Earth to TSA, you have a Message

Reading this story, I saw

''We're fed up and we're not going to take it any more,'' said Brandon Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights. ''We can remain safe as a society without having to be subjected to intrusive screenings that violate our privacy rights.''

Hell, not just our "privacy" rights -- how about the entire goddamned Constitution.

''We've got to see some action,'' Senator Hutchison said. ''The outcry is huge.''

...Supporters are planning opt-outs at 11 US airports, including New York's JFK, Dallas, Denver and Phoenix, which are among the nation's 10 busiest airports.

Thirty groups, including the Consumer Federation of America and the Consumer Travel Alliance, signed a letter earlier this year calling for the TSA to stop using the body scanners, and the Electronic Privacy Information Centre is suing in the Federal Court to block their use.

Unions representing 14,800 pilots at AMR Corp's American Airlines and US Airways Group Inc have urged members to avoid the scanners, while the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants, which together represent 103,000 workers, have pressed officials for a separate screening...

Let's re-visit our decaying, imperialist past, shall we, and look once more at the Fourth Amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I thought once again of one of my favorite movie speeches of all time, and how completely relevant it is at this juncture in time and history:



After publishing this, my wife thought I ought to post the full speech...


Update: A reader sent me this, too:



And this...