April 10, 2007

Some Day I'll Fly Away

When Joshua Micah Marshall says "we're going to try to get more deeply into this", it's time to pay attention. Marshall sinks his teeth into stories with a grip that would make a bull terrier blush. And he doesn't loosen his grip till there is blood on the floor (and fresh meat to chase).

Marshall's latest target is Bush's highly politicized Terrorist Watch List. And the incident that got him started was the grounding of one of his old college professors, who also happens to be a constitutional expert, a war hero, and a vocal Bush critic.
"I presented my credentials from the Marine Corps to a very polite clerk for American Airlines. One of the two people to whom I talked asked a question and offered a frightening comment: "Have you been in any peace marches? We ban a lot of people from flying because of that." I explained that I had not so marched but had, in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution. "That'll do it," the man said. "

"After carefully examining my credentials, the clerk asked if he could take them to TSA officials. I agreed. He returned about ten minutes later and said I could have a boarding pass, but added: "I must warn you, they're going to ransack your luggage." On my return flight, I had no problem with obtaining a boarding pass, but my luggage was "lost." Airlines do lose a lot of luggage and this "loss" could have been a mere coincidence. In light of previous events, however, I'm a tad skeptical."

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