Posted on 11/15/2006 7:11:46 AM PST by bigdcaldavis
Not a proper use of the patriot act, in my opinion.
I don't agree with it.
Wow. What's wrong with 40(s)? You don't stop living at 40. You don't stop looking good at 40. Brad Pitt is in his 40s for example. Women in their 20s still chat me up in the pub and I still go out with some of those women (I don't think it's fair to hold their youth against them ;-) Being 40 (or so) also allows you to really begin to appreciate all the beautiful women who are in their 50s and beyond. So, you have the best of all worlds.
40s are very good years.
I'm not directly associating the 9/11 attacks with the staged Reichstag fire, but Hitler and his cronies passed their own Patriot Act-like laws which they used to set up their Nazi dictatorship and the enslavement/murder of millions of Jews in the concentration camps. And if we're not careful, history could repeat itself...only this time in America, not Germany.
They won't be convicted under the Act. But they will get their just desserts.
Re: abuse of power, dictators don't follow precedents, they set them. It wouldn't matter to Hildeb!tch what laws we have on the book. She'll just do whatever the hell she d@mn well pleases.
I had a male flight attendant throw a guy off the plane for saying, "Damn, I got a window seat," while boarding. The flight attendant said that he shouldn't have been swearing in front of other passengers!
Thank goodness I heard the conversation, was in charge, and had him put back on the plane.
"How many people run afoul of the law just because they did not massage the ego of some badge holder?"
You are absolutely right!
Free speech doesn't cover making threats. Just like you can be arrested for saying "this is a stickup" at the bank, you can be arrested for threatening just about anyone. The flight attendant can't read his mind & determine if the nut is serious or not.
"...Go lick some more boots..."
I agree with you 100% with that bootlicking sentiment. Statists of either stripe (Democrat or Republican) are harmful to our country.
From what I understand from talk radio, this man is being accused of performing oral sex on his girlfriend while aboard the airplane. Given the confines of modern aircraft, I don't believe that is even physically possible. If they were indeed misbehaving in public, I'm sure there are much better laws that can deal with their inappropriate behavior. Threatening the amorous couple with prison is just plain silly and a waste of taxpayer money.
~ Blue Jays ~
Are they really that pissy, or is it just a stereotype?
Telling someone there will be "serious consequences" isn't a threat. Telling them you are going to kill them or injure them in some way is a threat. Serious consequences could mean any number of things, most of which would not be jailing offenses. If telling someone that there will be serious consequences is against the law then a hell of a lot of employers are in danger of going to jail. The Patriot Act is being abused in this case if the article is true, and this is a danger with any law that gives excess authority to people in power.
Telling someone that there will be serious consequences is NOT a threat. It could mean a lot of things, such as reporting the airline employee to his/her superiors. Telling someone you are going to beat the crap out of them or kill them is a threat. This is an abuse of power. Basically what we have here is two people making out on a plane and being threatened with 20 years in jail for it. There is no way they are, or could be construed to be, terrorists, but yet they are being charged under the Patriot Act. Abuse of power, plain and simple.
That's the max. They won't get that.
Hey...I'm 3yrs away from 40 so chill out Lu-lu. No one is asking to make sex after 40 illegal. I'm just pointing out the obvious. It's bad enough when teens and twenty-somethings are all over each other in public let alone a couple of middle age "kids" who have so little self control. One can just imagine the kinds of lives they've led that would make them think this was ok. Late start hippies?
Hey, Ichabod. I'm pushing 40 and I have former classmates that ARE grandparents. Nobody needs THAT mental image, ok?
What's wrong with 40? Absolutely nothing. But the thing I find sexy about 40-something men is the fact that they've matured beyond the "Let's hang all over each other and piss off everyone around us." I'm betting they've lived life hard and probably look every bit of it.
My point is this don't threaten the flight attendants, use your good manners and if you are asked to not do something just don't do it. The whole thing is silly.
If a threat had been made, you would be correct.
But as has been repeatedly pointed out, it does not appear that he threatened the flight attendant, except that he threatened to report the flight attendant to his boss.
And that "threat" should never cause a customer to be faced with terror charges.
"Are they really that pissy, or is it just a stereotype?"
The guy I quoted was straight. The other "guys," not all, but most, remind me of a woman with PMS.
As with all jobs in dealing with the public, you should just use common sense. But as in post # 65.......
"How many people run afoul of the law just because they did not massage the ego of some badge holder?"
When I read this thread, I assumed that the "badge holder," was over-reacting.
Sorta reminds me of a celebrity and his girlfriend I had as passengers. They entered the lavatory together on a flight from LAX to the east coast. I saw it, but why would I care? It really bothered a "pissy" male flight attendant. He pounded on the door and told them that there weren't enough oxygen masks in there for them if there was an emergency! :)
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