Who are the Terrorists Again?

I'm going to keep this simple:  It's payback for the elections.

It has nothing to do with new intelligence or new attempts.  It has nothing to do with keeping us safer, or even maintaining a perception of safety.  Violating the rights of life-long, law abiding, tax paying Americans has never, and will never, keep anyone safe!

This month, the American people voted for less government and more freedom.  It's no longer a "shot across the bow" with Tea Party rallies and conservative talk radio--it's real.

The TSA is the easiest way for this government to strike back and cover it in the name of "security."  It is the only point in our lives where government can literally go "hands on" without meeting a test for probable cause or being accountable via checks and balances.  No one is watching the TSA/DHS and thus they operate with impunity.

They argue our Fourth Amendment rights must be surrendered for the privilege of flying.  I find that to be an interesting precedent.  Just about anything we do outside of our homes could be considered a privilege.  Privileges our government will allow us to enjoy if we submit to their rules according to their values--which approval ratings indicate are not that of the People.  For example, most folks are fine with baggage screening and metal detectors.  We're fine with being "wanded."  We're not fine with our government seeing under our clothing or sexually assaulting us.  The elites knew they would be crossing this line and did it anyway!

I believe the goal here isn't just basic revenge, but an attempt to inflame and dehumanize.  We know from history that all tyrants try to dehumanize their subjects--when the human spirit is broken there is often little resistance.  The government wants us to know that they have the power to view us naked or put their hands on us and our loved ones.

If you have any doubt of this, consider the recent Gitmo conviction.  The government has bent over backwards to extend Constitutional protections and due process to individuals who were never intended to receive those rights and protections.  These are foreign national terrorists who have committed horrendous deeds on foreign soil.  Yet they are afforded due process even when the outcome of that process makes us less safe.

Meanwhile, Americans are stripped of their rights and treated like criminals.  Our crime wasn't trying to board an aircraft, it was voting for the "wrong" party in 2010.