Mother Found Guilty After Protesting TSA Pat-down of Daughter 652
Penurious Penguin writes "In 2011, en route to Baltimore, Tennessee mother Andrea Abbott was arrested after squabbling with the TSA over their pat-down and "naked" body-scan process. Initially Abbott had protested a pat-down of her 14 year-old daughter, though eventually backed off. When her own turn came, she refused both a pat-down and body-scan. This week, despite having no criminal record, Abbott was found guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced to one year of probation. A surveillance video of the affair shows what appears an agitated Abbott surrounded by various TSA agents, but seemingly contradicts the premise by which she was convicted. In the case against Abbott it was claimed that her behavior impeded the flow security-lines and lawful activity. Beyond Abbott's confession of issuing some verbal abuse, the video does not appear to display a significant blockage of traffic nor anything noticeably criminal."
Re:Guilty of not doing as she was told. (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:If billionaires were decent people... (Score:5, Informative)
...one of them would jump right up to fund fighting her case all the way to the Supreme Court. What the hell, lunch money.
But they won't of course, because you can't be a decent person and be a billionaire.
If you wait for the rich to step up and save you from the powerful, you're going to be waiting a long time.
There are other entities, though, that while ostracized for being 'Left', 'Socialist', etc. are actually willing to stand up for people's rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Human_rights_organizations_based_in_the_United_States [wikipedia.org]
Re:Romney & Obama - Do they support pat down? (Score:3, Informative)
Where do you think rice comes from?
Re:What is sad here (Score:5, Informative)
Bruce Schneier will point out that there have been several attempts since, all of them stopped effectively - and all stopped by security that was already there BEFORE 9/11.
In fact the TSA has made no difference to security and the attempts since then would not have been caught by them.
Only two changes since 9/11 has actually IMPACTED on security.
1) Passengers changed their mindset from "do as we're told" to "fight back" - because the terrorists were no longer going to let you live if you obeyed.
2) They reinforced the cockpit doors (one could argue THAT should have been done in the FIRST place).
Re:What is sad here (Score:4, Informative)
we were just killing innocent civilians and calling them terrorists to justify out mass murder
Relevent to this: The US military defines "militant" as any male person in any country of the Middle East except Israel between the ages 13-50. Consider that the next time you hear a news report that says that "4 militants and 6 civilians" were killed: That could well be a random extended family meeting up for Eid, not a terrorist cell.
Re:Not criminal? (Score:5, Informative)
No fuckhead, this is not a police state. Having worked wtih US LE, the US is not a police state, even int he worst of cases. The reason not to go to the US is the buggered up customs process, which takes 4 hours.
Yes it is a police state. And you want to know why ? Because organizations like the TSA have no, zero, zip, nada accountability. They can damn well do whatever they want, and the courts have approved them.
Take away your freedom to fly, to travel by train, by car etc... and sooner or later you'll find yourself in a prison. You're free to walk to your 60 mile distant workplace. You're free to walk to your mother's anniversary 1000 miles away on the other side of the country etc... The Soviets would have been proud of such a poiicy to restrict freedom without giving the illusion of taking freedom away.
Police can do whatever the fuck they want and they have zero accoutability. The goverment through its "national security letters" can do whatever it wants and it has zero accountability. The government can incarcerate you for indefinite times (and fuck the whole due process thing) and torture you and you have no recourse.
The government can accuse of anything preseting "secret" evidence (my my how the Soviets would have been proud) without disclosing it during the court proceedings.
Do you see a pattern emerging here dear citizen ? Arbitrariness, you are at the mercy of a machine that acts arbitrarily and has no accountability. All that talk about checks and balances in the government is shit. And the proof is right before your eyes.
So yes, the reason to never go to the US is because it has become in all but name a police state.
Re:What is sad here (Score:2, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_hijackings [wikipedia.org]
We might just be disagreeing on minuscule vs. low. I can understand being opposed to the increased security measures, I am. That being said, I also agree with Andrea Abbott being guilty of disorderly conduct.
Hate the TSA? Want your freedom back? (Score:2, Informative)
Good for you, neither did I. Even though he has about as much chance of winning this election, please consider taking the time to come to the aid of our (f)ailing democracy, and vote for Gary Johnson. The more people who vote for him this time around, the more likely the Demopublicans will have a harder time next election pretending (as they did in this one,) that no other parties or candidates exist.
It's not about sending a message to Obamney, or his party owners, they already know they're wrong. It's about sending a message to your fellow Americans who are nauseated at the thought of having to vote either for Obama, or for Romney, that it is NOT, I REPEAT, N O T a waste of time or effort to get together and vote for someone who IS on the ballot, but who isn't the nominee of the DemocRats or the Rapublicans.
Incidentally, I think Johnson wants to limit the TSA to checking out "high risk individuals only" and wants to legalize marijuana, and regulate it like alcohol and tobacco, either of these alone is enough reason to vote Gary Johnson, in 2012, but you get, as a free bonus, that he's not in the pocket of, or under the control of the D/R NC. Note, I'm not talking "medical" marijuana, I mean 'go down to the drug store, and pick me up a dime bag!'
Johnson believes in personal freedom and responsibility, and accountability.
Obama and Romney believe in keeping you scared shitless so you'll knuckle under and do what they tell you. Consider that as you get ready to cast your ballots.
Re:I wish (Score:3, Informative)
I thought I read that the extra radiation from being at airplane altitudes for an entire flight dwarfs the radiation from the scanner.
Assuming they are working correctly, which nobody will let anyone check.
They also make passive scanners that only use your body's natural radiation.
"They" didn't pay Chertoff, so "their" scanners aren't the ones used in airports.
Re:If only Obama got into office he'd fix this all (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Not criminal? (Score:5, Informative)
And you didn't even mention the most egregious police state set up: constitution-free zones manned by ICE and various other border agencies. California, for example, has nearly 100% of its population living there. Other states have 100% of the entire state covered by it. Fun times: http://www.aclu.org/constitution-free-zone-map [aclu.org]