Remember Jay, they aren't protecting Edwards. They are protecting their
jobs. The reason they didn't let you on the ramp had nothing to do with
whether they thought you were a threat. The real reason is so that they
won't be standing ramrod straight on the carpet later explaining to their
superior why you and your kids were running around on the ramp.

Don't waste your breath about how you are being inconvenienced or even
endangered. No one with the kind of power they have will ever give a flying
f__k. Prior to 9/11 our society understood better than most, and the
conservatives best of all, why government power should be minimized. Now,
that's out the window and the conservatives seem to have become the
strongest proponents of unlimited governmental power.

A preview of this hysteria was the onset of the war on drugs. Friend of
mine spent 45 minutes lying face down while his sailboat was searched by the
Coast Guard as the tide carried them among the rocks and shoals in a very
tricky part of Maine. This was before electronic navigation when everything
depended on dead reckoning pilotage and keeping track of where you are.
When the Coast Guard finally let he and his wife up, the sun had gone down
and they didn't have a clue where they were. They asked for a position and
were told that the Coast Guard couldn't give them one because of the
liability if they subsequently ran aground. It was too deep to anchor. The
Coast Guard could not give them a tow because there was no imminent danger.
They would call a private salvor who would arrive in about six hours at a
cost of several thousand dollars. No, they they couldn't stand by because
they had to hassle more yachtsmen. Good night, have a pleasant evening.

--

Roger Long