Nice to show up in a piece by the Cato Institute.

The mention shows up around minute 14:00.

Thanks again, Penn!

Thanks, Andy!

“The right to travel enables the free exercise of the other rights we most cherish. We should not have to check our constitutional freedoms at the curb simply because we decide to leave the house. Sadly, freedom of movement has been one of the most disparaged rights throughout human history, and our country is no exception. If we are ever to be truly free, then we must possess an absolute, uninhibited right to travel throughout America and the world free from interference by government.” – Judge Andrew Napolitano

The TSA is a worthless and pointless bit of theater sponsored by the U.S. Government. Government theater is the worst kind of theater.

Let’s get rid of it. Send a letter to your reps via Downsize DC.

Read about what they’re doing to fight the good fight here: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/tsa/

But come on now…

If George Bush had done this people would have had kittens.

Don’t you think we ought to be getting rid of an administration that thinks it can do anything it wants to its citizens?

From the article:

The government is arguing that people do not have a right to privacy while traveling on public roads. Police are allowed to physically follow people and even dig through their trash without a warrant, and the Obama administration says that the GPS technology amounts to the same surveillance method.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/police-able-put-gps-trackers-cars-without-warrant-204027866.html

Or how about hanging our heads in shame. That’s the day that citizens and politicians went bonkers and passed laws limiting the freedom of citizens in the name of security. A concept that the founders of this country were opposed to.

The fine folks at Downsize DC are pushing for the repeal of the USA PATRIOT ACT.

It doesn’t matter that it’s wildly unconstitutional. It doesn’t matter that it was passed in haste with no one actually reading the thing.

What matters is that it’s wrong. Plain and simple. Allowing a government to spy on its citizens is wrong. Incarceration without a trial is wrong. Right? Right.

I urge you to visit them.

http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/4-reasons-to-repeal-the-patriot-act

Here’s my letter to my reps:

Subject: Repeal the Patriot Act

I want the Patriot Act repealed.

I know that everyone was all fired up to “do something” after the World Trade Center was destroyed by religious people, but now we all know that the USA PATRIOT ACT was a very bad idea.

The beautiful thing about laws in a free country like ours is that they can be repealed! Right? Right!

Here’s your chance to make history and do something good.

Trash it. Throw it away and don’t look back. The rights that have been violated in the name of “security” over the last ten years beg you. (figuratively, of course… i’m not a complete nut!)

I dare you to do the right thing. C’mon. Come on!

Mr. dean eikleberry
xxxx x xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx
burbank, CA 91505

The campaign used to send this message can be found here: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/repeal-the-patriot-act/

I dare you to do the right thing.

Man, when I was sent back through the metal detector 4 times, it really got all the agents attention and I finally said, “Oh yeah! My metallic Bill Of Rights!” And pulled it out and handed it to the guy, he said “This needs to go through the X-Ray.” So I walked over and, dropped it on the belt and the agents all started looking it over while I was being patted down.

http://nomadlaw.com/2010/04/i-am-detained-by-feds-for-not-answering-questions/

I was detained last night by federal authorities at San Francisco International Airport for refusing to answer questions about why I had travelled outside the United States.

The end result is that, after waiting for about half an hour and refusing to answer further questions, I was released – because U.S. citizens who have produced proof of citizenship and a written customs declaration are not obligated to answer questions.

* * *

“Why were you in China?” asked the passport control officer, a woman with the appearance and disposition of a prison matron.

“None of your business,” I said.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“I’m not going to be interrogated as a pre-condition of re-entering my own country,” I said.

This did not go over well. She asked a series of questions, such as how long I had been in China, whether I was there on personal business or commercial business, etc. I stood silently. She said that her questions were mandated by Congress and that I should complain to Congress instead of refusing to cooperate with her.

… read the rest here!

There is also a wonderful list of replies to the folks calling him a… wait for it… DOUCHEBAG for refusing to answer some questions.

http://nomadlaw.com/2010/09/10-brief-responses-700-comments-about-refusing-answer-questions-at-passport-control/#comment-21860

http://myfellowamerican.us/ wants you to understand that they are just as American as any other nutty group of people who believe weird stuff.

After the WTC attacks, there were people who thought that EVERYONE who subscribes to this particular group of wackadoodles were responsible for listening to their all-powerful being in the sky and flying the planes into the buildings.

That’s like saying all atheists are as awesome as Christopher Hitchens or all Catholics are pederasts.

Don’t make that mistake. There are a few Catholics who aren’t.

http://gizmodo.com/5809441/security-checkpoint-of-the-future-could-mean-youll-get-groped-a-lot-less

The first is that the method of personal invasion is getting less intrusive and more “efficient”.

The second is the game of “If I were a terrorist” that is being played in the comments.

The game “If I were a terrorist” is an impossible game to play. It’s pointless and silly. Mainly it’s a game that the people who want to take away our freedoms want us to play. Don’t play it.

The game to play is “If I had the right to be secure in my person, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, and no Warrants issued, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized, what would that be like?”