It's what Reece doesn't say that catches my attention. Like most Establishment reporters, he doesn't dig very deep.
For example:
"...a security screener announced..."
"...screeners refused to give her paperwork or documentation..."
"'They said "no" and they said it's a national security issue. And I said what about my constitutional rights? And they said "not at this point ... you don't have any".'"
Who "announced"?
Who "refused"?
Who "said"?
Do these people have names? Why do we know private citizen Cecilia Beaman's name, but not those of her thug oppressors?
Case in point:
We know the name of Elian Gonzalez.
We know the name of "fisherman" Donato Dalrymple.
Quick--who's the guy in the goggles?
One purpose of the press is to act as a watchdog over oppressive government, yet time and again I read stories where the agents committing abuses remain anonymous. By not identifying who they are as individuals, they face no personal consequences. They can continue abusing sovereign citizens with impunity.
If some Naziwannabe on the public dole is telling citizens they have no Constitutional rights, I want to know who that creep is. I want him out of any position of "authoritah".
Meanwhile, don't feel too sorry for new civil libertarian Cecelia Beaman, who is shocked, shocked that this could happen to her. As principal of Pacific Middle School, she presides over warrantless searches of charges she suspects of wrongdoing as a matter of policy.
Funny thing about Highline Public Schools' "SEARCH AND SEIZURE (BOARD POLICY 3231-3232)". They admit at the outset: "All students possess the constitutional right to be secure in their persons, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures." But instead of obtaining a warrant based on "probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized," the bar at HPS is lowered to mere "reasonable cause for school authorities to believe that the possession constitutes a crime or rule violation."
So, Cecelia, before you scream too loudly about your rights, maybe you could tell us how many lockers you've ordered searched without a warrant--and what you would do, under the doctrine of "zero tolerance," to some hapless student caught in a situation similar to yours.
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[I found out about the TSA story via FreedomSight, via End the War on Freedom, via What Really Happened.]
