Free Republic

The new Republican House of Representatives took office amidst much fanfare about the US Constitution and respecting Constitutional limits on government. I have suggested that if they are really serious about it, they will start by abolishing the Transportation Security Administration. Not much has changed in the last few weeks. Indeed, we can do without the whole “Homeland Security” charade.

UPDATE: Mocek has been found not guilty of all four charges. (From another link FR barred me from posting part of the reason for prevailing on the ID issue is he had to submit ID along with a boarding pass just to enter security.... On November 15, 2009, Phil Mocek stepped into the main terminal at the Albuquerque International Sunport planning to board a Southwest Airlines flight bound for SeaTac. He carried with him two pieces of luggage, a boarding pass, and a cell phone capable of recording audio and video. What he didn't have was a valid form of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. Jan. 12, 2011 - A federal court granted the Department of Homeland Security's motion to conclude one of EPIC's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits. The decision stems from a 2009 lawsuit brought by EPIC, a leading privacy organization to obtain information about the controversial airport body scanners. As a result of the lawsuit, EPIC has already obtained the technical specifications and vendors contract for the screening devices that generate naked images of air travelers. According to EPIC, the documents show that the devices can store, record, and transmit images. "The documents show that the TSA was not...

A cross-border kerfuffle over a popular chocolate treat nearly cost a Winnipeg woman a $300 fine and saddled her with a bureaucratic headache. Lind Bird was recently stopped at the U.S. border and selected for a random search of her vehicle. She was warned she could have faced a fine after the customs official found — and seized — her $2 Kinder Surprise egg as illegal contraband. Bird learned U.S. authorities have banned the candy because they come with a plastic toy inside that could, if eaten, choke a small child."It's just a chocolate egg," Bird said. "And they were...

Per Griffin This is an internal memo obtained by Fox News put out by DHS compiling facts known so far about the case - new - shooter's mother worked for Pima board of supervisers and the suspected anti-Semitic motivation of the shooter. Read more: http://gretawire.blogs.foxnews.com/latest-on-shooting-of-congresswoman-giffords-motivation-anti-semitic-and-she-was-the-target/#ixzz1AnqbSiz5

Brian Terry was the border patrol agent who was killed by Mexican bandits a few weeks ago on the Arizona-Mexico border. Gabrielle Giffords is the congresswoman who was seriously shot Saturday in Tucson by a gunman. Not much was made of Brian Terry’s murder. There was a funeral. Janet Napolitano came to the funeral and chided Terry’s family for complaining that their son was not kept safe enough and that was the end of it. When it surfaced that the reason Terry was killed was that Napolitano issued a memo directing border agents to use rubber bullets instead of real...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A package addressed to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ignited on Friday at a postal facility in Washington, D.C. but was quickly extinguished and no one was injured, authorities said. A postal worker was tossing mail into a bin when the package was discovered "popping, smoking and with a brief flash of fire," Cathy Lanier, chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said during a news conference. The package was addressed to Napolitano and was believed to be similar to others found in two incidents involving packages delivered to Maryland state offices on Thursday, a Department...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will use a visit to Israel this week to assess passenger vetting and other counter-terrorism measures at its Ben-Gurion Airport, government officials said on Sunday. Napolitano, whose tenure has been dogged by two attempted al Qaeda attacks on U.S.-bound planes as well as traveler protests at intrusive airport pat-downs and screenings, was due to arrive in Israel by Monday for several low-key professional meetings. "She'll be consulting with the Airport Authority, among other things," said an official briefed on the visit, which will include other countries. Security at Ben-Gurion, Israel's main international...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- During an unannounced New Year's Eve visit to Afghanistan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to the country's mountainous border region near Pakistan to see first-hand her department's efforts in the war effort there.

Appeasement and outreach are no match for the enemy’s civilizational jihad. At the end of last year I reflected here at Pajamas Media that 2009 represented a “tipping point for domestic terror.” Grimly, that assessment has borne out — recall the terror attacks aimed at New York City’s Times Square and Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Baltimore recruiting station bomber, and the virtual host of homegrown terror arrests racked up this year.While the domestic terror trend has continued unabated, elements of pre-violent, or rather stealth, jihad are taking firm root in our government, military, judicial, and educational institutions, without the...

Despite a $98 million infusion for state-of-the-art baggage screening machines, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) somehow missed a suitcase filled with explosives that blasted after a three-hour domestic flight. The shameful gaffe is simply the latest of many for the beleaguered Homeland Security agency charged with protecting the nation’s transportation system. A checked bag on a flight from Boston to Miami contained hundreds of bullet primers that exploded on the tarmac after the plane arrived in south Florida. Primers provide the spark that detonates the gunpowder in bullets. The bag belongs to a 37-year-old man, said to be a naturalized...

When a career politician displays passion on the House floor it is usually over a cultural or social touchstone issue like abortion or human rights. In other words, the human dynamic excites a fervor beyond the usual political shell game or horse race. So when such a politician speaks passionately for years that institutions under his control should refuse federal help it naturally leads to questions about motive. Rep. John Mica (R-FL) is one such career politician.

Terrorism: A pilot who posted a YouTube video documenting flaws in TSA's airport security has his home raided and federally issued firearm confiscated. Body scanners and junk-touching are just the beginning. Ever watchful all 364 days of the year, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has discovered a new security threat — pilots who fly our planes and have questions about the TSA's security practices and policies. Three days after a 50-year-old veteran pilot living outside Sacramento, Calif., posted a YouTube video to shed light on the security gaps he believes exist at major U.S. airports, he had his home raided...

The companies that build futuristic airport scanners take a more old-fashioned approach when it comes to pushing their business interests in Washington: hiring dozens of former lawmakers, congressional aides and federal employees as their lobbyists. About eight of every 10 registered lobbyists who work for scanner-technology companies previously held positions in the government or Congress, most commonly in the homeland security, aviation or intelligence fields, a Washington Post review of lobbying-disclosure forms and other data shows. Industries routinely employ well-connected lobbyists to seek favorable legislation and regulations in the nation's capital. But the extent of the connections to the federal...

Mexican citizens will soon be eligible to apply for a "trusted traveler" status that will allow them to bypass some elements of airport security when they fly into the United States — a U.S. government-approved program that critics say could be exploited by violent drug cartels. Under the program, Mexicans who have undergone background checks and are deemed low security risks will be able to fly into major U.S. cities and breeze through customs without being questioned by U.S. Customs agents. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and her Mexican counterparts announced their intent to roll out the program two weeks...

We can all fill safe and secure knowing that Obama’s crack national security team is on the job…right??? Janet Napolitano claims on CNN Dec. 27, 2009 that the air travel security system worked just swell when the Fruit of the Boom Underwear bomber failed to detonate his “device” over the skies of Detroit on Christmas day. Keep in mind that the Jihadist terrorist’s own father tried to warn US officials…

There are many things government does better than individuals or private industry. Examples abound of our government excelling in fields as diverse as spending money we don't have, being politically correct to the point of putting us in danger, and transferring wealth from the producers to the locusts who feed off the state. Conservatives agree that there are some jobs too large for any segment of society except a federal government with their layers of hyper-efficient rules and genius bureaucrats. After all, IBM didn't take the astronauts to the moon. I think OSHA did with Nazi scientists we captured after...

In this exclusive story, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports the latest terror attack to America involves the possible use of poisons - simultaneous attacks targeting hotels and restaurants at many locations over a single weekend. A key Intelligence source has confirmed the threat as "credible." . . . The plot uncovered earlier this year is said to involve the use of two poisons - ricin and cyanide - slipped into salad bars and buffets. Of particular concern: The plotters are believed to be tied to the same terror group that attempted to blow up cargo planes over...

Not satisfied with whole body scans and invasive pat-downs of airline passengers, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the DHS is forming a new task force to deal with the effects of climate change on domestic security. CNS News reported that an all-day forum was held at the White House last week on the issue of "Environmental Justice". Environmental Justice is defined by Wikipedia as "an equitable spatial distribution of burdens and benefits to groups such as racial minorities, residents of economically disadvantaged areas, or residents of developing nations." In other words, it's another liberal concept designed to inject...

Heard on car radio. Janet Napolitano has announced that since energy use is "a matter of national security," the DHS is setting in place a system to check on individuals' hone use of electricity, esp. ensuring that no light bulbs be incandescent in 2012. Good news for companies that sell remote-monitoring energy meters I guess. Obama is doubling-down again; intends to use executive authority to impose his rule.