[If a private entity like McCullagh's Bus Lines wants to deny someone service or request ID for security reasons, and the government did not order or influence my decision, I should have the right to do so. And if you don't like my decision, feel free to patronize a competitor. If I am too unreasonable, my business will fail; if I am sensible, it will prosper. The problem comes when the government hands down secret laws, which is what we're dealing with here. So I think Stephen is wrong: Airlines no longer have the right to "set their own house rules." Previous message: http://www.politechbot.com/p-04312.html --Declan] --- Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 20:20:20 -0500 To: declanat_private From: Stephen Cobb <scobbat_private> Subject: Re: FC: John Gilmore's suit over secret FAA regs in SF court on 1/17 In-Reply-To: <5.1.1.6.0.20030114164330.01a74e48at_private> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-361BCEC; boundary="=======24476CC=======" Declan I agree that airport security is out of hand (I fly a lot so I've seen them pry grannies out of wheelchairs for body searches), and I agree that TIA is a terrible idea and John Ashcroft's attitude to the Constitution is pretty sad, but I don't think this lawsuit has any merit, other than to focus people's attention on these issues. That may be John's point, but from this message it sounds like he believes we have a right to step onto commercial airplanes or check into hotels without identifying ourselves. I think the people who own those airplanes and hotels might see it differently (I'm assuming they have some rights to set their own house rules). But what stands out in this message is the same sense of denial I detect in a lot of current commentary on the government's response to terrorism. When your country is a target of terrorism, the whole point is that your neighbor, the free citizen next door, could be plotting to blow you up. The only Americans I know who have figured this out are the ones like me who have lived in countries targeted by terrorists, have lived next door to terrorists. In my case it was England and the IRA. When the pub you just walked past explodes and the local priest gets arrested for having explosives and a map of your home town showing where to plant them, you do some serious thinking about whether: "every "free" citizen should not be routinely treated like a suspected terrorist." And you quickly realize there are no easy answers to the fear and suspicion that terrorism sows, which is exactly why it is such an effective tactic. It is certainly one reason I decided to move to America in the seventies, to get away from that terrorism-induced climate of fear and suspicion (yes, I am aware of the irony, that certain American citizens were funding the bombing of the place I grew up--it is also ironic that 9/11 might have changed attitudes in New York towards IRA funding). The point is that terrorism does impact freedom. Like most people, I sure as heck want passengers to be required to present IDs before boarding, until such time as it is highly unlikely that the guy next to me is going to try and kill me. And until people get their heads around that and fight for things that will end terrorism, such as a sane Middle East policy, I respectfully submit that lawsuits like this one are at best a distraction. Stephen ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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