Wow, I left and everyone came back...I think I should stay gone. Jeff is posting, Dale is back (and under heavy fire I see...Bronze Star for Dale maybe?), there's a lot to read.
Don't have time to say much right now but here's a story that may amuse some folks and upset others:
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A top Homeland Security official has apologized to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) who was stopped at airports because a name similar to his appeared on the government's no-fly list of terror suspects.
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"If they have that kind of difficulty with a member of Congress, how in the world are average Americans, who are getting caught up in this thing, how are they going to be treated fairly and not have their rights abused?" Kennedy asked Homeland Security undersecretary Asa Hutchinson.
The Massachusetts Democrat said he'd been misidentified on the watch list when he tried to board airliners between Washington and Boston. Kennedy said he was stopped five times as he tried to board US Airways shuttles because a name similar to his appeared on a list or his name popped up for additional screening.
Hutchinson, who apologized for "any inconvenience" to the senator, testified Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) on the need for the federal government to take over the watch lists, which are currently administered by the airlines.
Another prominent Democratic member of Congress, Rep. John Lewis (news, bio, voting record) of Georgia, said Friday the same thing has happened to him for months. Lewis said he can't get an electronic ticket, must show extra identification and has his luggage combed through by hand.
"I said, 'I'm the most nonviolent person to get on this plane and the most peaceful person to get on this plane,'" said Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement.
Lewis said one airline representative in Atlanta told him, "Once you're on the list, there's no way to get off it." Lewis said he filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security and even considered a lawsuit.
This week, Lewis got a call from another John Lewis — a faculty member at the University of Houston — who told him he also was on a no-fly list.
"It's weird," he said. "But I like being classed with Ted Kennedy and the congressman. It makes me feel more important."
Kennedy said he was stopped at airports in Washington, D.C., and Boston three times in March. Airline agents told him he would not be sold a ticket because his name was on a list.
When he asked the agent why, he was told, "We can't tell you."
Each time, a supervisor recognized Kennedy and got him on the flight. But after the third incident, Kennedy's staff called the Transportation Security Administration and asked to clear up the confusion.
The TSA said a name similar to Kennedy's was on the watch list, and that he was later flagged to go through additional screening. TSA also said that the airlines didn't handle the matter properly.
But twice after contacting TSA, Kennedy was stopped again at the airline counter.
The American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) has filed lawsuits in San Francisco and Seattle over this issue, demanding that the government explain how wrongly flagged travelers can get off the lists.
Hutchinson said that people who experience problems can call the TSA ombudsman to clear things up.
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Associated Press writer Jeffrey McMurray contributed to this story.
