Sunday, September 09, 2007

bigotry, an invasion of my individual rights, or life?

Last night there was relatively little on television early in the evening. (Starting at 9PM, my wife and I had decided to watch a wonderful old film with Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, and Tyrone Power entitled "Witness for the Prosecution." Excellent old classic - 1957 vintage. )

So I spent the beginning of the evening reviewing "things" that happened shortly after the terrorist "sneak attacks" of 9/11. Shed a lot of tears from the end of dinner-time until 9:00 PM! Remembering the initial fears I had for my wife & kids in a quickly changing world ... and remembering some "absent friends."

One of the things I had forgotten was that within little over a month of the Towers collapsing, President Bush and Congress had created the Transportation Security Administration (the TSA) by signing into law the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. Wow! It only took 5 weeks! I remembered thinking at the time how proud I was that Congress and the President could put away the petty partisanship that had infected our political system, and get things done quickly to protect the American public.

In addition I reviewed the establishment of The Patriot Act and its provisions, as well as the related wire-tapping and invasion of privacy controversies that grew and grew during 2003, '04, and continue through today. I remembered with laughter the times I've been pulled out of line at the airport and forced to stand "spread-eagled" without my shoes & belt, and as the saying goes, without my "spectacles, tes - - cles, wallet and comb" as a TSA officer wanded me. Me!! All 6'4," 250+ pounds of 'bland whiteness,' blonde hair and blue eyes ........ consummate physical profile of a terrorist don't ya think? Me, and 80 year old white grandmothers!

I don't know how it bounced into my brainpan but I started thinking about how absurd certain "political positions" are. Here's one - you can't allow racial profiling - it's discriminatory! I've heard Ron Kuby (ACLU advocate & law partner to the late William Kunstler) rant & rave about how "singling out Arab looking or Muslim looking men" in the line at an airport is the worst form or racial profiling. I've heard the Reverend's Sharpton & Jack - - son, screaming about how racial profiling is unconstitutional. Recently, we've all been learning about certain cities where Police Officers can't ask detainees for identity papers because it's racial profiling! How nuts is this?

And yet, Kuby, Sharpton & Jack - - son, in addition to Liberals nation-wide, and all the Libocrats in Congress fully support and believe that racial profiling is perfectly fine when we're admitting students into college, or choosing people for jobs or promotions, or even when we're confirming appointees to a Presidential Cabinet post. As a matter of fact - in those cases - Liberals and elected Libocrats actually encourage racial profiling!

As I often do in these postings - speaking exclusively for me - I give the TSA permission to pull my fat white ass out of an airport line as many times as you want, as long as you pull out a greater number of middle eastern looking people as well! I don't think that's bigotry either. The facts are that NOT all middle eastern looking men (and women) are terrorists; but ALL terrorists are middle eastern looking men (and women)! (I'm throwing women in there because maybe, just maybe, these guys are going to start using their own wives as "escorts" during their next homicide flight!)

You may say, well Ken, that's just nuts! Really?
The way I see it, "Better safe than sorry" don't cut it as far as I'm concerned! Not when you're in a metal tube loaded with flammable stuff and people, hurtling along at 600 MPH!
"Safe" does!

It's sort of like the international slogan for Suicide Prevention....."I CHOOSE LIFE!" And I invite anyone in line at an airport who doesn't want to understand or comply with that, to step out of line and travel by car, bus or taxi! I say find a way to "x-ray" all passengers and luggage as they did in the "Arnold" movie, "Total Recall."

Like the Latin quote at the end of most of my postings says, "While I breathe, I hope!" So, I Choose Life!

Dum Spiro Spero!


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