Boycotting Discretionary Air Travel: Are Random Strip Searches Next?

Recently an article was published in CNN Money quoting the Air Transport Association, an association of executives from the airline industry, predicting there would be approximately 7% fewer airline passengers this summer due to the economic conditions now in the United States.

I would state as a former primarily vacation airline passenger that the reduction in Americans traveling during the summer months has declined for discretionary travel steadily since 9/11.

Not out of fear, but due to the fact now that traveling to vacation destinations for many Americans is more hassle free driving than flying anymore. Driving to California from Arizona takes six hours by car, but now can take just as long or longer by air.

It isn't simply the expense involved, it is the invasive security procedures now conducted for domestic travel in the United States that is primarily to blame, in this writer's view.

It has gotten to the point where the surveillance industry in this country is one of the fastest growing industries, and largest stakeholders in government contracts.

So lucrative has this industry become and vital to the U.S. government domestic surveillance program that the Department of Homeland Security is now purchasing, with stimulus monies, full body scanners for major domestic airports, to be used primarily against its own citizens due to the free entry and exit passes awarded international travelers during and prior to the Bush Administration.

Since most of the incidents which have compromised American citizen's security have been from foreigners as demonstrated by 9/11 and the shoe bomber incident, the focus on domestic travel rather than international security does seem backward, since "foreigners" actually travel from outside the U.S. in order to get here in the first place, or breach the U.S. borders and enter illegally through our borders with Canada and Mexico.

At the present time it take no less than two full hours prior to flight time in order to undergo the security checks for both passengers and baggage. And though it was a British citizen responsible for the shoe bombing incident, all domestic travelers in the U.S. are now required to remove even their shoes before boarding.

That doesn't take into consideration the amount of time that is also lost waiting on the tarmacks for flights to depart or arrive due to the amount of both domestic and international flights, many of which are less than half full.

Deregulation of our national airports has actually resulted in more pollution, and higher costs in the long run. And crowded airports that have made most vacations anything but relaxing.

In fact, since my last experience flying to a funeral for a relative on the East Coast from my home in the West that took more than twelve hours to complete with the new "shoe removal" requirements, I haven't flown in four years.

The American people were not the cause of 9/11, yet it is the American people who are now being strip searched and monitored in ever increasing degrees domestically, while the international airport procedures are becoming less and less secure with each passing year.

I guess so that at least the next potential international terrorist is not denied the opportunity to visit Disneyland, or attend the next global corporate board meeting.

Expect to now be charged more and more fees in order to take your baggage with you. It appears banking practices have now infiltrated the airline industry.

Soon, I'm sure, there will be additional fees instituted for those bag lunches, and the privilege of those xrays prior to boarding at the security checks. Also charges for the upgrades for the shoe removal procedures in order to now track your carbon footprints.

We wouldn't want to interfere with our "free trade," agreements, or the "free market" competitive airline industry and their profit margins in order to effectively reduce that non-existent excess carbon instead in perhaps restricting U.S. international ports of entry and flights, now would we?

Apparently not if it affects the lucrative gadget industry stakeholders and their economic growth at the cost of the American taxpayers obviously.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/15/news/economy/summer_air_travel/index.htm

New York Times Reports Mexican Migration Plummeting

Recently in an article in the New York Times it was reported that the rate of migration of Mexican citizens has "plummeted" in light of the current U.S. economy according to recent Mexican census figures.

As with polls and other statistical data, this information must be taken with a grain of salt.

The total population in Mexico has actually increased apparently based on the last census figures. But that certainly doesn't in any way point to a reduction of the influx of Mexicans, legal or otherwise, into this country.

As a former 45 year border resident, from what I have heard from many in the border states, you could have fooled them.

In fact, due to the current economy the hiring of illegal immigrants has never been higher. Employers are cutting back on expenditures in favor of amassing as much profit as possible, and hiring cheaper labor is one area that has seen a boom no matter what the U.S. economy brings.

Many of the Iraq war veterans in Arizona have come home to find their jobs have been outsourced to illegal immigrants.

Its the bottom line costs that those Chamber of Commerce members are concerned with, and contract illegal labor is cheaper than U.S. labor due simply to the taxes and other costs involved in "buying American."

In fact, recently the legislators from Sonora visited the Mayor of Tucson due to the shortage of labor for some of their area residents. It has hit the border towns more so than the major metropolitan cities due to the shear fact of the number of Mexican residents that live in the border towns who then seek employment in the U.S.

In fact, the census figures show a boom in growth particularly in the Mexican border towns.

Instead of going to Mexico's government, these legislators chose to present their grievances to the Mayor of Tucson.

And it doesn't appear that the drug cartels business has in any way been affected, in fact it is booming due to all those customers they created selling their wares in front of local high schools and middle schools in the border states during the 80's and 90's.

Their profits are so high that recently it was disclosed in the Mexican newspapers that the chief drug czar for the Mexican government was accused of accepting over $450,000 per month for his assistance in marketing their wares.

It appears the Mexican media must mirror our own.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/15immig.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=igw

FBI Hiring Candidates To Fight Right Wing "Extremism"

An announcement appeared in the local Phoenix, Arizona newspapers that announced that although the FBI has significantly increased the number of agents since 9/11, they are now on a push to hire more under monies gained from the stimulus. It appears that since now over 3/4's the citizens are on the "watch list," the number of agents isn't equal to the task.

As one of those identified potential terrorists on the list as a 45 year former resident of Arizona and three time victim of illegal immigrant crimes, who has been actively involved in addressing through the state and federal levels the open borders situation still existing now seven years post 9/11 with decades of border state resident victims preceding even that tragedy at the hands of foreigners, I wrote another "Letter To The Editor" and plan on sending a copy to the local Phoenix FBI office, and state and federal officials:

"It definitely seems that 9/11 has been the greatest "economic stimulus" for increasing government and the surveillance industries ever - not to mention the military budgets.

It does seem that the only real new jobs being created are in the surveillance and gadget industries. And spying on Americans and those dreaded right wing extremists.

I do wonder how they train agents to scope out and identify a potential Catholic anti-abortion extremist? Or an illegal immigrant victim/extremist?

What physical descriptions and profile do they use?

Someone wearing a crucifix?

Someone who avoids Mexican restaurants, and puts a May Day sign out the week of Cinco de Mayo?

Those that watch their state college football game rather than the Army/Navy game?

Those that don't stand up with their hands over their hearts for the Pledge of Allegiance for which the words "liberty" and "justice" have not been their experiences as of late or fly their flags upside down?

Those that write "letters to the editor" on the political corruption and broken promises?

Those that speak out or confront the hypocricy of politicians who arrange for photo ops at local soup kitchens or when speaking to disabled veterans groups putting in their two or three hours in order to assauge some of their guilt against their fellow countrymen?"

Just how many agents has the Department of Homeland Security budgeted for this now monumental task?
http://faddaeart.blogspot.com/

The DHS Memo: Are You On The List?

World Net Daily has published an article which includes the March 26, 2009 interdepartmental memorandum prepared by DHS for local law enforcement regarding the "extremist" groups of potential domestic terrorists. The list is so lengthy it took over 10 pages in order to outline them all.

You most likely are on the list, since it doesn't appear they left anyone out, unless you are a government employee drone or work in the mainstream media.

There was an interesting paragraph regarding who it was that actually identified these potential terrorists groups:

"Definitions were derived from a variety of open source materials and
unclassified information, then further developed during facilitated workshops with
DHS intelligence analysts knowledgeable about domestic, non-Islamic extremism in
the United States."

I wonder if these "intelligence analysts" got their degrees online? There is now an online university that is cashing in on this booming surveillance industry offering courses that can be completed in the comfort of your own home for less than it costs for two years at the average technical college.

The memo, Ms. Napoliano claims, was immediately yanked. But, of course, it does appear that many local and state authorities mustn't have gotten that message prior to the Missouri memo surfacing, nor was it addressed in any fundamental way after the tea parties, other than apologies made to the American Legion, a Congressionally created veterans organization.

http://www.tdbimg.com/files/2009/04/30/-hsra-domestic-extremism-lexicon_165213935473.pdf

The Pig Industry Revolts: Swine Flu Now Politically Correct H1N1

It appears in our not simply nationally politically correct society but now also "globally" politically correct, spokesmen for the World Health Organization have now temporarily renamed the Swine Flu virus by its clinical name, Influenza A (H1N1). The United States Department of Homeland Security is following now in lock step.

It seems that there were some concerns and proof that the pork industry was having difficulty getting "this little piggy to market," due to now the psychological connections between the virus and the carrier. Except the World Heath Organization has also now qualified its stance on just whether or not pigs ARE the actual carriers.

Or just how it is transmitted between pigs and humans, although as a virus primarily attacking the respiratory system there is absolutely not a shred of evidence to suggest that ingesting or eating pork is connected. Unlike the e coli virus which has been proven can be transmitted by ingestion of both raw infected eggs and poultry.

Here are some other animals and insects who have been connected, fairly or not, to human disease:

dogs, cats, bats, skunks, raccoons - rabies

cows - "hoof and mouth," "Mad Cow" disease

ticks - Lyme disease

mosquitoes - West Nile, yellow fever, malaria

chickens,eggs - ecoli

tuna, shellfish - mercury poisoning

apes, monkeys - HIV

The swine, unfortunately, also has that carryover bad rap in other cultures and some religious connections to overcome as far back as biblical times due to both allegorical connections and dietary prohibitions, and its propensity in times past to be a carrier of disease before the refrigerator and freezer were invented.

It seems the pig family is now suffering from unfair discrimination.

Since 10,000 times the amount of lives have been lost due to the open Southwest borders in Ms. Napolitano's former home state, this former Arizonan wishes she would have been so "Johnny on the spot" protecting Arizonans eight long years ago after 9/11 and prior to the now Mexican drug wars and kidnappings there. They appear to be still conducting business as usual.

A suggestion was made by one of the directors of the WHO that maybe a contest should be run in order to rename the virus to give it a less scientific, and more commercially accepted identifier within the non-Latin speaking, scientifically challenged portion of the population.

I came up with several:

Hog Native
Hemispheric Navigational (globally transferred)
Hispanic Neutral (originating in Mexico, affecting anyone)

or how about:

The HeiNie Virus (you know, as in "backside")

USDA and WHO: Are those politically correct?

Maybe we should just call it "Global Economy Meltdown Sydrome" (GEMS). That surely is a psychological boost for the pigs, supermarket and people.

I think personally I just might fast.

Here is the link on the New York Times "politically correct" article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/health/01name.html