State Sponsored Sexual Harassment

There are any number of articles in the past week discussing the groping TSA, under the watchful eye of Janet NaPalpatine (...), engaging in sexual harassment of airport customers.  Stories of fondling genitalia, groping, laughing at intentionally exposed body parts, and ogling nude negative x-ray images are all available on any news site (not to mention the alarming level of radiation travelers are being subjected to).

And it is all in the name of security. 

Is this really about security though? On the surface, perhaps. I'll refrain from quoting the oft bandied Ben Franklin, you've heard it by now, I'm sure.  But I will paraphrase my favorite science fiction author, Frank Herbert about tyranny and population control:

Tyrannies are much more effective when one limits the populations ability to travel.  Limit a groups ability to be mobile, and limit the threat to the tyrant.

The tyrant in this case being the federal government.  What this is truly about is more control of the general population.  If the government were truly worried about security, more common sense methods of securing the flights would be taking place.

And yes, chief among them would be profiling.

Muslim males traveling alone have committed exponentially more acts of terrorism than any other group. It's a ridiculously wide margin. The most rudimentary mathematical study would show that.  But religious profiling (for muslims are not solely one race) would not be the only type of profiling to be done. Some that spring to mind: Single males on one way tickets. All incoming US flights could be more closely scrutinized. The list could go on, and nearly anything would do more towards securing this country than giving random passengers hand jobs.

There are any number of other ways, not involving 'random' heavy petting, that could be implemented that would be effective.

Whether you love her or hate her, Ann Coulter hits the nail on the head with her Nov 17th article.