Suspected Terrorist [Multimillionaire sues U.S. government over right to fly anonymously]

Reason Magazine ^ | August/September 2003 | Brian Doherty

[cardinal4]

Im sorry, if you feel its beneath you to show ID......

[Michael.SF.]

Gilmore is an a-hole and so is the writer.

John Gilmore

I had never heard of John Gilmore and knew nothing about him. I decided to check out his webpage and was a bit surprised to find that he was not what I expected him to be.

After all, anybody who can put together this information on Bill Clinton, cannot be all bad.

He also has some excellent photos on Al Gore including this one:

There are also some good audio files on Clinton, Hillary and others.

The guy is a Libertarian and is extremist, but he is also smart enough to realize what incredible phonies Bill, Hillary and Al are. For that, I would give him a little credit.

[TomB]

Libertarian and is extremist

That is very rapidly becoming a redundancy.

[cardinal4]

His anticlinton stance is admirable, but it is negated by the button. Aviation security will not be a perfect science for awhile. We are working on ways to make it easier, its just going to take time. In the meantime, show your ID!(not directed at you, of course, this guy Gilmore) You do at the bank, right? How about to write a check? Its one thing to rail against the Patriot act and the wiretapping. Its another thing entirely to petulantly not show your ID to verify you are the person who purchased the ticket. This guys seems to be a man of means. He should use his means for more important things. If he wants to some good, get the Vince Foster case reopened. Force the DOJ to investigate Chinagate scandal. But dont tie up the courts with foolish motions like this. ID is required almost everywhere now. He needs to get over it. And that button makes him look like an asshole.

[Mulder]

He should be arrested or tossed out of airplane at 30,000 feet.

So he should either be arrested for no cause, or killed without due process?

Welcome to Amerika.

[Mulder]

Go to a REAL totalitarian country and tell them that we aren't free. The fact of the matter is that none of those things make me less "free".

What does other countries being 'not free' have to do with this country being 'free'? Absoultely nothing.

What exactly would make you less "free"?

If the gov't burned down your church or performed experiements on you without your consent?

[Sloth]

How can a Libertarian seriously argue that a company does not have the right to set any requirements it wishes to it's service. No one is forced to fly.

Billions & billions of tax dollars have gone to bail out the airlines. As far as I (a lowercase-L libertarian) am concerned, that makes them a government agency.

[Mulder]

Rules are rules.

Spoken like a good peasant.

You need an ID to verify that the persons name who is on the ticket matches the name of the person trying to get on.

What difference does it make as long as he or she has paid for their ticket?

And for the record, anyone who wears a button like that at an airport is an asshole.

Maybe if he wasn't treated like a "suspected terrorist", he wouldn't wear a buttom to that effect.

[Michael.SF.]

This guys seems to be a man of means.

That is an understatement from what I learned in my brief excursion into the throws of darkness.

I would disagree with you though on the "good things he could do" laundry list. Vince Foster for example is a dead end (no pun intended).

But I do agree with you on the button thing, that does make him look like a fool.

[Mulder]

Im sorry, if you feel its beneath you to show ID......

There was a time in this country when parents used to tell their children that one of the things that made the Soviet Union so horrible was that you had to show your 'papers' to travel anywhere.

If I pay for something, I should not have to show ID.

If the airlines want me to produce ID, they should make it worth my while by offering a discount or allowing me to board without having my luggage searched without a warrant.

Until then, I'll simply drive.

[verity]

He should be arrested or and tossed out of airplane at 30,000 feet over Mulder's house..

[Cboldt]

If you feel beneath showing your ID, you can always take Greyhound.

Many bus lines require ID too. Concord Trailways in New England does.

"Rules are rules" indeed. ID required for food? Seeds? Entry to city limits? The airline ID for ticket gig is mostly a revenue enhancing device, in my opinion.

[TomB]

What does other countries being 'not free' have to do with this country being 'free'? Absoultely nothing.

Of course you would say that, because by comparison we live in the freest society in the world.

If the gov't burned down your church or performed experiements on you without your consent?

Uh, many of those "experiments" were performed back 40 or 50 years ago when we were "more free".

[tet68]

Hey, you asked for it!

This program brought to you by........SKIPPY Peanut Butter.

[Cboldt]

show your ID! . . . You do at the bank, right? How about to write a check? . . .

Hey, I found a loophole. I write checks all the time, but I put them in the mail. No ID required, just a stamp. Maybe we shoudl require ID for mailing things, after all, it might have stopped the person who mailed antrax.

FWIW, I'm a more-or-less pleasant fellow who kow-tows to the airline and inspection authorities regulations. You'd find me a right pleasant chap to deal and associate with. But I have a mighty low opinion of airlines and TSA (even though I am wise enough to not put it on display while traveling).

[cryptical]

Maybe we shoudl require ID for mailing things, after all, it might have stopped the person who mailed antrax.

Too late, you can no longer mail items > 16oz without appearing at a Post Office, and there was a CongressCritter the other day that was complaining about < 16oz items possibly being carried on planes.

[Mulder]

He should be arrested or and tossed out of airplane at 30,000 feet over Mulder's house..

It takes balls to suggest doing that from behind the safety of your keyboard.

Try it for real, and see if your opinion of the TSA and airlines changes.

[Rockpile]

Here's a posting I did a couple of months ago:

TSA wrecks Texas caribou hunters meat Posted by Rockpile to buffyt; Vinnie On News/Activism 06/01/2003 8:22 AM PDT #49 of 109 Speaking of the Denver Airport--my mother's sister, a septuagenarian widow was travelling with a church group to Mexico City about four years ago and was robbed by the Denver airport security thugs. They seized her to be frisked and interrogated as a potential hijacker while one of them stole her money,ID and her PASSPORT. She was in the custody of the security thugs when her purse was robbed. Of course none them saw anything and there was conveniently nothing to be seen on the security cameras. She missed the flight and had to get a temporary passport. Eventually caught up with her group and they took up a little collection for spending money. I didn't find out about this for a long time and was pretty aggravated that nobody went to an outside agency like the state police or FBI but they didn't. Rockpile-----Airline Free since 1985

Well, at least the good part of the event was that the security people got a thorough look at her ID.

Rockpile--STILL Airline Free since 1985.