Submitted Comments
109 From Vicky J, Marysville, Wa, 19 October 2004, 03:37:50 PM PST
Now is the time for the government to remember we are not a police state. It is also time for Americans to stand up and say "enough" to those who have forgotten what American is about.
108 From Robert M, Denver, CO, 19 October 2004, 01:31:39 PM PST
Regarding the TSA's secure flight initiative I have one question. Since there were no hijackings during the period you are studying, how can you arrive at any conclusions? When looking for the qualities of "X" it is incumbent for a researcher to have examples of "X" included in the study sample.
What is the TSA looking for and why do they need to pry into my private affairs to find it?
107 From Robert R, Phoenix, AZ, 19 October 2004, 12:59:53 PM PST
Transportaion Security Administration
October 19, 2004
To Whom it May Concern:
I have deep reservations about the Secure Flight program.
While The Constitution provides each Citizen the right to travel freely & anonymously around the Country, Secure Flight chills that right. Historically, Secure Flight would have chilled The Federalist Papers. Had that occurred, the are serious questions as to whether this great Nation would ever have become the thriving Republic that it is.
The probability of redress against false-positives seems nonexistent.
The collection of air-traveler data from June of this year appears to be a prima facie violation of the Privacy Act. What action has TSA taken to punish those who approved and/or acted on approval to engage in this apparent violation?
TSA has collected some millions of travelers' records, and studied those records, within the last few years. What were the results of the study of those records? Why does it need additional records?
What is the result of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General's investigation into TSA's previous privacy violations?
From the computer industry we have the term "garbage in, garbage out". The database of terrorist watch lists seem, from a variety of news reports, to be highly inaccurate. How can we expect them to be effective?
While Secure Flight will cost many millions of dollars, the question arises - is this the most effective way to spend those dollars? How many dollars are being invested in items that we know will make us safer, such as cargo screening, better training for TSA employees, and point-to-point baggage matching?
Secure Flight smacks of being an analog to Internal Passports. Is this a slippery slope from a free Country to something else?
These are but a few issues that come quickly to mind. As I am certain you realize, there are many more.
I hope for your early response to the issues I have herein discussed.
Sincerely,
RGR
106 From anonymous, 19 October 2004, 12:53:30 PM PST
Why are we spending millions of scarce dollars on something that is unproven. This money should be spent on programs that have been proven to work:
cargo screening, increased training for TSA employees, and baggage matching.
105 From Robert W, Seattle, WA, 19 October 2004, 12:35:15 PM PST
We are poised on the precipice of a slippery slope with every passing attempt to curtail our citizenry's constitutionally-instantiated freedoms. I urge you to reconsider this latest step in dismantling of our privacy, and see it for what it is: a movement toward a regime that, were it located in another, poorer country, would be subject to our scrutiny and our disdain. This country was founded on personal liberty, and on freedom for all peoples. If we take that away, then does there really even need to be an iconic United States of America? Can we really push our beautiful & righteous message out into the world if we ourselves do not practice what we preach?
103 From Rosa C, Somerville, MA, 19 October 2004, 11:42:15 AM PST
Dear TSA:
I strongly oppose the "Secure Flight" proposal. Why? Because it won't make me safer. Cargo screening would make me safer. Better training for TSA employees would make me safer. But nosing into private citizens' information won't make me safer.
No Privacy Act notification regarding this information makes this proposal not only useless, but also illegal. So this proposal will not make me safer, but it will make my personal information LESS safe. I don't like that.
We don't need internal borders in the US. We need the freedom to keep our personal information private, and to travel without unreasonable hassles.
100 From Helen H, Bayville, NJ, 19 October 2004, 10:05:06 AM PST
This is just over the top. Why does the government need all of this information about EVERYBODY? Whom exactly have you caught to date? Why are there no provisions for a citizen to file a complaint to get his or her name cleared within 3 days so that that citizen's life can go on. Why is personal bankruptcy a criteria for a terrorist? Ditto the kind of food he or she orders on a plane flight? Why does the TSA need credit card information? This would seem to open yet another avenue for credit card fraud which the US government has yet to stem.
This sort of stuff is overkill and the US government has a terrible track record to boot when it comes to organizing and properly managing data bases. Until We The People have instant redress to government mistakes, stay away from taking more rights of basic privacy away from us.
And might I suggest that instead of tossing endless dollars at this sort of wasteful project, that the TSA try to inspect the 98% or so of transportation cargo ships that are entering this nation's ports free of any investigation at all. For instance, who owns these ships (people, not companies) and who is responsible for inappropriate cargo.
And inasmuch as "transportation" is in your name, maybe you could spend some effort finding the energy to stop flights of private, commercial and military planes, and helicopters and blimps over our nation's nuclear plants. I live near one and cannot believe what I see with my own eyes!
99 From F. K, Dallas, TX, 19 October 2004, 10:04:07 AM PST
SECURE FLIGHT would be a great tool if it had anything to do with secure flight. It is simply CAPPSII under another name. If this test isn't stopped, there will be little left to stop the TSA from running checks on everyone who flies. The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), still hasn't completed their investigation into all of TSA's previous privacy violations and now you want to subject innocent citizens to MORE?! stop this madness NOW!
97 From Mark B, Malden, Ma, 19 October 2004, 08:53:16 AM PST
I am deeply concerned by the increasing restrictions the government has placed on travel -- restrictions that echo those of totalitarian states, not the traditions or the constitution of the United States. To restrict travel of citizens -- at the whim of an unaccountable bureaucracy, and without any evident oversight, due process, or appeal, is flatly wrong.
96 From Eric L, Fair Lawn, NJ, 19 October 2004, 08:05:38 AM PST
The TSA's Secure Flight program is a violation of privacy and is raft with bugs, flaws, and misconceptions.