the internet, to the impending doom of an assured terrorist attack.  Many believe them, others do not even really understand what they’ve lost.  Today yet another danger of government involvement in the internet could be seen in China.

Someone who TMW works with just turned 20 and lives in one of the sororities doesn’t understand what’s wrong with the TSA scanning machines or pat downs.  Her comment was, “You get a physical from your doctor, how is the TSA any different.”  She couldn’t seem to understand that government is force, and the fact she had no voice in the matter was a problem.  Government is force, and they will expand that force through deceit and claims of necessity.   Not to mention she couldn’t comprehend it was A Security Theater.

Even more than that though, no one seems to understand these are not their rights to give up, and even more importantly they are not rights that can be removed from others.  Not by law or by force of man can our natural rights, which include the right to be secure in our persons and property, can they be removed from us.  For when we allow these rights to be destroyed, we shall begin our decent into serfdom and slavery.  -TMW]

“The same sort of thing happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany.  Each little infringement it was always just a little bit easier to do what they wanted rather than what they should have done.  It is easier to comply and get through this, this indignity, this infringement, this beating, whatever it was, than to face the consequences of taking the big step.“ –Joe Huffman on BB & Guns.

[This was said while discussing the TSA and their behavior towards law abiding citizens. 

Joe is right,  the problem is most people can not take the risk to fight back.  It is easier to just walk through the line, than to fight back.  When you fight back, you will probably win in the end, but it also will cost you time, money, and possibly even your job.  People comply with the TSA out of fear, and that is terrorism.  The terrorists from overseas have been replaced by people from the government using the claim of necessity.  Now that government is doing all it can to make sure it has a monopoly over airport screenings to continue their reign of terror.  Remember, it will only get worse, and we have seen these tiny encroachments in history before.   -B]

Even with the recent events in Egypt the discussion regarding an internet kill switch is returning to the floor of Congress.

The legislation, which would grant US President Barack Obama powers to seize control of and even shut down the internet, would soon be reintroduced to a senate committee, Wired.com reported.

Why would the government need the power to shutdown the ability to openly exchange information world wide?    The only reason to shutdown the internet is to stifle dissenters, prohibit assembly, and stop communications regarding unlawful acts by the government.  The claims of this necessity because of a possible cyber-emergency are total bull crap.

By far the best line of the article though was this:

Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its powers to quell dissent by shutting down the internet, it would not.

Let me translate that for everyone,  “Sure, some might use it for bad, but come on, you can trust us, we’re cool.”  This from the same government who confiscated weapons from civilians after Katrina.  This from the same government that promised Social Security numbers would not be used as a universal identifier.  It can be very succinctly put, “Sure you can trust the government, just ask an Indian.” Any government will do whatever it can get away with.  When the free exchange of information is prevented, they can get away with most anything.

Governments and leaders that gain power, rarely ever relinquish it or let it go.  This power would have serious detrimental effects, especially since more and more of our information flow is over the internet.  Many get their news from the internet, watch TV over the net, and even run their phone service over the net.  It would shove people into the dark, at which point the government can also control what information people are allowed to see.  Egypt is the shining example of why the government absolutely should NEVER be allowed this power.

This past December the DC Metro announced that it was going to start randomly searching DC Metro riders.

Metro Police Chief Michael Taborn said the coordinated effort with the Transportation Security Administration was not in response to a specific threat but was part of a continuing effort to keep the system safe from explosives. Boston, New York and New Jersey transit officials do similar searches, according to the agency.

Evidently trying to travel to your job at work is grounds to consider you a criminal.  Again the claim of necessity is much like that used for aircraft and these shenanigans even involve A Security Theater.  This has absolutely nothing to do with security, but giving them more control.  The TSA is out of control and it seems some still feel like they need more.

Just when it seemed when it couldn’t get any worse, this new article surfaces.

Richard Sarles said Tuesday that the agency’s random bag-searching policy is here to stay. He defended the searches that he used when running NJ Transit, arguing that they help to disrupt terrorists’ plans.

"It’s not as much about detection as it’s about deterrence," he said in an interview on WTOP radio.

(Emphasis mine.)  They even admit publically that they will probably fail to detect someone attempting to smuggle explosives on.  It’s all about “deterrence”, aka, providing the illusion of security.  This is the second time this idea has been pushed, the first time it was shot down.   The person who pushed it the first time was recently promoted to a higher position.  Given all of that I guess someone really wants to run around saying “Respect my Authoritah!”

H/T to myself, I emailed it to myself and then forgot about it, I discovered it while cleaning up my inbox tonight.

When you see the following regarding someone’s experience with the backscatter X-Ray machine and someone opting out, it should be obvious why they’re doing it.

Or it was, until a male TSA agent walked behind us and hollered: "Hey, I thought she was mine! I was gonna do her!"

And that, buddy, is exactly why I’m opting out instead of standing in the see-through picture machine. Thanks for validating my choice.

Remember, they claim the necessity is for our safety, but given who the TSA hires and comments like this, it’s to get their rocks off.

H/T to Uncle.