SHORT COMMUNICATION 222
Flagrant Government Violations
By
Roger Behra
On an interesting radio talk program the legitimacy of airport scanners and the patdowns were seriously discussed. It was very informative. And the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is only a small part of government violations.
At the very beginning it was justly pointed out the scanning and patdown procedures are a direct and gross violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the processes are subject to the whims of the TSA officials doing the scanning and patdown. An example of a TSA official’s whims happened recently. A woman was waved around the scanning machine. The woman asked why she was not scanned. The TSA official said: because you do not have any “boobs”. She was embarrassed and offended, and so was her seventeen-year-son who was standing behind his mother and next in line. The son sternly voiced his opinion about the happening to the TSA official in no uncertain terms.
Along with pointing out whims of TSA officials, it was firmly established during the program there are other very important violations of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution going on that make scanning and patdowns at airports seem quite trivial. And the number one violator is the Federal Bureau of Investigation known as the FBI. Their violations are serious and mostly unknown to most people.
In order for the FBI to legally investigate someone properly, they must follow the letter of the law of the Fourth Amendment, and they do not most of the time. They do not use their whims sparingly, and it is all very unfortunate to say the least. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Any search warrant must be signed by a judge. All the reasons for the warrant must be given to the judge. However, the FBI rampantly uses national security to circumvent the rules. That makes the U.S. Government a sizable violator, and that has become a great concern to many people.
Next time you must adhere to airport security, remember the government is only viewing your naked body or indiscriminately fondling your private parts. The remember that at any given moment the government without a particular reason under the guise of national security can secretly monitor your internet usage, access your bank transactions, scrutinize your medical visits and prescriptions, intercept your phone calls and e-mails, and hire someone to gather information on you. And you cannot do anything about these serious violations. The government always wins. It’s George Orwell’s 1984. The big brother is running amok. It’s a very hard slap in the face to all Americans: the scanners, the FBI, and the U.S. Government that is. That is why WikiLeaks is very important, and the more supports, the better it will be. Americans have to know if and when the U.S. Government neutralizes their rights, violates, and steps all over them indiscriminately.
R. B.
12-25-10