The Democrats can profess their support of the troops (whom they seem to regard mostly as another victim group) all they want. But with every passing day in power they show how essentially frivolous they are when it comes to national security. Debra Burlingame desribes the latest manifestation of this:
“Various members of the House majority had just spent 30 minutes in self-praise over the $7.3 billion transportation-security bill, calling it long-overdue relief for millions of Americans. Then Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.) rose to propose an amendment directed at a dangerous new threat to national security.
“His motion was a response to the ‘John Doe’ lawsuit filed by six ‘Flying Imams.’ Last November, the six were ejected from a US Airways flight after their fellow passengers reported what they saw as strange and disturbing behavior. The imams claim that they were victims of ‘intentional’ and ‘malicious’ discrimination and are seeking compensation, including punitive damages – from the airlines, and also from the passengers and crew, who are identified in the suit as ‘John Does’ to be served with legal papers once a court order reveals their actual identities.
“That lawsuit is a dangerous threat aimed at a vital component of public-transit security – the public itself. Every one of those 121 votes aimed at defeating protection for ‘John Does’ was a Democrat – indeed, more than half of all Democrats present voted ‘nay.’
“And, with the exception of Rep. Anthony Weiner (Brooklyn), Democrats from the New York-New Jersey metro area led the way in voting against it.
“Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes Ground Zero, voted no. So did Rep. Carolyn Maloney, whose district includes Midtown, and Rep. Nita Lowey, who lost dozens of Westchester neighbors on 9/11.”
Some of us with suspicious minds think the flying imams are trying to set up a situation in which citizens fail to report possibly threatening behavior.