If you were one of those people who thought you could get away from Transportation Security Administration (TSA) molestation and radiation by ditching the airport and taking the bus, you were wrong.
The “safety” first agency recently began testing a new program known as VIPER (Visual Intermodal Protection and Response) which saw the TSA place their employees (henchmen) at Greyhound bus stations in Tampa to search, grope and generally harass ground travelers. The TSA was even kind enough to bring in police dogs to sniff everyone and make sure they were good to go.
The federal security director for TSA at Tampa International Airport, Gary Milano told the media at a press conference that the new program is meant “to sort of invent the wheel in advance, in case … there ever is specific intelligence requiring us to be here. This way, us and our partners are ready to move in at a moment’s notice.”
Oh Boy! Anything to make us feel more secure! Even if it makes an already crappy bus trip much worse than it already is. We’ll bend over and take it, especially if it’s for our own good.
It sounds like Milano is basically saying that there is no legit or legal reason for the TSA to be shaking down passengers at bus stations, but hey as long as they can say the words “security” and “potential threat” they should be able to get away with it.
When they say the proper buzz words the drones are just supposed to accept their programming for the sake of improved security.
But it doesn’t end there dear reader, oh no.
There is also the matter of the U.S. Border Patrol getting in on the gratuitous domination.
“What we’re looking for are threats to national security as well as immigration law violators,” explained Steve McDonald from the U.S. Border Patrol, who was also trying to legitimize the efforts to the public.
So there you have it.
Just when we thought that there might a loophole that allows us to avoid the porno scanning and the genital touching, the TSA comes in and makes sure that no travelers will escape their mighty grasp.
Like it says on the Reason.com blog, it probably won’t be long before everyone who wants to use mass transportation in the U.S. will have to submit the government questioning.
And since they are claiming they are also looking for drug criminals you will probably also have to explain why you are carrying cash on you, because these days I guess only bad guys carry useful amounts of cash on them.
It looks like all forms of technology, whether it’s our computers or our vehicles, are now a part of the national security state.
So, how long will it be before people have to get licenses and pay a fee to use their Internet connections?
Judging by the way things are going it will be pretty damn soon.
