I was checking a technical website tonight and one of the features of that site is a live chat. Well, I saw that the people in the chat room were discussing the guy in New York that shined a laser on two aircraft (one a passenger jet and the other a helicopter). The guy is being charged with “TERRORIST ATTACKS AND OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST MASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS“ (see section 801 of the USA PATRIOT Act).
Anyway, the people at this technical website (which I'm not going to name) were going on and on about how the PATRIOT Act should only apply to terrorists and how it was crafted so the government could “own you“. Whatever. I think they need to loosen the tin-foil caps their most likely wearing.
Michelle had it right when she said:
“Enforcement of these provisions is not limited to terrorists. Nor should it be. If an idiot recklessly aims his new Christmas toy into a cockpit (at a time when airlines are on notice that al Qaeda may be doing the same), and if that idiot lies about what he did to FBI agents (by the way, kudos to them for tracking him down quickly), he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Read the damned law.“
Just because the PATRIOT Act was written in the days after 9/11 doesn't mean anything. This guy should absolutely be punished. He jeopardized the lives of not only the crew and passengers on those aircraft, but also the people on the ground. WTF did he think he was doing? Just having fun? How about he get another hobby (maybe making license plates or being Bubba's bitch for awhile).
Some details found on Michelle Malkin's blog here and here.
Print | posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2005 7:00 PM