Another Bush League assault on the First Amendment

Are you an outspoken critic of the Bush administration? If so, says Britain's Independent, you could be at increased risk of being harassed by airport security personnel. In fact, the Transportation Safety Administration has been forced to admit the existence of a list, "possibly hundreds or even thousands of names long," of people targeted for special treatment at airports--special treatment that could include anything from "intense scrutiny" and temporary detention to strip searches and denial of boarding--simply for being a political activist and exercising your legal right to challenge the government. And once you're on the list, there's no way you can try to get taken off, or even find out why you were put on it in the first place.

The Independent says police recordfs show that over 300 people have gotten "special questioning" at San Francisco airport, and another 24 at Oakland, apparently without apprehending a single wanted criminal.

This is not only an assault on the dignity and freedom of American citizens, but a waste of limited government resources that could be put to better use fighting real crimes and real terrorists.

Apparently, to the Bush League, freedom and security mean they're free to do what they damned well want, secure in the knowledge that insignificant abstractions like truth and the rule of law won't get in the way.