Posted on 10/25/2004 11:50:09 AM PDT by Bob Barr
Secure Flight to Replace Discredited CAPPS II
Former U.S. Representative Bob Barr, who serves as the 21st Century Liberties Chair for Privacy and Freedom at the American Conservative Union, has provided written comments to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regarding that agency's latest proposal for a system to screen persons who fly on commercial airlines.
Barr notes in his comments that the proposed system, dubbed Secure Flight, is less privacy-invasive and constitutionally-problematic than its predecessor, the now-discredited CAPPS II system. The earlier proposal, which Congress refused to fund, would have subjected every person seeking to fly within or into or out of the United States, to having their name run through a secret data system containing vast amounts of personal information on them, and then given a color code before they were or were not allowed to board an aircraft.
(Excerpt) Read more at bobbarr.org ...
Barr notes in his comments that the proposed system, dubbed Secure Flight, is less privacy-invasive and constitutionally-problematic than its predecessor, the now-discredited CAPPS II system. The earlier proposal, which Congress refused to fund, would have subjected every person seeking to fly within or into or out of the United States, to having their name run through a secret data system containing vast amounts of personal information on them, and then given a color code before they were or were not allowed to board an aircraft.
The current system, at least as it is proposed in an initial test phase by TSA, will not color code passengers, but will merely check their names against a list of known and suspected terrorists and associates thereof. However, Barr cautions that while this latest proposed system appears less privacy-invasive than its predecessor, the proposal still has inadequate safeguards against collecting personal data unrelated to air travel, and has no effective mechanism for correcting errors or ensuring it does not run afoul of federal laws or the Constitution.
For these reasons, in his written comments Barr, urged the government to place strict statutory limits on the information being placed in the system and on the uses to which it might be put, as well as enacting a way to correct errors.
Barr, a former Member of Congress, has served with the U.S. Department of Justice and Central Intelligence Agency. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association and works with such groups as Harvard University, the American Conservative Union Foundation, and the ACLU on issues related to privacy and national security.
Are you actually Bob Barr, the embittered former Congressman that tried to gain acceptance in the MSM by joining the terrorist-supporting ACLU and turning on your own party by bashing Bush right before the election?
bob barr is a doodie head.
If you are Bob Barr, save your money and quit advertising in the Oklahoman for a full page ad before the election telling us to put pressure on our elected Senators. Just what we didn't need in the State was an ad about the Patriot Act with our Senate race so close and Carson pretending to be conservative.
I have zero respect left after reading that ACLU ad -- all I have is disgust!
bob barr is worthless. I guess being in the ACLU has flipped him into a paranoid liberal.
Why should the government want to correct errors? The paper is always correct.
Well, I see that Bob Barr is now officially in trouble with (some) Freepers; that Jesus fellow better watch what he says, too....
Last week I went for jury duty and they had the same crap inspections set up to enter County Hall. You know all those wild eyed Jurors that need to be screened for sharp objects. I tore the Sheriff's deputy a new one and he finally let me through.
Where will the government set up the next screening for us non-mudslimes: The supermarket, shopping mall, gas stations, restaurants, library (all those subversive documents you know), Post office, movie theaters, Kinkos (may be sending a document to Dan Rather) etc.?
They were doing these inspections at court buildings long before September 11th, 2001.
Yes they were and I made no allegation otherwise. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. That is why the deputy let me pass without an inspection because he knew I was right.
Again I state: "Where does it stop?" Are we going to allow governments to do searches anywhere they see fit without a warrant when it is "for your security", "for your safety", "for the children".....?
The courts are not just worried about Moslems. It's too bad that one has to pass security to enter a public courthouse, but as with other restrictions in American life, all these features are a response to actual tragedies that occurred in the past. Apparently the number of criminals and nuts with nothing to lose is increasing. As I recall there were times in the 1970s when judges were kidnapped and killed. Of course the mayor of San Francisco was killed by someone who went around security. I'm very surprised you were able to talk your way out of a search. I imagine the deputy put his job on the line.
You neglected to mention that Bob Barr is voting third-party against President Bush while hobnobbing with haters of Israel. That Bob Barr?
You don't find it ironic that the people in government need to protect themselves from us? They have made themselves a protected class. My question still stands folks "where does it end?".
The very same government that is searching us without a warrant (no more 4th) is also trying little by little to leave us unprotected by bastardizing the 2nd amendment.
This is the same government logic that makes it illegal in some cities for cab drivers to wear bullet proof vests because they could be used by some low life to protect themselves when committing a crime. The same government logic which prevents us in certain cities from using pepper spray for protection.
Notice how the government types protect themselves yet do their best to make sure we cannot?
Because it has been done for years does not make it right. It only means that we have been lazy.
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