Chimpy puts opponents on TSA's "No-Fly" List- -are YOU on it?

[npincus]

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_8045.shtml

I suppose this is old news, but here's a reminder as Chimpy's other gargantuan abuses of power hog the spotlight, that appox. 80,000 Americans are on the TSA's no-fly list, many for no apparent reason other than vocalizing their opposition to B*sh and his policies. Including Doug Thompson of Capitol Hill Blue, who routinely lambastes the criminal Bush regime in his column. So the president who we are supposed to trust to eavesdrop on the telephone calls of our 'enemies' is the same one who places innocent American 'enemies' on the TSA's 'no-fly' list. Clinton would never have gotten away with that shit- the man couldn't even get a blowjob in peace.

So, how many of us will be surprised the next time we try to board a plane? Will our Google / Yahoo searches yield fruit for this admin. to punish us that way?

Most people don’t learn they are on the list until they get to the airport and attempt to get a boarding pass. I’m lucky. A longtime friend who works for an airline tipped me several months ago that I’m on the list. So I don't even bother trying to fly.

<snip>

The TSA won’t tell anyone why they are on the no-fly list. That, they claim, is “classified.” Yet the list seems to carry a lot of names of people whose only crime is being critical of the Bush administration or the Iraq war. People like Democratic senators or congressmen or James Moore, co-author of Bush’s Brain, the best-selling book about Bush and Karl Rove.

Moore found out he was on the list when he tried to board a flight a year ago. He hasn’t’ been allowed to fly since. When he tried to find out how he got on the list, he was told that information wasn’t available to him.

“I have been on the No Fly Watch List for a year,” Moore says. “I will never be told the official reason. No one ever is. You cannot sue to get the information. Nothing I have done has moved me any closer to getting off the list. There were 35,000 Americans in that database last year. According to a European government that screens hundreds of thousands of American travelers every year, the list they have been given to work from has since grown to 80,000.”

[underpants]

1. Cap Hill Blue is not a good source

[npincus]

2. I know all about it, but read the piece

first.

[Angry Girl]

14. Neither is the Washington Post or the New York Times.

So I'll take CHB for what it's worth. Certain articles sound very credible, others not. The number of people whose reporting I trust uncategorically is ridiculously small. Caveat emptor. Always.

[alfredo]

18. The three instances he uses are true. Some of the reports he issues can

be seen as gossip, but this one is on the money.

[seabeyond]

3. i am so hoping that it is so easy to get on that list, i will be on it

when i go to fly out of this country march 11. and they tell me no, .... i cant go. i am praying. it would answer all my prayers, would awaken all my people and would kick my repug inlaws asses, if they had to take care of my children for 8 days, because i couldnt fly on an airplane. going to a place i dont want to go. spending time with people i dont want to be with

asked hubbby the other night. if i am on the no fly list what will you do. i am think cause we will be packed, we can just get in the car and take a trip to the mountains.

[BlueEyedSon]

4. Nixon's "whitehouse enemies list."

[DBoon]

10. his list didn't have 80,000 names on it

nt

[BlueEyedSon]

12. LOL.. true

[bostonbabs]

5. KICK

[natrat]

6. hmm if they ban unfriendly journalists from airplanes

wonder what they do opposing politicians,,,,,oh duh thats why there is no opposition

[npincus]

7. U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D U.S. Rep. John Lewis D-Ga were on it.

[Tempest]

8. Members of Peace Fresno are on it

They found out when they tried to fly to Washington, D.C. for an anti-war rally.

[npincus]

13. jee-zus.. I guess the Quakers are next.

[jeanarrett]

9. This is just insane. And extremely frustrating for the people

who are on it. How long has a "no-fly" list been around? Just since 9/11?

[Virginian]

16. But, remember, the Saudis flew out of the country on 9/13.

Funny how they weren't on any no-fly list.

[earth mom]

11. You gotta be kidding me!

This is NOT America any more! :grr:

[npincus]

26. It stopped being America when SCOTUS appointed the Boy King

or was it when we invaded Iraq?

[Angry Girl]

15. Kafka would be proud. Can we sue?

Do we have ANY recourse?

[Catrina]

17. This is an outrage!! Why do the American people tolerate this

assault on their civil liberties? Moore said he cannot sue. Why? If this is true, when was the Constitution suspended? I have read that the surveillance of US citizens began BEFORE 9/11!!

As far as not being able to sue, the ACLU planned a lawsuit in 2004. I can't find anything on what happened to it.

ACLU To Sue Over No Fly List

ACLU officials declined to comment in advance of Tuesday's news conference to announce a class-action lawsuit challenging the list. The civil rights group is representing seven plaintiffs, including the military person, the minister and the student.

The ACLU wouldn't disclose the names of the plaintiffs or details of the suit.

TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said there actually are two lists administered by the TSA: no-fly and selectee. Those on the no-fly list are not allowed to board an aircraft. Those on the selectee list must go through more extensive screening before boarding.

Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies request that the TSA put names on the list.
Little else is known about the lists, including how many people are on them and how they qualify to get on or off.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/04/05/build/nation/43-aclu-nofly-suit.inc

This is frightening, really frightening.

Maybe this kind of lawsuit is not the way to go. Maybe this should be a 'We The People' kind of lawsuit, where millions of people sue the government to get that list out in the open and force them to expose who chooses those who end up on the list.

So far, it seems to always those who disagree with this president's policies. This is no longer America if we tolerate such oppressive, McCarthyite tactics.

I really, really try not to hate anyone, but this administration has truly tested that effort.

One way to stop this would be for a boycott of the airlines by millions of people until this Un-American activity ceases and the perpetrators are brought to justice. I will not be flying until this administration is out of office.

[Us vs Them]

19. Suggested Recourse

If, for whatever reason, the TSA finds a match between your name and those on the no-fly list (it is a list of NAMES ONLY, by the way) the TSA suggests you do the following:

Get to the airport at lest three hours early with your passport, state issued ID, birth certificate and social security card. Attempt to check in as you normally would. Upon being denied a boarding pass, immediately call the TSA Ombudsman's office at 1-800-255-1111 and explain your situation. According to the TSA, if the Ombudsman can find discrepancy between your identity and the name on the list, you may get an exception next to your name's entry. This is all according to the TSA website, so I'm not sure if it's just entirely bullshit or if it actually works.

[alfredo]

20. Can you get your money back if you are found to be on the enemy list?

I'd hate to spend hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket and find that not only am I refused a boarding pass, but also refused a refund.

[Us vs Them]

23. Depends on your ticket.

Don't purchase from an internet site. Most of them will not refund.

[alfredo]

24. Can you check first to see if you are on the list?

[McCamy Taylor]

21. Suggestion form a club with T-shirts etc. Make it a very exclusive

thing to get into. Sponsor special events that you can only attend if you are a member of the "No Fly Club". There ought to be some celebrity who would be willing to put up cash and sponor some events for the group. This would turn the whole pariah thing on its head.

Remember how everyone who was anyone WANTED to be on Nixon's Enemies List because by the time it came out he was considered to be such a douche?

Even better, have "groupies" or "fans" for the people who are on the list, so they will feel loved. No Fly Wannabes.

[Us vs Them]

22. "I'm on the No-Fly list, Bitch!"

Don't mess with me!

I LOLed.

[annabanana]

25. I like it!

No Fly Club... not as exclusive as it should be...