"You think you're pretty smart, don't you dmaigicglock! What with your dago mustache and your greasy hair!" In NYC the cops and transit authority FREAK out when the threat level gets raised. This freakout leads to increased searches without probable cause (4th amendment violation), if you happen to refuse the illegal searches you are detained (6th amendment violation). Off-border "random" searches are increased, violating the above amendments. I'll ask it again, where in the Constitution does it allow for the waiver of the above amendments just because the Government decides to change a color based on evidence that is not available to the public? I will agree that Tom Ridge has a vested interest in selling his book. I will also agree that the timing is a little suspect. Correlation does not imply causation. Don't argue the timing of the statement, argue the statement itself. More non-sequiters. I agree with Jefferson. I still think you missed the point of Franklin. Obama didn't create these policies, Bush did. I fault Obama for not getting rid of them, but that is as far as his blame goes. Obama had NOTHING to do with the original statement and premise of this discussion. ZERO. I think what we have here is a simple issue of perspective. I have no idea on what your background is, as I haven't had the opportunity to meet you yet (when the hell are you coming to the M&G anyway) and buy you that beer I owe you and Isaac's Papa. That being said, I believe that you are viewing this strictly from the lens of your own experiences in small-town Ohio. Nothing at all wrong with that. My experiences are from someone who's traveled quite often to NYC and around the country. I have a cousin who's in the NYPD, and loads of family that still lives in Staten Island and Manhattan. I've also traveled to Arizona and Mexico a ton for work, and must have crossed the US/Mexico border by foot and car about 50-60 times already. I've been searched illegally by a overzealous Port Authority cop, and have been stopped illegally by Border Patrol 15 miles from the Mexico border, well within American soil. These things happen, and they get MUCH worse with the raising of the terror level.