Sorry, but to put it in a word I think they were hassled. They were prevented from completing a perfectly legal transaction until the following day, and nearly an hour of their time was additionally consumed to apparently no point.
Me: So what? I'm hassled every time I get on an airplane. It's part of life. There is nothing in the Constitution guaranteeing you _convenience_. They met with no punishment and, indeed, dealt with nothing more onerous than answering some questions from the cops. Big, fat, hairy deal. > These are difficult times. I consider that a dangerous sentiment, and a cop-out IMHO. 'Inalienable' means 'not situational'. The times are *always* difficult; changing principles day to day hardly affirms your belief in them. Me: I consider your sentiments considerably more dangerous. There is a large, organized, and well-funded conspiracy of people who are dedicated to the absolute destruction of the United States, and you think that occassional questions directed at people who act in a very strange fashion are a violation of inalienable rights? That's ridiculous. Inalienable, btw, is not in the Constitution. And there's nothing in my principles that says that at a time when the United States is under attack (_using the mail_, for God's sake) people who act very oddly in post offices can't be questioned about their actions. Ken: Let's try a couple of ideas: 'Presumed innocent until proven guilty.' 'A government of laws, not of men.' Opinion doesn't enter into it, and for very good reason. Me: None of which have anything to do with what happened. You might actually try _thinking_ about those ideas, instead of repeating them. They were not presumed guilty. They just were asked questions. Questions that the government certainly had every right to ask. Are you suggesting that what happened on Sept. 11th didn't have something to do with opinions? I'm sure you object equally when members of the Montana militia and the KKK are subjected to scrutiny because of their political beliefs. > Had some people been a little _more_ suspicious on September > 10th, 3000+ people would still be alive today. Oh? What activities would such heightened suspicion have identified? -- #ken P-)} "All right everyone! Step away from the glowing hamburger!" Me: Carrying box cutters and knives onto an airplane. Buying plane tickets in cash, at the last moment. Learning how to fly planes, but not how to land them or take off. Just for starters. It's not as if there weren't indicators that these people were acting strangely - the FBI was apparently even watching at least one of them, and actually _caught_ one before Sept. 11th. Gautam
