TSA now stands for The Snooping Agency!
By Thom Hartmann A...
In many states around our nation, you don't need a background check to buy a gun. But, if you have travel plans, be prepared for the authorities to do a little digging. The TSA has expanding passenger screenings, and they're checking a wide array of government databases before you even arrive at the airport. In addition to checking for your name on the “No-Fly” list, the Transportation Security Administration may be checking your car registration, past travel itineraries, property records, police records, or even your employment information. And, just to add insult to injury, the TSA may share what they find with “a debt collection agency for the purpose of debt collection.”
Similar programs have been used for some time to evaluate travelers coming in to the United States, but now they'll be used for domestic travel under the guise of identifying “low-risk” travelers for faster screening at the airport. If the TSA determines you fit into that category, you can sail through security with your shoes on, and laptops still in your carry-on. However, if the agency decides you pose any risk, you could be subjected to repeated searches.
And, if you feel you've been incorrectly profiled for the enhanced screenings, you're forced to appeal to the Department of Homeland Security. As of last March, 13,000 people had asked for a review, but civil liberty groups and travelers say that their requests simply disappear into a “black hole.” Somehow, despite Americans protesting government spying, we're being subjected to more of it – not less. Our government is committing an outright assault on our privacy, and Americans are fed up. Our forefathers wrote the Forth Amendment to protect us, and it's about time that our government start respecting it.
Comments
#2
Infringing on my privacy is not what I call a free and open society. It is, in fact step one to tyranny.
#3
A few years back, just after all the hyper-security was implemented at our airports, I turned down a job offer that would have more than doubled my income. The reason: the job would have required me to fly all over the country. The employer couldn't understand that because of the oppressive regulations, I would feel less like a criminal if I were caught robbing Fort Knox or burning down the Library Of Congress. Why freedom loving Americans put up with this s&$t I just don't understand. The last vacation I went on, some 3000 miles, I DROVE. And I loved it!
Our government spies on us, and yet, gets all huffy if we spy on them. Can our government get any screwyer?
#4
I don't know it makes me feel a lot safer. I have nothing to hide. I fly in and out of the US several times a year and have had no problems at all.
#5
#6
Thom you don't know crap about buying guns, the sale of them and state and Fed. law on the subject!
#7
Quote Hartmann:And, just to add insult to injury, the TSA may share what they find with “a debt collection agency for the purpose of debt collection."
Wow! Talk about "mission creep". Well, I guess it takes "creeps" to do "creepy" things! When our government partners with debt collection agencies to strong arm people then you know that they've gone way too far down the road to fascism. They are creeptomaniacs!
DAnneMarc: Thanks for that link. I just watched it. It has more information that I had not previously heard.
#8
Palindromedary ~ You're most welcome. I too found it quite informative. Very unsettling as well.
#9
Stecoop01: I too decided to retire early partly because of the hassles by TSA at airports. I had to do a lot of traveling and I was really getting very sick and tired of the violations of privacy..when they decided to start forcing people to hand over passwords on the lap tops so they could inspect the contents, I said..enough is too much already.
#10
removed link.
#11
Kend: It's not about "nothing to hide". It's about violating people's privacy! If you have nothing to hide then why don't you tell me what all of your bank account numbers and passwords are! See, even you have "something to hide". That's right! It is none of my business what you have in the bank. And it is none of the government's business to know what is in my lap top. If you think so, then you would make a nice little Nazi citizen or a nice little Communist citizen who just bends over for the authorities every whim.
#12
Kend: Julia Davis had nothing to hide and in fact did what was her duty in reporting the July 4th, 2004 incident about those 29 potential terrorists coming across the border. And look what happened to her. Her report to the FBI made Homeland Security look bad and so the gestapo DHS went after her in retribution.
#13
Palindromedary ~ Thom was just talking about how people who are born into poverty don't develop higher brain functioning because of the fight or flight mechanism of the mother being active while carrying the fetus prevents such development. Sorry for the off topic comment; but, your reply to Kend's comment made me think about that. Didn't Kend once say he was born into poverty?
We must abolish poverty!
#14
Lloyd Luterman: It sure would be nice if the US had a network of maglevs. I really enjoyed the network of commuter trains in Europe...Amsterdam..seems it was the best way to get around. Too bad the US takes the back seat (maybe even the trunk) when it comes to it's infrastructure...falling way behind other countries like Japan and China. All we're left with is collapsing bridges and bumpy roads..and trains that derail. Many years ago, I rode on the high speed train from Narita airport to Tokyo. It was quite nice...except for the smokers who polluted the air. I was in Shanghai a number of years ago as well but that was when the Pearl Tower was the tallest building. They were building like crazy at the time and I had problems with the smog..choke, choke, cough, cough...and that was before the maglev. At least the US is not as bad as other countries, except for maybe the LA area, when it comes to smog. But that will likely change if people like the Kochroaches get their way.
#15
DAnneMarc: #14..I don't know about that but it may be true. A woman's body chemistry, while pregnant, might be affected by her psychological condition. I am certainly no authority on that subject. I know that a lot of people who know that their parents had psychological problems believe that they may have inherited some form of psychological condition.
I suppose growing up under the influence of a "crazy" (psychotic?) mom or dad could also cause problems. And then there are the pressures brought to bear on us all from social influences... contradictions between what is taught in the home and social "norms". Not that all social "norms" are right. There is a lot of craziness there as well. Lots of contradictions. And that varies with the particular society (like various countries) where one is brought up.
People who grow up in a poverty situation may have a strong desire and compulsion to work hard for a better life. And those people may also develop a disdain for those who don't also work hard to "better" themselves.
Problem is that we can't all be as lucky as the few who do make it. A certain amount of luck and being at the right place at the right time and being lucky enough to make the right decisions can always make a difference. Some people, no matter how hard they work, will never "make it". And they will always be looked down upon by those who not only worked hard but who also were lucky.
#16
DAnneMarc: Although I would think that being brought up in a fight or flight situation would foster more intelligent people. As in order to survive, they would need to develop a cunning that would only come from developing a higher intelligence.
It seems to me that the best students, in the US anyway, are often Japanese..or Chinese. And perhaps the dumbest students are the ones who think that everything will be just handed to them on a platter...by watching too many commercials. It's a trap, of course, which will only keep the cattle from rising up to their full potential and continue heading down that chute to the slaughter.
#17
Quote Palindromedary:I suppose growing up under the influence of a "crazy" (psychotic?) mom or dad could also cause problems. And then there are the pressures brought to bear on us all from social influences... contradictions between what is taught in the home and social "norms". Not that all social "norms" are right. There is a lot of craziness there as well. Lots of contradictions. And that varies with the particular society (like various countries) where one is brought up.
Palindromedary ~ What you refer to as contradictions I believe is described in classic sociology as role conflict. As you know, everyone assumes many different roles in life. We begin as a child, a student, a friend, a brother or sister, a son or daughter, an employee, a boss, and so on and so on. We describe role conflicts by many cute names like the gender gap, or the generation gap, rebellious teenagers, or the war of the sexes. What the real problem is related to is the Gesellschaft social structure and the mores and norms that it demands out of its members.
You mentioned the Chinese as being smarter. If you got to know some smart Chinese people--and I'm sure you have--you probably noticed that they relate rather well with the mores and norms of their parents, teachers, and peers. I'm not talking about Chinese Americans, unless they are fresh immigrants. I'm talking about Chinese still embedded with the Chinese culture and family structure. I'm not sure yet whether or not their intelligence is purely genetic or has anything to do with culture. The only way to determine that is to watch the third generation of Chinese immigrants and follow their tenure as student. The truth proudly will present itself.
As far as the impact of a mother's state of mind on her fetus, I'm sure it takes some toll; however, like you, I'm not too sure how much I would ascribe to that influence compared to upbringing. Some children from poor--even broken--homes do well for themselves and seem quite stable. Others, from well off homes become metal train wrecks. In the case of the human being there are so many psycho-sociological, environmental, and genetic factors involved I don't think it would be very reasonable to lay blame for any adult condition on any one factor. If you were to expand the realm of the mind to include a spirit, you really make the task impossibly complicated to analyze.
In conclusion I can only offer this advice I received from my father. "Why rush decadence?" Why allow a preventable negative factor to exist in the first place. Personally, I believe if people have to take a test and receive a license to drive a car, they should have to go though some kind of a vetting process before having children. You have to prove you are stable and have a good home to adopt, don't you? Why allow natural birth to be any different. Right to lifers argue a fetus has a right to life. I wouldn't go that far, however, I would argue that a baby has a right to a stable environment. We, as a society, have the responsibility to ensure that right for newborns. It seems to me to be the naturally responsible thing to do. I believe that we as a society are letting the next generation down from the moment of birth. We the People could do such a better job for the next generation.
#18
ouch DAnne that might have hurt if it wasn't so cleaver. Good job
i do like Palin's statement that I made me more intelligent though.
#19
Quote Kend:uch DAnne that might have hurt if it wasn't so cleaver. Good jobi do like Palin's statement that I made me more intelligent though.
Kend ~ Yes, Kend. You are right! Palindromedary made an excellent argument that made you more intelligent. And I must admit, every day, and in every way, you are providing conclusive evidence to prove his theory.
#20
I believe there is privacy and then there is protection....Unfortunately they often can infringe upon one another when we live in a diverse society. I'm willing to sacrife some privacy ( of course I have nothing to hide) for the peotection I believe we will get as a society! I would be much more scared to know your privacy laws protect individuals vs the greater good.
#21
Quote Mored:I'm willing to sacrife some privacy ( of course I have nothing to hide) for the peotection I believe we will get as a society! I would be much more scared to know your privacy laws protect individuals vs the greater good.
But what is "the greater good"?
In Muslim countries, like Saudi Arabia, "the greater good" is understood to mean that everyone (except for the expatriots, of course) is Muslim and that they have to abide by Sharia law. In many Muslim countries, they believe that female mutilation keeps girls chaste until marriage...which is often much younger than is accepted most other places.
Gangs find a certain amount of "protection" against other gangs by "belonging" and adhering to their code of conduct.
The old Soviet Union gave a certain amount of "protection" as long as you abided by all of their laws.
That is usually the case no matter where you are. If you knuckled under to the state, obeyed all the laws, then you usually had very little to worry about. You were protected. Same thing for Pre-WWII Nazi Germany. If you didn't make waves and kept your nose clean, you were protected..unless you were Jewish.
I don't know of anyone who now believes that it was more moral to have knuckled under to the ruling elite anywhere else, or at any other time, except for some.. right now.. in the US.
Do you feel safer because you feel you are being protected from outside forces..terrorists...or from our inside forces...the corrupt ruling elite and their corrupt government? Would you feel just as safe if you knew that 9/11 was an inside job? Do you feel safe when you hear that people like Julia Davis was treated as a terrorist because she did her civic duty and alerted the FBI about those 29 potential terrorists that slipped through because Homeland Security Intel was celebrating Independence day despite the heightened alerts for that day?
That "giving up a little bit of privacy for security" argument is just the thing that allows the NSA and all the others, including their corporate "security" partners to do way more than violate just a little bit of our privacy. It is a whole lot of our privacy they are violating. And that is just the foot in the door that you will never be able to close once it is open and they force their way in.
You can never be sure what kind of government will happen in the future and when they have the tools, even more so than say..Hitler had the IBM tabulating machines that facilitated rounding up the Jews for the death camps...then people will wish that they did not give up their privacy so easily.
Trusting in the government with your privacy is like digging your own graves. With the way things have been going...how can anyone think that they are being protected by giving up their privacy?
#22
DAnneMarc: You have way more knowledge than I do about psychology as I've never studied it. I should probably also have included the Jews along with the Japanese and Chinese. I've read that they tend to consistently excel in studies.
"Why rush decadence?" But all the commercials on TV and in the Movies, and everywhere else says that decadence is good! Ummm! Decadent chocolate cake!
#23
Will we see a massive power outage sometime in the near future?
It looks like the SCADA controlled power grid in the US is remotely hackable. "Remotely" meaning that someone could gain access to one remote plant that is not normally manned and easily broken in to and connect to the SCADA system to mess with a large number of other nodes. "...vulnerabilities in the communication protocol used by power and water utilities to remotely monitor control stations around the country. Using those vulnerabilities, an attacker at a single, unmanned power substation could inflict a widespread power outage."
" In the case of one vendor, Mr. Crain found that he could actually infiltrate a power station’s control center from afar. An attacker could use that capability to insert malware to take over the system, and like Stuxnet, the computer worm that took out 20 percent of Iran’s centrifuges, inflict actual physical harm.
“This is low-hanging fruit,” said Mr. Crain. “It doesn’t require some kind of hacker mastermind to understand the protocol and do this.”
What makes the vulnerabilities particularly troubling, experts say, is that traditional firewalls are ill-equipped to stop them. “When the master crashes it can no longer monitor or control any and all of the substations,” said Dale Peterson, a former N.S.A. employee who founded Digital Bond, a security firm that focuses on infrastructure. “There is no way to stop this with a firewall and other perimeter security device today. You have to let DNP3 responses through.”
http://cryptome.org/2013/10/electrical-grid-stuxnet.htm
Stuxnet: Blowback is a b1tch! What Comes around...Goes around!
#24
And yet another spy agency? Is there no end to the violations of our rights to privacy?
#25
Arky, apparently not. I'm with "stecoop"; I'm done with flyng.
It would certainly support Palin's belief that 9-11 was an inside job of some sort, how airport security fascism keeps getting more invasive, because 9-11 was the initial "excuse" for it. How convenient, eh? I remember shortly after 9-11, at one of my mom's dinner parties, offending her liberal friends when I remarked that 9-11 was the best day in "President" Bush's career. Why? Because it was the perfect "excuse" for him to start the war in Iraq, along with this fascist little trend at airports! And it's gotten so much worse. Reminds me of that metaphor about the frog sitting in the water; the water keeps heating up gradually until the frog boils to death. We are the frogs. "Rivet! Rivet!" - AIW
#26
Quote Palindromedary:"Why rush decadence?" But all the commercials on TV and in the Movies, and everywhere else says that decadence is good! Ummm! Decadent chocolate cake!
Palindromedary ~ My father--much like myself--was a very unique person. He spent little time watching commercial TV. He'd watch the news when he got home and then something on PBS, listen to the radio, or read. He never got into the commercial culture at all. What he meant by "Why rush decadence," was referring to deterioration. He mostly meant it as advice to others about not rushing the aging process. He would say it to smokers, drinkers, and anyone living precariously. His other favorite saying was, "Don't burn the candle at both ends." He lived an example of that philosophy till his death at the ripe old age of 90. He was a tough act to follow. Nevertheless, his advice had that certain universal wisdom that enabled it to be easily applied to almost anything.
As far as our police state and all the sycophants that approve of it are concerned, I can only remind you of the famous experiments by Stanley Milgram at Yale and Philip Zimbardo at Stanford to determine the extent of willingness by the general public to obey authority. The results as you may recall were quite disturbing. Remember, the subjects in these experiments were highly educated, young college students in a time in history only a few decades after WWII. They all grew up learning a biased rendition of what the horrible Nazi's did. They all were freshly familiar with history when the experiments took place. The results? The vast majority obeyed authority up to the point of killing an innocent man.
Fast forward 40 years. You are correctly trying to appeal to the minds of older, uneducated, and unaffected subjects of that same experiment. Personally, I think these two won't change their minds even after the storm troopers break down their doors and haul them and their families off to internment camps. They will just conclude, "Oh, no! You're making a terrible mistake. I've done nothing wrong. I am loyal to the Homeland!" Of course, that is what everyone else in the camps would have said too when they were hauled off. It didn't do them any good either. Why? Because loyalty means nothing. It's a Red Herring used to control. What they really want is your money, your house, and you to stop using their resources. They want you dead. They are the ultimate parasites and you are the ultimate carrion. Nothing more, nothing less. The only thing they want to protect you from is the truth.
I agree it is a worthy and necessary cause to try to reason with people like Kend and Mored. Who knows, maybe they will wake up. It doesn't hurt to try; and, to not try is to give up; and, that can hurt. After all, no where in Milgram's or Zimbardo's experiments was there a fourth factor present. Someone in the room yelling sound advice to the subject. In all cases they were left alone to think through the situation on their own. I've often wondered what would have happened if there was another person present yelling, "Wait! What the hell are you doing? You're going to kill that man! Don't push that button again! That idiot in the lab coat with the name tag and the clipboard is insane! Don't listen to him!" I'd be willing to bet that if that factor was introduced into the experiments the results would have been quite different. Keep up the good fight buddy.
#27
Quote Aliceinwonderland:Reminds me of that metaphor about the frog sitting in the water; the water keeps heating up gradually until the frog boils to death. We are the frogs. "Rivet! Rivet!" - AIW
Aliceinwonderland ~ I thought we were in a jacuzzi! Darn! This spa sucks!
#28
Quote Aliceinwonderland: I remember shortly after 9-11, at one of my mom's dinner parties, offending her liberal friends when I remarked that 9-11 was the best day in "President" Bush's career. Why? Because it was the perfect "excuse" for him to start the war in Iraq, along with this fascist little trend at airports! And it's gotten so much worse.I believe, of course, that you were very correct.
I also had "liberal" friends who, during those years and quite possibly even still, would have been offended by suggesting that 9/11 was an inside job. Go figure! Liberals being suckered in by right wing conservatives so badly that they actually, of course unwittingly, backed the right wing treasonous death regime that ushered in the demise of our freedoms and liberties. They'd rather believe it all was done by those bad, evil bogeymen Muslims who couldn't even fly little airplanes let alone hijack and accurately target, at high speeds, the WTC buildings and the Pentagon*....all masterminded by an unkempt, hirsuted, troglodyte living in a cave in Afghanistan. The masses are always fooled by these false flag operations...at least sufficiently enough for the culprits to get away with their atrocities. And the amazing thing is that even liberals suffering from a right wing twerp like Bush fell for it!
-----------
*Even experienced airliner pilots exclaimed that even they would have had a very hard time doing that tight descending, circular maneuver then hitting the Pentagon. Just think of how hard it would have been to have made such a high speed, tight circular, descending maneuver and manage to not either fly over or hit the ground instead of hitting the pentagon. How in the world could an inexperienced pilot do the calculations and accurately control such a huge airliner like that?
There are just way too many anomalies and even glaring non sequiturs of what happened to believe that 9/11 was not an inside job.
#29
Quote DAnneMarc:What he meant by "Why rush decadence," was referring to deterioration. He mostly meant it as advice to others about not rushing the aging process. He would say it to smokers, drinkers, and anyone living precariously. His other favorite saying was, "Don't burn the candle at both ends." He lived an example of that philosophy till his death at the ripe old age of 90. He was a tough act to follow. Nevertheless, his advice had that certain universal wisdom that enabled it to be easily applied to almost anything.That sure sounds like very good advice. There never ceases to be good wisdom in a "Polonius to Laertes"...father to son...advice.
Wow! 90 years old...I certainly hope that I live at least that long..unless I am suffering some malaise that would make life torturous...mentally or physically. I don't know how torturous it would be if we were living in the kind of world that looks to be upcoming..a world where we were all totally without liberty and freedom...where not only our freedom of speech were squelched but even our very thoughts were monitored.
Putting our thoughts on the internet and other social media so readily makes it easy for others, especially government and scammers (not necessarily mutually exclusive), to monitor our thoughts. And we do it so willingly. But there may come a point where we will all be sorry for having done it. I guess it is possible to be decadent in expression on-line as well. Data miners know all and see all. Privacy is dead!
I'm wondering just how long it will be before the moral police will act as informers to wives..or vice versa..to husbands about their partners' on-line browsing habits...to their exact location at every instance of time and personal conversations and surveillance videos (via On-Star, GPSes, Cell Phones, bugs and pin hole cameras built into dish washers, refrigerators, and bedroom TVs). The coming theocratic government in the US will have their versions of Muslim Matawa (moral police) to keep people's morals in order or suffer the consequences of the state...and the irate partner. They will be able to monitor people's thought waves and go way beyond the current day fallible lie detectors. They can monitor brain waves and hold up pictures that will stimulate certain brain wave patterns that will indicate how someone feels about that picture. Today's lie detectors can easily be fooled but these new tools can't be fooled. The ones with all the oppressive spy tools will have all the power and will continue to be decadent as hell but they will hypocritically use their powers to oppress everyone else.
As Hartmann already pointed out...the government is misusing it's spy powers to turn over information to collection agencies ...so it is not very far fetched to believe that they will also attempt to blackmail people who speak out against them. And, like the oppressive governments of China, and others, the US also censors the internet to some extent. The US Matawa moral police are watch us all. The US government is just as much of an oppressive hypocrite as any other oppressive government...just a matter of degree.
#30
Quote Palindromedary:Wow! 90 years old...I certainly hope that I live at least that long..unless I am suffering some malaise that would make life torturous...mentally or physically.
Palindromedary ~ You raise a good point. My father was a very tough man; but, I think he had a fear of hospitals and Doctors. He only sought them out when issues got out of hand; and, never sought to resolve any problems despite having the insurance coverage. He lived with a hernia for 10 years. He refused hip replacement and instead hobbled around on canes and with a walker in pain for 15 years. He refused to see a dentist for over 30 years. Fortunately, he was blessed with overall very good general health most of his life. However, his 70's and 80's were full of a lot of preventable discomfort, disability, and pain.
My advice to you is to maintain yourself. If any problem arises, no matter how trivial, seek help and take care of it. Resist the urge to put off anything. It is so much easier to repair one problem at a time when you are younger then to let them accumulate in old age. Of course, no matter what one advices, we are all going to do what we want to do. In the end, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
#31
Palindromedary says "Putting our thoughts on the internet and other social media so readily makes it easy for others, especially government and scammers (not necessarily mutually exclusive), to monitor our thoughts. And we do it so willingly. But there may come a point where we will all be sorry for having done it." And that, my friend, is a gamble I am willing to take. I'd rather go down as a free spirit than live the life of an obedient no-count serf. I refuse to let those little fascists silence me. - Alice I.W.
#32
Quote Aliceinwonderland:And that, my friend, is a gamble I am willing to take. I'd rather go down as a free spirit than live the life of an obedient no-count serf. Irefuse to let those little fascists silence me. - Alice I.W.
Aliceinwonderland ~ I second that one! Fascism is a horrendous crime that is only outdone by the crime committed by the citizens that allow it to occur with closed eyes and a shut mouth.
#33
Of course Kend, this is a right wing tyranny (most tyrannies are) so they like you. It's just the environmentalists, peace activists and labor organizers who are on the no fly list.
And don't say Obama's presidency is leftist in some way. The no fly list was started by Bush but Obama's just a softer line of the same thing. He's hardly leftist.
You feel "safer" because you're less likely to meet a lefty on the plane who might burst your bubble.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann seeks out interesting subjects from such disparate outposts of curiosity that you have to wonder whether or not he uncovered them or they selected him."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Through compelling personal stories, Hartmann presents a dramatic and deeply disturbing picture of humans as a profoundly troubled species. Hope lies in his inspiring vision of our enormous unrealized potential and his description of the path to its realization."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"With the ever-growing influence of corporate CEOs and their right-wing allies in all aspects of American life, Hartmann’s work is more relevant than ever. Throughout his career, Hartmann has spoken compellingly about the value of people-centered democracy and the challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face today as a result of a dogma dedicated to putting profit above all else. This collection is a rousing call for Americans to work together and put people first again."
You could be subject to repeated illegal searches at the mere suspicion of an agent? 13,000 people have been harassed to the point of lodging official complaints?
Where were these over glorified attack dogs when Julia Davis registered a legitimate complaint with the DHS and the FBI and got persecuted to the full extent of fascism for it? I want my Constitution back!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LL9Jnos-GA