I gotta say I am pretty critical of the TSA & DHS, but I don't think there is a guaranteed right to fly.

Sure, flying is a right. I'm no constitutional scholar, but the entire purpose/theme of the document is to spell out everything that is the (federal) government's business, then to spell out which basic human rights (in the writers' opinions) are so inviolable that no form of government should interfere. Then, just to be clear, it says in the 9th and 10th amendments that, hey, everything we didn't mention is a right of the people or other forms of government - not the federal. Flying fits in that everything else category.

I think more specifically in this case, the 4th is applicable. TSA and DHS are government entities. Since when does any government entity get to search me or my possessions without probable cause and a warrant? It would be different if they were searching you before you entered a courthouse; the courthouse is a location managed/controlled by some government entity; they get to set the terms for entry. But, airports are (usually) municipally or state owned/controlled and TSA/DHS are federal authorities. And, they're not searching you before you enter the airport. They're searching you as a term of admittance onto a privately owned conveyance.

I've been waiting for constitutional test cases for a lot of the legal reactions to 9/11. And, I thought a test to challenge the legal authority of the TSA would happen in short order. It didn't. And, I never thought Jesse Ventura would be the tester. So, what do I know?

Flying is not a right; if you don't want to be manhandled, drive your car. You know ahead of time there is a possibility you may be searched when you go to the airport; if you think that is problem, don't go. 

I want to feel safe when I fly and if that means that I maybe checked, I have no issues with that. In the past 5 years I have been patted down, my friends carry-on checked, and been swabbed for bomb residue.

"Safety & Security"


How many of our rights, how much of our dignity and how many of our dollars have slowly disappeared because of that phrase?  ...And how much further can it go?

2 Years ago, you'd never imagine that you'd have to surrender yourself to a very personal pat-down or be subject to a semi-nude photograph.


...But it's for our safety & security...


5 Yeas ago, it seemed inconceivable that you'd be required to purchase specially sized and labeled sundries to fly without a checked bag.

...But it's for our safety & security...

10 Years ago, you'd never imagine that you'd see airport security personnel make an 85 year-old grandma take her shoes off to simply go see her grandchildren.


...But it's for our safety & security...


20 Years ago, you thought that simply walking through a metal detector was a big hassle.


...But it's for our safety & security...


10 Years from now, will everyone have to strip down to their unmentionable, sit faced forward and stay very quiet during all flights?  Does that sound silly?  


...But it's for our safety & security...

What we need is a private airline/airport that has the balls to stand up to the TSA and opt out. If a privately owned company declined government security on their private property, is there anything the TSA could really do?

Bad Cat!, well given that the TSA is part of the Federal government as is the FAA, I can imagine 1) the FAA refusing to allow commercial flights to operate out of the airport, or 2) the TSA subjecting all disembarking passengers from those flights to undergo the pornoscanners/pat downs at their destination if it is domestic flight.

@Nodnetni - Flying is a right. Everything we may choose to do that does not infringe on the rights of others is a right. Of course, that's the libertarian in me speaking while I try to interpret the 9th and 10th amendments as broadly as possible. However, "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..." is pretty clear. I can't see how, simply because I wish to use a privately owned conveyance, I'm giving probable cause for a federal government entity to search me.

@Bad Cat! - There's almost no such thing as a private airport. There are a some; but, I'm sure those don't have significant commercial traffic. Sanford Airport is opting out or may opt out: http://wdbo.com/localnews/2010/11/sanford-airport-to-opt-out-of.html. But, they still have to follow the same procedures with private contractors instead of TSA.

I think going to back to private screeners might (emphasis on might) be the answer. No 4th amendment issue; more accountability - ever try to fire a government employee?

From House information services:

Cravaack Named To Homeland Security Subcommittees

(Washington, DC) - Today, U.S. Congressman Peter T. King (NY-3), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, announced the subcommittee assignments for Republican Members.  U.S. Congressman Chip Cravaack (MN-8) was appointed to two subcommittees on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. Cravaack will sit on the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, and the Subcommittee on Transportation Security.

"I'm very pleased to make these subcommittee assignments," King said.  "Our new members, including Congressman Cravaack, bring to the Committee talent, energy and a steadfast commitment to securing our homeland from the terrorists who continue to plot and execute attacks against our nation.  The Subcommittees and their Members will be critical to the important work of the Committee on Homeland Security."

"Upon learning I would be serving on the Homeland Security Committee I targeted these subcommittees as two of my top choices, so it is very gratifying to have gotten them," said Cravaack.  "They focus on rooting out terrorists who are already within our borders, and dealing with protecting the transportation systems they have attempted to use - on multiple occasions - to do our nation harm.  Now more than ever we need to be proactive in how we deal with terrorists both here and abroad, because the protection of American citizens and the homeland is Congress's most important and fundamental duty.  I am excited about the opportunity to serve on these subcommittees, and I look forward to working on the vital and urgent tasks ahead of me. "

Cravaack is a 24 year retired Navy Captain, the third generation of his family to serve in the U.S. military.  He is also former commercial airline pilot with Northwest Airlines.

Congressman Cravaack also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he is Vice Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee.  The 8th Congressional District covers 18 counties in Northeast Minnesota.

Now if only you guys could transfer this passion to Parallel Universes we'd be onto something here.