According to Best of the Web, lefty blogs are frothing with excitement over the discovery of PROOF!!!! that security precautions against terrorists are just a Bush Administration front for intimidating the President’s critics. The first person account comes from a retired Princeton law professor:
On 1 March 07, I was scheduled to fly on American Airlines to Newark, NJ, to attend an academic conference at Princeton University, designed to focus on my latest scholarly book, Constitutional Democracy, published by Johns Hopkins University Press this past Thanksgiving.
When I tried to use the curb-side check in at the Sunport, I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list. I was instructed to go inside and talk to a clerk. At this point, I should note that I am not only the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence (emeritus) but also a retired Marinecolonel. . . .
I presented my credentials from the Marine Corps to a very polite clerk for American Airlines. One of the two people to whom I talked asked a question and offered a frightening comment: “Have you been in any peace marches? We ban a lot of people from flying because of that.” I explained that I had not so marched but had, in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution. “That’ll do it,” the man said.
After carefully examining my credentials, the clerk asked if he could take them to TSA officials. I agreed. He returned about ten minutes later and said I could have a boarding pass, but added: “I must warn you, they’re going to ransack your luggage.” On my return flight, I had no problem with obtaining a boarding pass, but my luggage was “lost.” Airlines do lose a lot of luggage and this “loss” could have been a mere coincidence. In light of previous events, however, I’m a tad skeptical.
I confess to having been furious that any American citizen would be singled out for governmental harassment because he or she criticized any elected official, Democrat or Republican. That harassment is, in and of itself, a flagrant violation not only of the First Amendment but also of our entire scheme of constitutional government. This effort to punish a critic states my lecture’s argument far more eloquently and forcefully than I ever could.
Best of the Web offers the TSA’s account of what really happened, but that of course won’t impress sufferers from Bush Derangement Syndrome, so I won’t bother reprinting it. Let me just note one point: The professor’s certainty that he was “singled out for governmental harassment” rests entirely on a statement by an American Airlines check-in clerk. Did he happen to stumble upon the one clerk who is in on the secret workings of the passenger screening program? Or are these explosive facts known to hundreds of workers at American Airlines, and presumably other carriers? If the former, what a remarkable coincidence! If the latter, isn’t it odd that the secret didn’t leak out until a couple of days ago? It’s a wonder that the press ever finds out anything!
Assuming that the professor’s account hasn’t been, er, embellished, it seems never to have occurred to him – nor to the Andrew Sullivans, Josh Marshalls et al. who have swallowed his tale – that strangers met at a ticket counter aren’t testifying under oath. Just like the guy who sends you that URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL BUISNESS PROPOSITON e-mail doesn’t really have £20,000,000 to deposit into your bank account.
Hello - sorry for the out-of-the-blue commenting. I got linked here through Becky's LJ a few days ago and have been reading your archives since. I have to admit, after being on LJ, it's a breath of fresh air to read a political commentary that isn't spewing vitriol. (Not to mention overlooking common sense issues like you mentioned here!) I was wondering, though, if you would mind if I was lazy and created a feed of your blog on LJ so that I can better keep up with your posts. I would, of course, post any comments here. Again, apologies for the random.
Posted by: Susan | Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 03:52 PM