In the past, I've written of abuses by the TSA, including its belief that you check your 4th Amendment rights the moment you purchase a plane ticket.

The TSA's invasive screening tactics shame passengers into their potentially harmful porno scanners with the horrific thought of being groped by an agent if you refuse.

As it turns out, while conducting tests on the radiation levels of these scanners, a number of them were coming back with higher levels than expected. "It would appear that the emissions are 10 times higher. We understand it as a calculation error," TSA spokesman Sarah Horowitz told Wired.

A "calculation error."  And yet, these are the people we are told are "keeping us safe?"

Nevertheless, without hesitation, the government continues to install these scanners in airports across the country.

If you thought virtual strip searches were a violation of your privacy, just wait until you hear the latest claim from the Department of Homeland Security.

During oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center), the DHS counsel claimed they have authority to "strip search every air traveler. The agency also stated that it believed a mandatory strip search rule could be instituted without any public comment or rulemaking."

Have we given up enough of our liberties yet?

Just when you thought flying couldn't possibly get worse, union bosses are now trying to force union representation on TSA employees with a "vote" that is clearly stacked in the bosses' favor.

In other words, that creepy TSA agent that almost seemed to enjoy feeling up you and your child will now be virtually impossible to fire for inappropriate behavior. 

From now on, security and passenger rights will play a secondary role to the union bosses' demands for "screener's rights."

Remember when House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica claimed the solution to TSA abuses was for airports to "opt-out" of the TSA?  Well, his "solution" turns out to be nothing more than a distraction to appease angry constituents.  In reality, it rings hollower than Jimmy Hoffa's coffin. 

The "private screeners" are required by law to follow the same screening procedures as the TSA; in other words, even if the airports opt-out, nothing will change except the names and faces.

The only viable solution here is to abolish the TSA.  Since 9/11, blue-shirted, rubber-gloved government agents have not thwarted the major terrorist attempts on our airlines.  In the real world, only alert passengers and flight crews stopped these attacks.

It's time to bring a halt to our government's security theater.  When the government claims to have a monopoly on keeping us safe, the chances of average people slipping into apathy are higher. 

Airlines have a responsibility to keep passengers protected and their planes safe and in the sky.  After the TSA is abolished, we must return the responsibility for security to where it belongs - the private sector.

Please consider chipping in $10 to help Campaign for Liberty continue to spread the message about the abuse of the American people's civil liberties by the TSA.

Before the TSA becomes a protected, public-sector union unlikely to ever be downsized or replaced, the American people must demand swift action to reign in the unaccountable, rogue agency.

In Liberty,

John Tate

President

P.S. C4L must expand its efforts if you and I are to stop the TSA and its assault on civil liberties. If you're able, please chip in just $10 to help my staff and me recruit even more Americans to this fight.

Aug. 6, 2011

john.f.tate@campaignforliberty.com