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| Sen. Dan Patrick |
Prison Planet
The Texas Senator at the forefront of the fight against invasive TSA pat-downs has likened the stand-off between state and federal authorities over a bill that would criminalize TSA groping to the revolutionary war against Mexico, calling the situation a “Come and Take It” moment once again for Texas.
In a message to constituents welcoming Governor Rick Perry’s decision to place SB 29 on the agenda of a special legislative session, State Senator Dan Patrick, the leading sponsor of the bill, said that Texas would prevail in the battle against the feds and become the “symbol of freedom and liberty for the rest of the nation.”
“And like the Texas Revolution it was our citizens rising up to make their voice heard. It just makes us remember why we love Texas,” wrote Patrick, adding, “This is a “Come and Take It” moment once again for Texas.”
“For those who ask how can a state pass a law that trumps federal law, there is no federal law requiring these invasive searches. It is simply TSA policy. As a legislator I have a right and a duty to protect our citizens liberty. We should not be threatened or bullied by the Federal Government simply because we choose to stand up for our rights,” said Patrick.
“Come and take it” refers to the Battle of Gonzales, the first battle of the Texas Revolution against Mexico, where a fiercely committed small group of Texans resisted Mexican forces who had been ordered by Juan Gomez to seize a cannon that had become an object of Texas pride.
In the 21st century, the object of Texans’ pride is their right to privacy and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, a liberty that is fast being eroded by an army of TSA goons.
Under the VIPR program, the TSA is being turned into a literal occupying army manning security checkpoints not just in airports but throughout the country.
“As part of the TSA’s request for FY 2012 funding, TSA Administrator John Pistole told Congress last week that the TSA conducts 8,000 unannounced security screenings every year,” reports Mother Jones. “These screenings, conducted with local law enforcement agencies as well as immigration, can be as simple as checking out cargo at a busy seaport. But more and more, they seem to involve giving airport-style pat-downs and screenings of unsuspecting passengers at bus terminals, ferries, and even subways.”
As we highlighted recently, the TSA is now even being used to grope high school teenagers at their local prom night.
There are currently 25 VIPR teams conducting grope-downs of Americans but TSA officials want to add 12 more over the course of the next year. Earlier this year, the agency announced its intention to expand the VIPR program to include roadside inspections of commercial vehicles, setting up a network of internal checkpoints, with private vehicles also in the cross hairs as a Sovietized America comes to fruition.
Initially, commercial trucks and other vehicles only were subject to warrantless searches and radiation scans at specially designated “state-owned inspection stations” traditionally set up at rest stops next to highways. These internal checkpoints, run by Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation, and the TSA, involve trucks being scanned with backscatter x-ray devices in the name of “safety” and “counter terrorism”.
These inspection stations are now being expanded to normal roads and highways, unleashing an army of TSA agents who will be given a free hand to litter America with internal checkpoints in a chilling throwback to Soviet-style levels of control over the population.
In rallying Texans to call their Senators and demand they support SB 29, Patrick quotes founding father Thomas Jefferson to urge Americans to stand up for their rights against federal encroachment and Big Sis’ takeover of society;
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere.Patrick points out that he already has 17 yes votes backing the bill, one more than needed for passage. However, as we highlighted earlier, expect the Obama administration to repeat its threats of financial terrorism and federal blockades in an effort to derail the bill.
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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
