Taking a trip on an airplane used to be a tantalizing undertaking for millions of Americans. The thought of crossing thousands of miles in a few short hours continues to amaze and inspire us. Yet for thousands of people, the trip is fraught with trouble, beginning at airport check-in, where their travel plans are thwarted by hearing the words, “You’re on a government watchlist.”
Now the Department of Homeland Security is creating a new bureaucracy to try to streamline the process of tripping up Americans’ travel.
The Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, according to a notice published Friday in the Federal Register, is “a voluntary program by DHS to provide a one-stop mechanism for individuals to request redress who believe they have been: (1) Denied or delayed boarding; (2) denied or delayed entry into or departure from the United States at a port of entry; or (3) identified for additional (secondary) screening at our Nation’s transportation hubs, including airports, seaports, train stations and land borders.”
Tripped up travelers, pay tribute to the tireless workers who keep you safe from terrorists by mistaking you for one of them.
The Federal Register notice says that TRIP will issue travelers a Traveler Inquiry Form, “an online form used to collect requests for redress by the DHS TRIP office, which will serve as a centralized intake office for traveler requests to have their personal information reviewed.”
Nothing, of course, says that TRIP will do anything to untangle your airport security knots, only that you can “request redress.” The First Amendment says you have a right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, but says nothing about the government’s responsibility, if any, to respond.
Ryan Singel brings up another terrifying point: What if your name doesn’t just match one on the watchlist? What if you are the watchlisted person? Can the government really trammel any American’s travel simply by adding their names to a list?
TRIP is part of the Rice-Chertoff Initiative, announced a year ago, to “improve border security while facilitating travel.” Analyst Christian Beckner points out that the system was promised to be in place by the end of 2006. But the bureaucrats are still filling out all the paperwork…
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Join the members of the Liberty Conspiracy as they discuss issues ranging from the "Incorporation Doctrine" and gun rights, to the NBA, to protests conducted at military funerals, protests that are being challenged by government, and which will be heard by the philosopher kings in the U.S. Supreme Court.
When neoconservative Ben Stein accused Congressman Ron Paul of being antisemitic for merely wanting to ask WHY Islamic terrorists want to attack the civilians living under western governments that have meddled in the Mideast, the members of the Conspiracy could not sit by silently.
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Patti
Jan 11, 2007
My husband’s name is on the watchlist…and we’ve heard about ten different stories about why…
He has a common name. (True, but terrorists read, so they probably know that using a very common name isn’t good..)
He’s in the Air Force Reserve, and he’s authorized to carry a gun on a plane. (When he’s in uniform, and he must declare that he has it.And being in the AF makes him an unlikely terrorist, eh?)
He has traveled to the Middle East. (Yeah, with his Reserve unit…)
And the stupidity goes on….
Jan 20, 2007
The TSA Follies - Homeland Stupidity
Feb 14, 2007
The TSA loves you - Homeland Stupidity
nowayin hell
Feb 24, 2008
I was denied boarding a few times when traveling from asia to here, but everyone was happy-as-can-be when I was leaving houston, texas. the Gestapo, sorry…i mean tsa, stopped me in NYC, love it…NOT! and said that I was on a list and I needed to follow him. He made me give my 2 year old daughter to my wife and leave my son…how frgging embarrassing! while I took the long walk to (I thought would be someplace in Gitmo) a hall on the far side of the baggage claim. It was fun seeing about 4000 people along the way as I was being escorted to my impending doom. Thankfully, the person escorting me accidentally put me ahead of everyone else and I only waited about an hour. I came back and thanked him for doing that,and he said that he didn’t “expect me to be back because [I] was so high on the list” WHAT A LOADACRAP!
Now I refuse to travel out of the good ole USofA because I am completely freeked out! I wish that EVERYONE of the people on the fabulous “terrorist watch list” including little babies, files a class action lawsuit against the hitler-esque Bush administration [remember what the Nazi's did to the Jews and Russians] and what the americans did to the Japanese during WWII! Furthermore, everyone of the scumbags in TSA, I mean Gestapo, I mean TSA (Truly Sucky A$$holes) should be put in Gitmo, and beaten with pork rinds…LMAO! just disgusting that the gestapo wants to work on their eff’d up reputation world wide…not with that holier than thou attitude. Oh…let me see…what did happen to hitler (aka bush) and Eva braun (aka cheney..pimp) OH YEAH they crawled into a hole and killed themselves!!!!!!!
nowayin hell
Feb 24, 2008
there’s more to my story, my mom (who is 63) whose name matches with some crazy nut in God knows where in the middle east, is “the chosen one” everytime she travels! She’s 63 people…my dad, whose a PILOT and been living in USofA since 1972—that’s older than a lot of people in this country is stopped 9 times out of 10. The dumb A$$es at the Gestapo I mean TSA does keep records doesn’t it????? After the first 5 times, you’d think they would greet him with a hug or a drink or something. Make him feel welcome. Just insane, but that’s the [b]us[h] government! He was so embarrased last time he was in the US that he decided to retire from flying at the age of 65 and move out of the country. I;m surprised he didn’t send his us citizenship to the A55, sorry Butch and Cheney white house, and tell them to shove it up their A55es! He said that he would never come back to the US until Scarecrow and Mrs King (Cheney and Butch) are out of the black house of death…aka white house. The next president, be it Hill or Barack, had better put a plug on the TSA and Homeland Insecurity and bring some respect back to the government…hahahaha LOLOLOL, what a joke, but at least it’ll be better than the John “Rambo” Mccain continuing bushes vision of a 1000 years of glory forhis fatherland, sorry, I keep thinking of hitler. Odd coincidences. Especially since, bushes family and daddy bush dealt with the nazi regime when his grandpappy prescott (another last name as a first name person) was lovy dovy with the nazis.Read about…google it, it’s all public information people!