Christie no longer a VIP at Newark-Liberty Airport

UPDATE: Christie tweets that the story is FAKE NEWS

Former Governor Chris Christie was turned away from using the VIP entrance at Newark Airport today, according to a story first reported by WCBS News. Read the rest of this entry »

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Barnegat Woman Should Have Gone To The Airport

photo credit: elitedaily.com

A Barnegat women was arrested last week after exposing her breasts to security cameras.

Wendy Tucker, 56, got out of her car and flipped her middle fingers at security cameras before lifting her blouse and exposing her breasts to the cameras, according to the Asbury Park Press.  The cameras were being monitored by police dispatchers.

Tucker was arrested on the strength of a no-bail warrant issued in Atlantic County. She was additionally charged with lewdness. She is being held at the Atlantic County Jail.

The Atlantic County Sheriff’s Department declined to say what the underlying charge for the no-bail warrant is.  The Barnegat Police have yet to respond to the same inquiry.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon said that Tucker’s actions were not exactly what he had in mind when he encouraged New Jersey motorists to protest red light cameras.

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U.S. Senator Rand Paul Detained By TSA

United States Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) has been detained by TSA at Nashville Airport, according to posts of the senator’s facebook page and on his father’s, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, facebook page.

According to the elder Paul’s post, there was an anomaly in Paul’s initial electronic body scan.  He asked for a second scan.  TSA demanded a full body pat down.  The senator refused.

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Sounds Of The Season

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Here’s a stocking stuffer for your flying friends and family

4th Amendment Underwear

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DOHERTY DRAFTING NEW LEGISLATION TO REIGN IN TSA ABUSES

Legislation to Be Introduced At the December 6 Session of the Senate

Senator Michael Doherty, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement regarding legislation he is drafting to curb the abuses of civil liberties by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). 

“I am of the belief that our society is founded upon our ability to exercise our individual civil liberties freely, and I stand ready and willing to defend those liberties when they are threatened. It is with great sadness that I have come to recognize that one of our greatest threats have been presented by officials of the TSA that have begun to implement intrusive searches of law abiding Americans who are traveling within our borders,” Doherty stated.

“In response to the attitudes and actions of the TSA and top Obama Administration officials, I am drafting new legislation that will make it perfectly clear that in New Jersey, our constitutionally granted civil liberties are treasured and will be protected. I am calling upon my colleagues in the legislature to step up and co-sponsor legislation that will protect the rights of citizens in New Jersey,” Doherty continued.

“If an individual is touched in a private area during a search, when there is no arrest or probable cause that is affirmed by oath or affirmation, the person who violated that individual’s privacy will be guilty of the crime of “sexual assault”, and will not be immune from prosecution in the state of New Jersey.”

“If an image is generated that provides detail of an individual’s private parts that violates New Jersey’s privacy or child pornography statutes, the person who generated that image will not be immune from prosecution in the state of New Jersey.”

Finally, if imaging technology that uses technologies that are believed by the legislature to be dangerous to individuals due to their broad or random use in security applications such as airports, the state of New Jersey will prohibit such use and will provide no immunity to individuals who violate any New Jersey state law in New Jersey.

“When the federal government is actively limiting the liberties and rights of law-abiding American citizens, the Several States have both a right and obligation to respond to misguided leadership at the federal level,” Doherty concluded. “I believe that one of the founders of the nation addressed this issue most eloquently: ‘They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety,” Ben Franklin.

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Rush Holt Steps Up For TSA Sanity

By Art Gallagher

It’s not often that you will see New Jersey’s most conservative state legislator, Senator Mike Doherty, and our most liberal member of Congress, Rush Holt, on the same side of an issue.

The disgraceful security procedures deployed by TSA are such an issue.

Holt has written to John Pistole, the administrator of TSE, questioning the veracity of the agency’s claims regarding the radiation safety of the full-body scanners, whether the scanners are effective in detecting concealed weapons, weather the intimate images created by the scanners are indeed deleted once a passenger is cleared, and declaring that our airport security system is broken as evidenced by three year-old children being aggressively patted down by TSA screeners.

Holt praised Israel’s methods of airport security:

I’ve visited Israel many times in my life, including this fall.  I have been impressed by how effective-and minimally intrusive-their airline passenger screening system is, particularly given the daily terrorist threat to Israel’s citizens.  Clearly, our government would learn much from their system.  If a country as small and threatened as Israel can effectively protect their flying public, there is no reason why American children and their parents cannot be protected using the same layered, common sense-based system employed by Israel.

The Congressman requested a meeting with Pistole to discuss the following questions:

1)    Any reports from independent entities that have validated the effectiveness of the AIT systems currently being fielded to detect the full range of explosive threats known or anticipated to be employed by potential terrorists.

2)    Whether any independent entity has verified that the AIT machines have been modified so as to ensure that no permanent record of a passenger scan is retained, retransmitted, or otherwise copied either directly from the AIT machine itself or by TSA or other personnel utilizing any form of videorecording technology.

3)    The measures TSA has taken to address GAO’s concerns and recommendations regarding the employment, cost-benefit analysis, and expected over all costs of fielding these AIT systems.

4)    The measures TSA has taken to improve and validate its Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program, as discussed in GAO’s May 2010 report on the program.

5)    Why TSA does not systematically use watch list-derived intelligence information to screen passengers more selectively via AIT systems and the SPOT program.

6)    Whether or not TSA has sought or received recommendations from the government of Israel about how TSA could improve its screening programs without invading the privacy of passengers.

Hat tip to BlueJersey’s Rosi Efthim for publishing Holt’s letter.

I’m with Rush on this one.

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Young Boy Strip Searched By TSA

From lukemtait the person posted this video on YouTube:

Lets get the facts straight first. Before the video started the boy went through a metal detector and didn’t set it off but was selected for a pat down. The boy was shy so the TSA couldn’t complete the full pat on the young boy. The father tried several times to just hold the boys arms out for the TSA agent but i guess it didn’t end up being enough for the guy. I was about 30 ft away so i couldn’t hear their conversation if there was any. The enraged father pulled his son shirt off and gave it to the TSA agent to search, thats when this video begins.

******* THIS VIDEO OCCURRED AT SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON NOVEMBER 19TH AT AROUND THE TIME OF 12:00 PM **********

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Sen. Doherty Launches Online Petition to Stop Invasive TSA Screening

               Sign the Petition at http://doherty.senatenj.com/stopthetsa

            New Jersey Senator Mike Doherty (R-23) has launched an online petition to support his efforts to put an end to invasive airport screening practices that have been implemented by the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Doherty is the prime sponsor of a pair of Senate resolutions that urge Congress and the TSA to end the use of enhanced pat downs and advanced imaging scanners that allow TSA agents to see through travelers’ clothing.

            “Travelers shouldn’t have to submit to potentially dangerous scans that allow strangers to view them naked, nor should they have to submit to invasive groping by government agents, just to get on a plane,” said Doherty. “Despite the massive public outcry against these invasive screening procedures, it’s seems that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington still don’t get it. That’s why we’ve launched our petition, to make sure that Americans concerned about losing their rights have an opportunity to be heard.”

            Doherty’s petition to stop invasive TSA screening is located at http://doherty.senatenj.com/stopthetsa. The petition page includes video that provides information about the movement as well as features to easily comment on and share the petition on social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter.

            “Together, we can send a message to Washington that enough is enough.  We can tell the federal government that Americans want common-sense airport security that respects our constitutional rights,” added Doherty. “Filling out the petition takes only a few seconds, so head over now and make sure your voice is heard.”

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The Land of the free and the home of the brave

The United States government is now requiring people who wish to travel via airplane to submit to radioactive photography that exposes their nude body, or alternatively submit to a full body pat down.

The constitutional experts at the Asbury Park Press think that’s a good idea.

Here for their first reading, I offer the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution to the editorial board of the Neptune Nudniks:

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.

What is the probable cause that justifies every airline traveler to be compelled to submit to these searches?

The Council for American-Islamic Relations issued this travel advisory for airline passengers.  For women wearing hijab they advise the following:

• If you are selected for secondary screening after you go through the metal detector and it does not go off, and “sss” is not written on your boarding pass, ask the TSA officer if the reason you are being selected is because of your head scarf.
• In this situation, you may be asked to submit to a pat-down or to go through a full body scanner. If you are selected for the scanner, you may ask to go through a pat-down instead.
• Before you are patted down, you should remind the TSA officer that they are only supposed to pat down the area in question, in this scenario, your head and neck. They SHOULD NOT subject you to a full-body or partial-body pat-down.
• You may ask to be taken to a private room for the pat-down procedure.
• Instead of the pat-down, you can always request to pat down your own scarf, including head and neck area, and have the officers perform a chemical swipe of your hands.
• If you encounter any issues, ask to speak to a supervisor immediately. They are there to assist you.

I don’t have a daughter, but I will be adding hijab to my Christmas shopping list for my wife, mother, sister and nieces.  You can buy them online here.

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