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Grounded: Millionaire John Gilmore stays close to home while making a point about privacy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, Feb. 27, 2005 | Dennis Roddy

Posted on 02/27/2005 7:13:06 AM PST by TheBlackFeather

He's unable to travel because he refuses to present a government-approved ID

SAN FRANCISCO -- John Gilmore's splendid isolation began July 4, 2002, when, with defiance aforethought, he strolled to the Southwest Airlines counter at Oakland Airport and presented his ticket.

(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghpostgazette.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dramaqueens; govwatch; homelandsecurity; johngilmore; libertarians; nationalid; patriotact; privacy; tsa
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To: TheBlackFeather
This guys a freakin' millionaire. He could charter a flight or hire a pilot. Oh, that's right, if he did that, he wouldn't be able to get his self-important mug in the paper: "Look at what a rabble-rouser I am."

Typical modern narcissist.
41 posted on 02/27/2005 7:48:23 AM PST by frossca
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To: TheBlackFeather
According to Southwest.com, its part of their boarding policy. If he doesn't like it, he can go go elsewhere, he didn't have to buy their ticket.

* Read all information at the bottom of your Boarding Pass carefully:
o This Boarding Pass will be retained by Southwest Airlines at the departure gate.
o Any change made to this reservation by you or any other person will void this boarding pass.
o In order to print a valid Boarding Pass, your Internet Browser must be set up to print images. A barcode should appear on the left side of the printed document.
o Faxed copies of Boarding Passes will not be accepted and must be reprinted prior to boarding the aircraft.
o If you are not checking luggage, you may proceed directly to the Security Checkpoint with this Boarding Pass.
o This Boarding Pass is valid only for the Passenger listed above.
o Government-issued identification is required.
o The TSA strictly enforces a limit of one carryon item, plus one smaller personal item.
o Customer Checkin Requirement: Customers who are not present and available for boarding at the departure gate at least ten (10) minutes before scheduled departure time will have their reserved space cancelled and will not be eligible for denied boarding compensation.
o View Southwest Airlines' Contract of Carriage.

42 posted on 02/27/2005 7:49:59 AM PST by evolved_rage (Of course their is nowhere else to go, but I digress...)
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To: yer gonna put yer eye out
"Surely your life here is hell........"

Not yet. And I'd like to keep it that way.

43 posted on 02/27/2005 7:50:25 AM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: Polybius
You do not have a Constitutional right to travel by air without showing that you are not an individual who may intend to kill every individual on your flight and maybe thousands more on the ground.

You don't have the Constitutional right to get married, own a toaster, or have hot and cold running water inside your house. Read the document - these things aren't mentioned at all!

44 posted on 02/27/2005 7:51:43 AM PST by coloradan (Hence, etc.)
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To: fight_truth_decay
Yes let's write another law...will he pay for the costs of writing this new law?..he's an idiot! He can get a passport, but chooses not to. Did I say he was an idiot? He's an idiot!

You can call him an idiot, but if you read the article you would know that he has a passport and has no issue using it. Try using more caution when calling others idiots.

45 posted on 02/27/2005 7:51:49 AM PST by Mark was here (My tag line was about to be censored.)
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To: palmer
Is that what is says on the ID? Are terrorist sleepers screened from getting IDs?

See my Post 26.

"Showing ID can help stop "bait and switch" schemes where a ticket is bought under the name of "Paul Smith" and a very Arab-looking Abdul al-Bombzawi waltzes aboard the aircraft without anybody even asking him his name."

Like it or not, we are at war and the war front has been brought to America's airports with extremely deadly results that have costs thousands of American lives.

During war or even during Peace, ID's are a necessary fact of life in sensitive areas prone to enemy sabotage or attack. On the morning of my last day of duty aboard my last warship, I entered the restricted areas on my own with my ID but I had to leave that afternoon with a Master-at-Arms escort after turning in my ship's ID card.

"Cest la Guerre."

46 posted on 02/27/2005 7:52:00 AM PST by Polybius
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To: palmer
Well yes I do have to right to fly in safety Mr. Troll.

Just like the airline pilot, stewards, and stewardesses have the right to reasonably expect to arrive home in one piece...

You "my rights are the only rights" goofs need to take life's spotlight off yourselves and join the human race.
47 posted on 02/27/2005 7:52:30 AM PST by yer gonna put yer eye out (Gettin' a PhD (Prettyhard on Democrats) at FR)
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To: Smartaleck
"Waiting for someone to not realize riding in a public conveyance is not a right."

Double negatives tend to be confusing, especially when I haven't had my coffee.

Here's an interesting question:

What is the difference between government requiring an individual to show ID, and a government regulation ( secret, as well ) requiring private industry to require an individual to show ID?

48 posted on 02/27/2005 7:54:58 AM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: palmer
That's not very elegant, but I agree with the first part, requiring ID's adds nothing to security. As Schneier says, if the government has a list of bad guys, why are they waiting for them to show up at the airport?

Interesting. So are you arguing that people allowed into secure areas of the airport, like baggage handlers, should not be required to have IDs? Anyone can go onto the tarmac and load stuff onto a plane?

Requiring IDs is one part of the equation, making sure the IDs are hard to forge is the other part. Maybe the second part needs improvement, but that doesn't mean you throw out the first part.

49 posted on 02/27/2005 7:55:52 AM PST by BigBobber
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To: Tench_Coxe
What is the difference between government requiring an individual to show ID, and a government regulation ( secret, as well ) requiring private industry to require an individual to show ID?

The government doesn't have to require the latter: my company won't let me in its building without an ID that I must pass through a badge reader.

No badge, no entry.

50 posted on 02/27/2005 7:57:59 AM PST by sinkspur ("Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words.")
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To: Mathemagician
Sure can back it up...the fact that the story made FR is a good start...

It's easy for you to sit in your armchair and complain about someone at the airport trying to do what they can to insure a safe flight...

Those folks are actually doing something to try to protect other travelers....as I told another "Brain Trust" on this thread, read post #32
51 posted on 02/27/2005 7:58:06 AM PST by yer gonna put yer eye out (Gettin' a PhD (Prettyhard on Democrats) at FR)
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To: Spktyr
So, basically, he's saying he's trapped in his home area because he's too stupid to get a car and a license for it (which does not require a government ID to get). Nice.

1)He cannot get a license, apparently, due to his epilepsy. He could, however, get an ID card. That doesn't make him "stupid" per se, just stubborn.

2)A notarized birth certificate, a passport, state ID card, driver's permit, or military ID are generally required in order to get a license...at least in the states that I have lived in. I do believe at least some of those count as a kind of government ID. (This is in addition to a utility bill, ect. with your name and address on it or something like that to prove your residence in the state you are applying for a license in.)

I'm not saying I disagree with doing any of this (how else are you supposed to prove that you are eligible for a driver's license?

52 posted on 02/27/2005 7:58:24 AM PST by exnavychick
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To: TheBlackFeather
I remember getting on airplanes, for in country flights, by presenting just my ticket. Now, air travel requires us to go well beyond presenting valid ID. We must strip half naked and stand around in our socks while highly skilled(?) federal employees confiscate our nail clippers and rulers to ensure we're safe enough to board a pig-hauler with wings. My family and I have traveled by air several times each year since 2001... Each time without fail, my son, at 5, 6, or 8 years old has been pulled aside with me for extra scrutiny with the probes and sniffers. He's getting a complex. We're both blonde and dress like people used to dress; pants that fit, shirts (with collars) tucked in, shoes tied, no hats. Is it my foot long beard and diaper wrapped around my head? Nope, that guy is waved through ahead of me and on to his gate while I stand next to a colleague of Mother Terresa's getting frisked and watching my bag being disassembled. Oops! I forgot to remove my disposable razor which falls under the same class of weaponry as a two foot machete. On board we're served meals(?) with table ware that Fischer-Price or Playschool would develop so we aren't compelled to storm the cabin or assault any air stewardesses. Remember real flatware to cut your rubber chicken or spread the rock hard butter on the rock hard roll, and a fork that could maintain all it's tines when it pierced an over cooked carrot? Ah, those were the days.
53 posted on 02/27/2005 8:00:11 AM PST by Big Okie (in California)
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To: Mrs Mark

Most state motor vehicle departments will issue a photo ID to NON drivers. That would seem to be a solution for this irate "traveler".


54 posted on 02/27/2005 8:00:15 AM PST by codder too
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To: Mrs Mark
For a tech geek, he sure has a problem using a search engine.

The applicable laws, by the way, are 49 U.S.C. § 44901 (as amended in 2004); and 49 U.S.C. § 44902 (as amended in 2004).

Here's the 1/22/02 version, which says much the same thing:

Section 44901. Screening passengers and property

(a) In General. - The Under Secretary of Transportation for
Security shall provide for the screening of all passengers and
property, including United States mail, cargo, carry-on and checked
baggage, and other articles, that will be carried aboard a
passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air
carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation. In
the case of flights and flight segments originating in the United
States, the screening shall take place before boarding and shall be
carried out by a Federal Government employee (as defined in section
2105 of title 5, United States Code), except as otherwise provided
in section 44919 or 44920 and except for identifying passengers and
baggage for screening under the CAPPS and known shipper programs
and conducting positive bag-match programs.
(b) Supervision of Screening. - All screening of passengers and
property at airports in the United States where screening is
required under this section shall be supervised by uniformed
Federal personnel of the Transportation Security Administration who
shall have the power to order the dismissal of any individual
performing such screening. [snip]

Section 44902. Refusal to transport passengers and property

(a) Mandatory Refusal. - The Under Secretary of Transportation
for Security shall prescribe regulations requiring an air carrier,
intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier to refuse to
transport -
(1) a passenger who does not consent to a search under section
44901(a) of this title establishing whether the passenger is
carrying unlawfully a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other
destructive substance; or
(2) property of a passenger who does not consent to a search of
the property establishing whether the property unlawfully
contains a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive
substance.
(b) Permissive Refusal. - Subject to regulations of the Under
Secretary, an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air
carrier may refuse to transport a passenger or property the carrier
decides is, or might be, inimical to safety.
(c) Agreeing to Consent to Search. - An agreement to carry
passengers or property in air transportation or intrastate air
transportation by an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or
foreign air carrier is deemed to include an agreement that the
passenger or property will not be carried if consent to search the
passenger or property for a purpose referred to in this section is
not given.

So, basically, there's two ways that they can legally refuse you - first, by not presenting ID, you are not consenting to search and therefore cannot board; second, by not presenting ID, you cause the airline to think that you might be inimical to safety, which allows them to deny you boarding.

55 posted on 02/27/2005 8:00:21 AM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: BigBobber

Forgery is not an issue when there are sleepers who can easily obtain IDs. I realize they perform background checks on airport employees, but that doesn't mean they should do the same for all passengers, the costs would far outweigh any benefit.


56 posted on 02/27/2005 8:01:38 AM PST by palmer ("Oh you heartless gloaters")
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To: coloradan
You don't have the Constitutional right to get married, own a toaster, or have hot and cold running water inside your house. Read the document - these things aren't mentioned at all!

Why are you playing with peoples minds? Are you are just trying to confuse them? That is like taking candy from a baby. People like to believe they have Constitutional Rights, so let them. The truth is the Constitution merely limits the power of the government to violate your inherent rights.

57 posted on 02/27/2005 8:02:33 AM PST by Mark was here (My tag line was about to be censored.)
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To: Tench_Coxe
If you want to keep it that way start to see the forest for the trees, and get off your "Victim" horse and cooperate with a few requests that are so easily doable that a NORMAL person wouldn't think twice about it...
58 posted on 02/27/2005 8:04:19 AM PST by yer gonna put yer eye out (Gettin' a PhD (Prettyhard on Democrats) at FR)
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To: TheBlackFeather

Wow, at this rate they may soon make you show an ID to cash a check. What is the world coming to?


59 posted on 02/27/2005 8:04:44 AM PST by TN4Liberty (American... conservative... southern.... It doesn't get any better than this.)
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To: Mrs Mark

Then he's a FLAMING idiot!!


60 posted on 02/27/2005 8:05:55 AM PST by yer gonna put yer eye out (Gettin' a PhD (Prettyhard on Democrats) at FR)
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