Announcement follows unveiling of highway checkpoints manned by TSA agents
Paul Joseph Watson
Following the announcement that TSA agents would be involved in manning highway checkpoints in Tennessee, the State’s Homeland Security Commissioner said yesterday that a raft of new “security checkpoints” would be in place over the Halloween period to “keep roadways safe for trick-or-treaters”.
Well, if it’s ‘for the children’, who are we to kick up a fuss?
“State Troopers will be conducting safety checkpoints, sobriety roadblocks, saturation patrols and other enforcement techniques to look for aggressive or impaired drivers,” over the next few days, in order to “keep roadways safe for trick-or-treaters,” according to Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons, whose office’s role includes “terrorism prevention”.
Since the Jackson Sun has already announced where the checkpoints will be located, enabling any bad guys to avoid them, is this really about keeping the kids safe or is it about revenue generation?
States raise much-needed cash from impounding vehicles from unlicensed drivers, but legal precedent dictates that the checkpoints would be in violation of the 4th amendment and therefore unconstitutional unless “public safety” can be cited as a pretext. Hence, they’re labeled DUI checkpoints and every traveler has their protection against unreasonable searches and seizures violated.
If it’s “for the children,” then the constitution is null and void.
Apparently, because one person was killed in a car crash in Tennessee last Halloween, that justifies the bill of rights being discarded in favor of Soviet-style checkpoints.
In reality, this represents another example of how Homeland Security has stepped way beyond its mandate and is becoming a literal occupying force in America.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Transportation Security Administration officials would be manning highway checkpoints in Tennessee targeting truck drivers.
After public outrage, the TSA attempted to neutralize the controversy by claiming that the inspections were carried out by State Troopers (the TSA agents were there to try to recruit truck drivers into becoming snitches for the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign), and that the checkpoints were merely temporary.
In reality, the program was the latest phase of the TSA’s rapidly expanding VIPR program, under which TSA agents have been deployed to shake down Americans at everywhere from bus depots, to ferry terminals, to train stations, in one instance conducting pat downs of passengers, including children, who had already completed their journey when arriving in Savannah.
So let’s not concern ourselves with the fact that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano admitted to how her department was authorizing illegal aliens, felons who have knowingly broken the law, to work inside the United States, so long as we’re safe in the knowledge that Americans will be getting searched at checkpoints in order to take care of trick-or-treating children this Halloween – that’s what really matters.
Link:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/dhs-announces-halloween-checkpoints-in-tennessee-to-keep-children-safe.html
From the Onion in 2005 when we all thought something like this was a joke...
Trick-Or-Treaters To Be Subject To Random Bag Searches
October 26, 2005
Responding to "a possible threat of terror and fright," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced Monday that trick-or-treaters will be subject to random bag searches this Halloween season.
"Individuals concealing their identities through clever disguise, and under cover of night, may attempt to use the unspecified threat of 'tricks' to extort 'treats' from unsuspecting victims," Chertoff said. "Such scare tactics may have been tolerated in the past, but they will not be allowed to continue this Halloween."
While he would not elaborate on the specific threat, Chertoff said his office had "heard a couple spooky tales," and indicated that there was good reason to believe that Americans face "a very ghoulish scenario" this October.
"We have done and will continue to do everything we can to protect citizens from those who would play on our fears," a haunted Chertoff said. "Nevertheless, Americans are advised to be in a state of readiness."
National Guard troops and local police are being stationed at checkpoints in residential neighborhoods to seize the contents of any paper bags, pillowcases, plastic pumpkins, or other receptacles. Additionally, candy-sniffing dogs will be posted at regular intervals to locate and devour suspicious items.
Local, county, and state officials have been placed on orange alert, with strict orders to confiscate and investigate bags containing Bit-O-Honey, Snickers, Baby Ruth, Twix, Butterfingers, Mr. Goodbar, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, gum, and any and all forms of taffy.
Chertoff asked Washington citizens for their assistance, and he outlined steps that the average citizen should take to aid in the war on fright. The DHS guidelines encourage parents to report any suspicious neighbors who create potentially spooky yard displays, especially those that include candle-illuminated pumpkin faces, skeletons in windows or doorways, or repeating tape loops of werewolf howling.
Chertoff recommended that law-enforcement authorities be granted sweeping new powers to ensure security, including mandatory street-corner identity checks for suspects wearing clothing designed to conceal facial features or otherwise obscure ready personal identification. Additionally, local police have been ordered to detain any individuals appearing to be ghosts, goblins, witches, or other characters designed to evoke fear.
Critics of the warning say that the DHS is merely sowing seeds of unease for political reasons, pointing out that the organization has yet to present any real evidence of the threat.
"This is yet another misguided and unfair example of profiling by our nation's law enforcement," said ACLU spokesperson Marilee McInnis. "It's doubtful that many G.I. Joes will be searched, but Aladdins, genies, and belly dancers should expect a huge crimp in their Halloween fun."
Link:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/trickortreaters-to-be-subject-to-random-bag-search,1820/
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