Anyone that's flying on Wednesday.

[LMNO]

Honestly, if I had any faith in the Acela line (high speed train between Boston and DC) and I hadn't already bought non-refundable tickets, I'd probably do that.  It's looking like a four-hour train ride might be quicker and more comfortable than a 90-minute flight these days.

[Suu]

not to threadjack, but what was that about?

I love love love stories in which sallie mae gets the short end of the stick

Shoot me a PM if you want to know more.

Long story short, SLMA was dicking me and my grandmother around to the point of it being unbearable. We would be called, harassed to the point of illegality, and when we would ask for a supervisor, they would hang up on us. It got to the point where enough was enough and I wrote letters to my Congressman (Patrick Kennedy...WASTE of time) and both of RI's senators. I also wrote to NY's senators (my grandmother lives there), HER Congressman, the senators in PA where SLMA is based, the senators in FL where I went to school, as well as the President and Vice President (their addresses are public. Fucking WRITE TO THEM.)

I got called by personally by Sheldon Whitehouse, one of the RI Senators, and a senator from NY. They called SLMA on our behalf and gave them what for. I received a signed letter of apology from SLMA, and remarkably as of this past summer, no private institutions are permitted to fund or service federal student loans, and private loans are now being strictly regulated.

Writing letters: YES. IT CAN WORK FOR YOU.  

Your legislators were elected by YOU. They are put in place to work for YOU, and are paid with YOUR tax dollars. They will listen to YOU if they want to win another fucking election. Sometimes they seriously don't know wtf is going on unless you tell them. They each have a website with email forms AND snail mail addresses listed for a reason.

We live in a republic which has representative democracy. The system is not broken [yet]. Use it.

[Suu]

Honestly, if I had any faith in the Acela line (high speed train between Boston and DC) and I hadn't already bought non-refundable tickets, I'd probably do that.  It's looking like a four-hour train ride might be quicker and more comfortable than a 90-minute flight these days.

Next time I go to Florida I'm going to take the train. It's pretty much the same price as a plane ticket anyway, and it's something different, just a hell of a lot longer.

[LMNO]

Writing letters: YES. IT CAN WORK FOR YOU.  

Your legislators were elected by YOU. They are put in place to work for YOU, and are paid with YOUR tax dollars. They will listen to YOU if they want to win another fucking election. Sometimes they seriously don't know wtf is going on unless you tell them. They each have a website with email forms AND snail mail addresses listed for a reason.

We live in a republic which has representative democracy. The system is not broken [yet]. Use it.

Hmmm.  New thread to be started.

[Triple Zero]

Honestly, if I had any faith in the Acela line (high speed train between Boston and DC) and I hadn't already bought non-refundable tickets, I'd probably do that.  It's looking like a four-hour train ride might be quicker and more comfortable than a 90-minute flight these days.

Next time I go to Florida I'm going to take the train. It's pretty much the same price as a plane ticket anyway, and it's something different, just a hell of a lot longer.

And that is the moment when airlines definitely start caring.

[Suu]

And that is the moment when airlines definitely start caring.

No they won't. Amtrak, unlike real train systems like they have in Europe, kinda sucks. They'll jack up the prices, the trains will run as late as usual, and soon we'll see TSA there too (they occasionally bring dogs around and do random searches at stations).

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Perhaps my rant came out that way.  However, that's not really my intention.

My choices appear to be:
1) Backscatter, look at my junk, continue on my way.
2) Groped, feel my junk, continue on my way.
3) Refuse both, be detained, face possible fine.
4) Don't fly in the first place.


NONE of these choices would change the current procedure.  There has to be a better way to get the TSA to change their policies, because opting out won't do it.

But paralyzing the entire air transport system in one day by having thousands of people opt for the physical search, legally, will.

Of course, it might not change it in the way the opters want.  Given the nature of our government, they'll spazz out completely and come down like a ton of bricks.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

They were talking about this on the news this morning.  It's like LMNO said, the only result of a mass protest is a lot of people missing their flight.

The penalty for rebelling in 1776 was death by hanging, if the judge was in a good mood.

The penalty for rebelling in 2010 is a potentially missed flight.

Rudyard Kipling wrote something about this...A poem called Tomlinson, IIRC.

[Whatever]

They were talking about this on the news this morning.  It's like LMNO said, the only result of a mass protest is a lot of people missing their flight.

The penalty for rebelling in 1776 was death by hanging, if the judge was in a good mood.

The penalty for rebelling in 2010 is a potentially missed flight.

Rudyard Kipling wrote something about this...A poem called Tomlinson, IIRC.

I don't have the money to be noble.  Rebellion is expensive.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I don't have the money to be noble.  Rebellion is expensive.

Okay.

But most of the foot soldiers in the revolution didn't have the money to walk away from their trades and/or farms.  And they weren't trying to be noble, they were trying to be free.

I will be the LAST person to tell you to get chucked in jail for this sort of nonsense.  But there are other ways.

[Whatever]

Okay.

But most of the foot soldiers in the revolution didn't have the money to walk away from their trades and/or farms.  And they weren't trying to be noble, they were trying to be free.

I will be the LAST person to tell you to get chucked in jail for this sort of nonsense.  But there are other ways.

Mine is to not fly.   

[Cuddlefish]

yeesh, I didn't realize how split the concesus would be when I posted this (although, I probably should have   ). Personally, I'm on board with Trip, Hoops, and Rog on this one, but I totally understand where LMNO and RWHN are coming from. Maybe it won't do shit, but at the moment, it's all we have, outside of Suu's suggestion (though, I feel it's easier to ignore a letter than it is to ignore an airport full of angry people).

That said, these new procedures are really, really fucked. My ex-bass player, a right-wing nutter said to me, after I expressed my concerns with the TSA situation, "you don't even fly!" As if the only person I should be concerned about is myself. That attitude makes me even more pissed. Sure, I don't fly, but my loved ones do, and it really bothers me to think about what these INNOCENT AMERICAN CITIZENS are being subjected to (especially women, children, and abuse victims). People should be pissed, and if you don't think an Opt-out day will work (even I expressed my doubts in the OP), then DO SOMETHING ELSE instead. Write a letter. Start a dialogue with your friends. Protest, protest, protest. I know how pissed you guys can get, let's figure out ways to channel it in a way we can see resuts (which is probably a combination of all above mentioned ideas).

Frig, I'm a broke-ass, but I'm thinking about getting a cheap ticket to somewhere, just to participate in the opt-out. And so the TSA can fondle my glorious junk. But, I'm not going to limit mysef to one course of action. I'll be writing letters, and I'll be telling my friends to do the same, but I am certainly NOT going to sit here and say: "That won't work."  Because this is fucked, and as a sign of things to come, inconcievably scary. (even more-so than the Turrirists)

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Mine is to not fly.   

And that, too, works.

Interesting fact:  During the revolutionary war, only about 1/3 of colonists wanted to rebel.  Another 1/3 wanted to stay with England.  The remaining 1/3 didn't give a fuck, and just wanted people to stop trampling their bean patches with armies.

Problem is, being that 1/3, just wanting to be left alone, doesn't mean that the other 2/3rds will avoid stepping on your toes.

The TSA COULD simply form multiple lines, go through THIS line if you want to opt out, and go through THAT line if you are in a hurry or don't care, and don't mind the perv machine.

But they won't, because they're neither that quick on their feet, nor do they actually give a fuck if you make your flight, and it serves their interests to have the last 2/3rds listed hate the rebellious 1/3rd, which is of course what 99.5% of the non-involved people will do.  They won't hate the government for their abuses, they'll hate the people opposing the abuses, because they've been inconvenienced.

In the end, the attempt to bollux the system will backfire, and the American people will continue getting the government they deserve, good & hard.

[Cramulus]

I'm only driving about an hour for thanksgiving, and the only person who's gonna examine me naked or cup my balls is coming with me, so I sadly won't have the opportunity to participate in the latest edition of American Outrage Theater.

There are good arguments for both participation and nonparticipation, and if it came to it, I'm not sure which avenue I'd choose.

I am swayed by this gem that Cain found over at Who Is Ioz:





Opt-In, You Dummies

National Opt-Out day ain't gonna do shit. Obviously the proper tactic here is to submit to the invasive search and then litigate. Litigate the fuck out of that shit. Accuse the people who touched you of rape, molestation, assault, etc. etc. Sue them in civil court. Get together a thousand fondled men and women and go for a class action. Demand a bajillion googleplex dollars for emotional harm. Tie up every TSA official in depositions and whatnot for the next thirty years. Require ACT clearances and their by-state equivalents of every screener. Demand citizen review boards. Keep shitting in the same toilet until the goddamn pipes explode.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Um, if you opt in, you don't get groped.  You go through the perv machine.