Let me see if I have this straight
The U.S. Government is trying to force the airlines to turn over passenger lists to weed out possible terrorists. On Tuesday, the government "asked airlines to turn over information they collected on passengers who traveled in June, the first step in a controversial plan to screen for terrorists.
"Known as Secure Flight, the program would require airlines to provide passenger names, flight information, addresses and telephone numbers. It can even require the disclosure of meal orders, which could indicate a person's ethnicity."
Hello? Wasn't this called "ethnic profiling" and that it was illegal? Okay, I understand why they are trying to keep suspected terrorists off planes, but if you get on the "watch list" by mistake and they tell you can't fly, you cannot find out why you were placed on the watch list to begin with. If it could happen to political scion Ted Kennedy, what's to say it won't happen to me?
Let me tell you why I am so concerned: a couple months ago, I was trying to find out the status of my son, Jeff's college financial aid forms. The representative on the other end of the phone asked me to spell Jeff's last name, give his date of birth, etc. Next thing I hear is that "according to the Department of Homeland Security" Jeff would have to prove he's a U.S. citizen before he could get financial aid. What??? I told her he was born here and even holds a U.S. passport. He went to Europe last summer for God's sake!
Turns out that the rep misspelled Jeff's last name, and that brought up a red flag in her computer. After correcting it, everything was fine.
Legally, I am still known by my ex's last name. What if an airline reservation agent were to misspell that name and not catch their error? I go to the gate and I cannot get on the plane because I was placed on the watch list based on the misspelling of my name. As of right now, I wouldn't be allowed to find out why. An advocate would handle those kind of complaints according to the TSA, but meanwhile, I've missed my flight. Would they pay for me to fly to my destination after the error was discovered? Somehow, I doubt it. I'd be shit outta luck. And plane tickets aren't cheap!
I'm glad that the government is doing something about this, but it seems that a lot of work has yet to be done to make such a system foolproof. At worse, it could become a royal pain in the ass to innocent people, and the bad guys could still get through.
I'll take my shoes off at the airport, I'll even let you rifle thru my purse, all in the name of Homeland Security. But if there's going to be any goofiness with who should and should not be allowed on the plane, I respectfully suggest that they get it right the first time. A minor mistake may mean I don't get to fly; a major mistake may mean that a plane could get blown up.
--MorelaterZ--
"Known as Secure Flight, the program would require airlines to provide passenger names, flight information, addresses and telephone numbers. It can even require the disclosure of meal orders, which could indicate a person's ethnicity."
Hello? Wasn't this called "ethnic profiling" and that it was illegal? Okay, I understand why they are trying to keep suspected terrorists off planes, but if you get on the "watch list" by mistake and they tell you can't fly, you cannot find out why you were placed on the watch list to begin with. If it could happen to political scion Ted Kennedy, what's to say it won't happen to me?
Let me tell you why I am so concerned: a couple months ago, I was trying to find out the status of my son, Jeff's college financial aid forms. The representative on the other end of the phone asked me to spell Jeff's last name, give his date of birth, etc. Next thing I hear is that "according to the Department of Homeland Security" Jeff would have to prove he's a U.S. citizen before he could get financial aid. What??? I told her he was born here and even holds a U.S. passport. He went to Europe last summer for God's sake!
Turns out that the rep misspelled Jeff's last name, and that brought up a red flag in her computer. After correcting it, everything was fine.
Legally, I am still known by my ex's last name. What if an airline reservation agent were to misspell that name and not catch their error? I go to the gate and I cannot get on the plane because I was placed on the watch list based on the misspelling of my name. As of right now, I wouldn't be allowed to find out why. An advocate would handle those kind of complaints according to the TSA, but meanwhile, I've missed my flight. Would they pay for me to fly to my destination after the error was discovered? Somehow, I doubt it. I'd be shit outta luck. And plane tickets aren't cheap!
I'm glad that the government is doing something about this, but it seems that a lot of work has yet to be done to make such a system foolproof. At worse, it could become a royal pain in the ass to innocent people, and the bad guys could still get through.
I'll take my shoes off at the airport, I'll even let you rifle thru my purse, all in the name of Homeland Security. But if there's going to be any goofiness with who should and should not be allowed on the plane, I respectfully suggest that they get it right the first time. A minor mistake may mean I don't get to fly; a major mistake may mean that a plane could get blown up.
--MorelaterZ--
My name is Stef, and I approve this post. Posted @ 8:15 AM
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