Saturday, November 27, 2010

Dear Mr. President

I rarely write to my elected officials, cuz let's be honest, no one above an intern actually reads what is written. Also I am rarely moved to such high levels of angst. I have to tell you, not much gets me up in arms, aside from when the government tries to monkey with my right to free speech and I am a BIG fan of the 4th Amendment. I have a right to say NO you can't touch me, look through my car or house, just because YOU think there is threat.


I also have spent more than ample time empowering both L and E to say no. No you can't hit me. No you can't hurt me and no you can't touch me in inappropriate ways. I am not inclined to make an exception to a TSA official, especially when this list of folks gets to waltz through scott free, unmolested and unscreened (as reported by Chris Elliott.)

The TSA insists it is listening to air travelers, and has already loosened many of its screening requirements in response to the public outrcy, including exempting pilots, flight attendants and children under 12 from the body scans or enhanced pat-downs. (Children will receive a “modified” pat-down, but the agency declines to say how, exactly, kids will be screened.)

It is so damn easy for President Obama to say these measures are important, he gets to jet set around the world with his wife and children and not have to explain to his daughters why women and men in uniform are touching them inappropriately. He does not have to explain to his daughters why they have to give up their right to consent to sexual touching.(also as reported by Chris Elliott)

President defends pat-downs. President Obama tells ABC’s Barbara Walters tonight that the pat-downs will continue. “I understand people’s frustrations with it,” he says. “But I also know that if there was an explosion in the air that killed a couple of hundred people…and it turned out that we could have prevented it possibly…that would be something that would be pretty upsetting to most of us – including me.”

No one is going to goose him in an airport, so why should he care. His cronies are exempt. His wife is exempt. His children are exempt. The baggage handler is exempt. This TSA policy is for the birds and we all know it.

So this is the message I sent the man I voted for 2 years ago. His job is to keep us safe and UPHOLD the Constitution. It is not an either/or proposition Mr. President. Take your fancy education and figure out some real solutions. I would start with finding Mr. Pistole a job as a pencil sharpener, he is not representing you well.

My Letter to the President:

I am writing you to urge you to reconsider this horrible and I feel unconstitutional TSA search and irradiation policy. As the father of two daughters, I cannot believe that a) you feel what amounts to sexual assault is justified, even to young children and b) this policy with its abundance of loop holes, like unscreened airport employees and members of congress, and the underscreened cargo  is not actually making us safer, but it is discriminatory.

Buying an airline ticket should not also mean I must submit defacto to sexual assault.

There are better ways and it is up to you, Mr. President to find them.

There must be a balance between security and dignity.Policies which purport to ensure our safety but steal our dignity must not be tolerated. That is not what the founding Fathers' risked life and liberty for and we should not be willing to accept anything less than that.

Freedom comes with great responsibility and first and foremost we must responsibly protect those freedoms.
This wrongheaded and unconstitutional TSA policy are not the way to do that. I know you know that. As a father you want your daughters to be safe and have the right to consent. Do not steal that from my daughter, just because your daughters can fly on a private jet. Just because your wife does not have to be man-handled in public, do not make me consent to such treatment.

If there were proof that these type of loop hole riddled policies actually made me safer, perhaps I would go along with it, but they don't and we all know that.

Sincerely,

Susan

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