As IF Times

link ‘Not Guilty’ Plea Entered for Christmas Day Bombing Suspect – WSJ.com

The morphing of the idea of due process in law from a means by which innocent people would not be unduly incriminated to one that is essentially absurd theatre for the legal community is on grotesque display with today’s plea by the undie bomber.

We have become accustomed by now to use the neutral words, ‘the suspect’ or the ‘alleged’ crime in reference to perp deeds. We have been brainwashed to go along with the idea of presumed innocence in reference to the status of crooks. Our hero, the most recent would be human fuse has been accorded all the legal help necessary in order to protect his rights. Naturally, the plea today in the court appearance was, not guilty. What a shock.

I’m certain no one is more bemused than the perp. Imagine his one legal phone call back to the gang back at the fuse factory:

Umar, “Mohammed? Hey, what up, it’s me Umar. Not bad, not bad. Hey I’m here in the U.S. now, kinda unexpected”

Other side, “Bwanh bwanh bwanh?”

Umar, “Yep, a bit of snow, that Al Gore guy’s full of, well never mind, but they got me in a jail here in DE-troit.”

Other side, “Bwanh?”

Umar, “Uh huh, yeah, I kinda screwed up the assignment, stupid lighter wouldn’t light, musta been made in China or something. Anyways, I was a bit nervous and a bit nauseous, the guy beside me had some bean burritos. So I got a bit of the stuff to light, but it didn’t blow, all it did was burn my hair down there. Man that smarts. We should wax before we do this in the future.

Other side, “Bwanh bwanh bwanh!!”

Umar, “Hey, I tried man, but some guys jumped me and tied me to a stretcher. I thought I was a goner. When we landed, they doctored me up and put me here in this jail cell. It’s actually not bad, food’s better than at home, running water, basketball with the brothers and TV. Hey, by the way, American Idol’s on next week..”

Other side, “Bwanh bwanh!!!”

Umar, “Hey, I’m just sayin! Anyway, the lawyer said I don’t have to say a thing and I can plead not guilty!”

Other side, “HAHAHAHA!!”

Umar, “I know! So apparently, I’m only the suspect in the alleged bombing. They must be trying to pin this on someone else, I mean, there were 300 other people on the plane! Maybe I was just holding the explosives for someone else. I do recall my father beating me once, I can claim bad childhood. I went to school in the UK? Well I can say I was unloved. And, don’t forget, we can always play the race card!”

Other side, “Bwanh, bwanh”

Umar, “Yeah, it’s better than we thought, if we fail, they treat us pretty good, no awkward questions, no fingernails pulled, pretty lame. Actually, the worse that can happen to me is I sit around in a nice facility for a few years. Although, frankly, Guantanamo is better than Illinois, that does suck. Hey, gotta go, they want me, apparently I might get on Larry King or MSNBC, so keep an eye out. Say hi to the gang, call later.”

link BBC News – US plane attack suspect quizzed after ‘terror attempt’

Don’t you love that word used in the story, that the suspect was ‘quizzed’, as in a snap math exam? Here we go again. This time, the would be martyr had explosive powder attached to his upper thigh because the shoe thing was so 2001. Somehow this most recent iteration of the human fuse was able to elude suspicion and scrutiny at airport security even though the suspect’s name was ‘on a database indicating a significant terrorist connection’ according to the report.

In fact, the perp had a valid U.S. visa and ‘all security procedures were followed correctly’. Hmm. So, apparently, he was made to take off shoes, expose his laptop computer and passed the electronic wand test, but the name on a database ‘with a significant terrorist connection’ didn’t set off any alarms.

Maybe it’s just me, but 2 things are evident from this story. Firstly, whatever means the homeland security people are using to compile their list of dangerous fliers must have some validity. Secondly, the standard screening methods presently imposed on travellers are unable to pick up the most recent schemes of sabotage by the mullahs of mayhem. We should all cringe at the likelihood that from now on, ALL air passengers will be groped in their upper legs for similar devices. At least the President is on the case. He has ordered tighter security, whatever that means. Maybe everyone has to board in gym shorts.

Or, how about this? How about profiling those who are likely to be dangerous to the flying public and concentrating the security efforts on those candidates and less time on Aunt Eunice and her walker? It would certainly speed up the ‘strip and feel’ process at airports today if they spent less time on the 80 year olds, the kids under 12, goofy teenagers, business people or anyone NOT ON A DATABASE WITH A SIGNIFICANT TERRORIST CONNECTION.

The whole PC mentality about airport security is expensive, is cumbersome, is invasive and most importantly is not keeping the public safe. Apparently, the intelligence tools are available to effectively identify possible idiots, so why don’t we employ them? Why do we inconvenience and endanger entire populations because of the nefarious actions of an identifiable few? Maybe we worry less about a few hurt feelings and worry more about a planeload of innocents.