In reply to:

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Even if you take my very liberal bias into consideration, doesn't this scare even you conservatives?

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Oh, hell yeah. I've been scared since this whole thing started.. A story:

I grew up an 'airline kid' - both parents worked for Eastern Airlines (anoyone remember them?) so as a kid, I got to fly around ALOT. I grew up with the idea that when you fly, you respect the attendants, pilots, and crew. Security back then was nothing - noone would've dreampt about doing anything on a plane. I've bene flying less and less ever since '89, when Eastern went under.

Last year, my work sent me down to Ft. Lauderdale to fix a client's machine. One day trip - fly in in the morning, fly out that afternoon. Everything went peachy, (even with the client. That shoulda been my first hint..) Got back to the airport, and got the biggest scare of my life. Not formyself, but for the 'freedom' we have..
I was third in line thru security. Two guys in front of me, a lady behind me, and a line behind her. I'm starting to put my things in those huge microwave trays, when someone starts pulling closed the security gates. Three guys in army drag show up out of nowhere, with machine guns at the ready. They tell us to "get back". So, we do. (I wasn't going to argue looking down the business end of /that/.)
After a few minutes, the lady behind me starts whining something about her kid, getting louder and louder. This makes the guys with firepower nervous. ("My son's in there! I need to get to him! Please! Let me thru!"). The guards finally push us back even further, the mom getting hysterical. Finally, the guy in front of me- right before *I* was going to say something- turns around and tells her to "Please shut up, How'd your kid get in there ahead of you?" Which does shut her up. At this time, another army dood walks in with a dog. They dissapear behind the gate, only to come out ten minutes later carrying a box. "Sony DVD Player". They leave with the box, and eventually open up security. 40 minutes, wasted, standing there feeling like I somehow got transported to Russia in it's high-day.

I've flown since, but only once or twice. Now, I drive. Give me open road, where if they want me, they'll have to catch me.. In retrospect, what I said was true - I was more scared for 'the way of life' than I was scared for my life or whatnot. I mean, like hell I'd want to bring a child into THIS mess..

My thoughts, noone elses. Flame if you want. 'Show I feel.
Me.