Submitted Comments
82 From J L, Lockport, IL, 18 October 2004, 08:39:18 PM PST
You don't have my permission to turn over data about me.
81 From Paul W, Charlotte, Nc, 18 October 2004, 08:31:59 PM PST
No one who flew in June of 2004 gave their permission for that information to be turned-over to the government. This appears to be an illegal data dump as no Privacy Act notice was given. If this is the way you disrespect a United States Citizen's privacy, what's next? Tattooing of I.D. numbers on our arms? Or better yet, the master data base of every living person's fingerprint? By the way, did you bother to fingerprint all people who DON'T live in the U.S.?
80 From Barry W, Overland Park, Kansas, 18 October 2004, 08:20:58 PM PST
As a DBA and a Data Analyst I have to comment on how foolhard such a massive undertaking Secureflight is. Even if we set aside privacy issues, and ignore how all of America used to make fun of the USSR for these same tatics, such data mining is foolhardy at best. If it were to be properly run it would have to be administered and all data provided by our Intelligence agencies. Then how to properly deseminated this information to the appropriate companies without divulging Secret information. All in all this is a foolhardy waste of taxpayers money and a move forward to bigger Government.
79 From anonymous, 18 October 2004, 06:41:42 PM PST
Secure Flight. Is this akin to realising Yousef Islam (aka Cat Stevens!, for you folks at the TSA), a name on one of your terrorist watch lists, boarded a flight. Then that flight took off and in mid-air someone decided to notice that maybe a terrorist was on board. No, just another law abiding citizen of the free world.
Or, how about Senator Kennedy being denied boarding because his name appears on a watch list. Even *he* found it nearly impossible to get his name removed from the watch list, despite direct calls to the DHS director's office. How can you expect ordinary people to deal with this kind of issue? You don't provide redress for passengers to correct errors made on your behalf.
It is a catastrophe that this system and systems like it are allowed to exist in what is supposed to be a free society that prides itself on liberty.
78 From anonymous, 18 October 2004, 06:02:21 PM PST
Hello. The "Secure Flight" initiative should be stopped. As someone who flew in June 2004 I did not give my permission to anyone, including the government, to use my personal data for a test. The system itself, beyond just the testing, needs serious reconsideration to address problems like how someone might clear their name if they are inappropriately listed as a terrorist, and whether preventing interstate travel is even a right granted to the executive branch. A system which adequately addresses these concerns in an open manner would truly give terrorists something to fear, but unfortunately the system as designed will do nothing except hassle the tax payers who fund it.
77 From Jesse C, Butte, MT, 18 October 2004, 05:14:58 PM PST
I oppose the "Secure Flight" program and the transfer of the travel records of American citizens to the Federal Government. First of all, if passengers are truly being screened effectively, then there should be no reason that anyone should not be able to fly, even a terrorist...because they should not be able to smuggle a weapon on board to influence a flight. Secondly, the terrorist threat is easily identified...it consists of islamic fundamentalists from other countries. The money and database this program would require would be better spent securing our borders and deporting known illegal aliens.
As an American citizen, I oppose the creation of this internal travel passport system.
76 From Thomas G, Miami Beach, FL, 18 October 2004, 04:18:38 PM PST
Stop fascism! By the time you give away all of our civil rights, then there will be nothing left to defend you bunch of fascist reactionaries! Then the terrorists will have won you bunch of Right wing A-holes...
75 From anonymous, 18 October 2004, 04:05:10 PM PST
I fly 150,000 miles a year. I think this is appalling. Worse -- I am afraid to put my real contact information in here, because you know, I just don't need the hassle. What if I end up on the List of Bad People. I'm not a Congressman or Senator, so I have no hope of coming off of it.
73 From Zane L, Marietta, Ohio, 18 October 2004, 02:41:25 PM PST
I am very angry that our current government has abandoned the legacy of privacy that Republicans have stood for for so long. I am angry that the Democrats have not fought the invasion of privacy either. Our freedom and liberty are under great attack, not only from the terrorists, but from our own government as well. The "Secureflight" programs and the "CAPSS II" program before it are gross invasions of privacy and should be stopped immediately. We made similar mistakes during the Cold War and we should learn a lesson from history. If we had instituted the simplest security measures (like re-inforcing and locking the cockpit door), Sept 11 would have been a minor trajedy, not a major disaster. We don't need to give up freedom for security. Our government needs to be smarter, not more invasive.
72 From Michael L, Amherst, MA, 18 October 2004, 02:29:32 PM PST
TSA has a record of privacy violations. The investigation into these privacy violations has not yet been completed. It is unreasonable to give them more personal data, which may again be passed on to people in the private realm who have no possible right to this data.
Also, there is currently no way for people who are mistakenly listed on the terrorist watch list, due to having the same name as a suspected terrorist or dirct errors. Giving this information to the TSA would allow them to make their lives more difficult.
Historically, there has been free travel within the US. Don't let 9-11 be the day that freedom died.