Four Flushers and the Fourth Amendment

Recently the government has gone into overdrive on flushing the Bill of Rights down the toilet. In June there was the Kelo case and last month it was decided to conduct random searches on NYC mass transit. Can't wait to see what August has in store for us.

These searches are being presented as a necessary measure to prevent terrorist bombings. Those that aren't orgasmic over the idea are thought to be naive boobs.

Lets talk about naiveté. The populace of London is among the world's most heavily scrutinized, and have no legal protection from arbitrary searches. Despite elevated security levels following the bombing on July 7th, four more bombs managed to make into the London mass transit system.

Do you still think that arbitrary searches are going to make you more safe? If so, here's another question. How are the searches being conducted? Some of these terrorists have been known to be suicide bombers. What's to stop them from detonating the bomb the instant they are confronted by transit police, killing the officer and any bystanders?

Public safety isn't the real goal of these searches. At best they are a feel good measure. Consider the following quote from NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne, "The protocol would be to pick the fifth backpack in each group of 10. If a Middle Eastern man is number four, he would not get checked." New York City Mayor Bloomberg said, "Clearly, we'll do it for a little while. It's partially designed to make people feel comfortable...". My belief is that it is to test how much essential liberty people are willing to surrender for some temporary safety. Those being searched are not being selected on the likelihood of belonging to an Islamic terrorist group--they are purportedly being randomly selected, without probably cause.

Then there are the issues that haven't been addressed. What if someone turns tail at a checkpoint? Is that probable cause for an arrest?

What happens if something illegal, other than a bomb is discovered? While such evidence may get thrown out of court, just wait until the next Jeffrey Dahmer is stopped with a backpack full of human heads. Do you think he's going to get a "No bombs. Good day, Sir"? Yeah, it'll be good to get a heinous criminal off the street, but guess what? It will likely become a precedent for evidence found by random searches becoming admissible in criminal proceedings. Next thing you know, they'll be slapping the cuff on 90 year old women over picayune infractions.