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Libertarians Are Showing Support for Occupy KC

traceyzoeller — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Occupy KC demonstrators at Penn Valley Park with IOU/USA sculpture in the background.

While not all of the stated goals of the occupy movement jibe with Libertarian ideas for how to improve our economic and political problems, there is much common ground and libertarians are increasingly getting involved. For instance, this Saturday, a large group of Occupy KC demonstrators marched to Troost Park and back to Penn Valley park where the occupiers have staked their ground between the Federal Reserve and Liberty Memorial. Representatives of Liberty Restoration Project, along with KMBZ Radio personalities, Landmine Billy and Granny Major, were there to provide hotdogs, sodas, chips and candy for the marchers upon their return.

Also present to show support for the marchers were We Are Change KC and Young Americans for Liberty, from Lawrence. Both groups lent a hand distributing food and discussing issues with other “occupiers” throughout the evening. After sunset, LRP projected economics and liberty related videos from a small projector attached to a laptop for the edification of die-hard occupiers remaining after dark.

This was the second march local Occupy forces have undertaken to raise awareness for their cause to reclaim democracy from corporate and financial elites. As with the previous march on October 5, it was done in coordination with the original New York demonstration and with other local demonstrations throughout the country. This time, however, the movement reached yet further with protests taking place in the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

If you are not familiar with the movement, here is how the original Occupy Wall Street demonstration officially describes itself:

Occupy Wall Street is a people powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Greece, Italy and the UK, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people who are writing the rules of the global economy are imposing an agenda of neoliberalism and economic inequality that is foreclosing our future.

Official Occupy Wall Street website: http://occupywallst.org/

Official Occupy KC site: http://occupykc.com/

Red Light Camera ban legislation dies in committee, but is there a green light for SPEED CAMERAS?

Sovereign in Pink — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:48:24 +0000

UPDATE TO THE RED LIGHT CAMERA BILL IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI

Long story short, Red Light Cameras will not be coming down this session, but if we don’t act… we will be getting SPEED CAMERAS!!!!

It is very critical that you contact your State Rep. and urge them to kill or change HB 430. SA 11 needs to be removed! Please urge them politely to do so.

SPEED CAMS MAY COME TO MISSOURI!!

Last evening(5/10/11), HB 430, the Omnibus Transportation Bill was before the Missouri Senate.

The following amendments are of note.

SA 4 proposed by Sen. Lembke, requires that all yellow times in the state confirm to no less than the minimum national engineering standard. What this does is prevent municipalities from short cycling their lights. They would now be required to set proper times. This prevents the shortening of yellows to increase ticket revenue. Prevailed

SA 5 proposed by Lembke would have defined a moving violation as: The term “moving violation” shall also include any violation of any state law, county ordinance, or municipal ordinance governing the operation of a motor vehicle with respect to violations described in section 304.010 and sections 304.271 to 304.331. Such traffic violations shall be deemed moving violations regardless of how such violations are enforced or whether or not such violations are committed within or outside the presence of a law enforcement officer at the time of the violation; This would have ensured that tickets issued by an officer and a camera are treated to the same legal standard. Amendment Failed

SA 6 proposed by Sen. Lembke would have added language to statute that would require the assessment of points for ALL moving violations, and it then describes by statute that the municipality has no discretion to call a Red light Camera violation a civil, no point offense. There was a roll call as follows:

SA 6 failed of adoption by the following vote:
YEAS—Senators
Crowell Cunningham Goodman Kraus Lembke Mayer Nieves Ridgeway Schaaf—9

NAYS—Senators
Brown Callahan Chappelle-Nadal Curls Dempsey Dixon Engler Green Justus Keaveny Kehoe Lager Lamping McKenna Munzlinger(WTF?) Pearce Richard Rupp Schaefer Schmitt Stouffer Wasson Wright-Jones—23 Absent—Senators Parson Purgason—2 Absent with leave—Senators—None

SA 13 Proposed by Sen. Schaaf was a complete Red Light Camera Ban mirroring SB16 language.

SA 13 failed of adoption by the following vote:
YEAS—Senators
Crowell Cunningham Goodman Kraus Lager Lembke Nieves Purgason Ridgeway Rupp Schaaf Schmitt—12

NAYS—Senators
Brown Callahan Chappelle-Nadal Curls Dempsey Engler Green Justus Keaveny Kehoe Lamping Mayer McKenna Pearce Richard Schaefer Stouffer Wasson Wright-Jones—19 Absent—Senators Dixon Munzlinger Parson—3 Absent with leave—Senators—None

SA 11 proposed by Sen. Greene would allow the use of speed cameras in School Zones, Construction Zones, and “TravelSafe Zones.” The Amendment prevailed and was added to SS HCS HB430, there was no roll call vote. THIS NEEDS TO BE REMOVED!

http://www.wrongonred.com/votes.html

You can find your Missouri Representatives contact information here:
http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx
Please, make phone calls and send emails. We must not allow this legislation to continue!!!
It is very critical that you contact your State Rep., as well as Tim Jones, House Floor Leader and urge them to kill or change HB 430. SA 11 needs to be removed! Please urge them politely to do so.

National Opt Out Day in Kansas City – Eric Bower’s Photoblog

Sovereign in Pink — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:40:07 +0000

http://blog.ericbowersphoto.com/2010/11/national-opt-out-day-in-kansas-city/

The busiest travel day of the year was designated National Opt Out Day at airports around the US, encouraging travelers to forego going through the full body scanning devices implemented by the TSA. The body scanning devices reveal in full detail all of one’s bodily nooks and crannies, but unfortunately the only other alternative in airports is a pat-down that many are describing as intrusive and insulting, given that it gives workers the authority to feel virtually every part of the body, genitalia included.

I went up to Kansas City International Airport earlier today to get some shots of the local opt-out advocates handing out fliers and information at one of the terminals – Wednesday, November 24, 2010.

Fliers Opting-Out of National Opt-Out Day

Sovereign in Pink — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:37:19 +0000

KANSAS CITY, MO. —

Travelers passing through Kansas City International Airport, like at airports across the nation, have apparently opted-out of the National Opt-Out Day protest, as the TSA reports no delays over so-called intrusive body scans.

A small group of protestors did demonstrate at the airport on Wednesday, upset over body scans that they say are an unwarranted invasion of their privacy. The group urged passengers to cause delays by refusing the full-body scans and instead request the more time-consuming pat-downs instead. But the majority of travelers, like Curt McMillan, say it’s more important to him to be safe, with as little inconvenience as possible.

“Honestly I would probably choose whichever line is the shortest,” said McMillan. “So for me, it’s really more about getting through in a timely fashion. Certainly I understand why they’re doing it. So I’m really not offended either way. I just want to make sure that I get through make my flight, whichever line is the shortest that’s the one I’ll go.”

Protests appeared to be fizzling out at other major airports across the nation. However, Tracy Ward, a protestor with the Liberty Restoration Project, says that there is an outcry from the public about the airport security body scans.

“The public is speaking out, saying we’ve had enough we want something to be done about it,” said Ward. “We want the airlines to stand up and take a stand for us as well. Privatize security for airlines. Let passengers choose which airline to fly on as far as their security measures.”

The protests may have fizzled out, and Federal officials claim they will continue working on less invasive ways of keeping terrorist off airliners. But the fear of travel havoc has airport managers continuing to urge travelers to cooperate with security workers.

“Part of TSA’s operations is that they do things a little differently each time,” said Kathleen Hefner of KCI. “That’s a security procedure to keep people off-guard. What happens for one person is not going to be the exact same thing that happens for another person. So it’s good to be a little flexible. Expect that it might be a little different for you compared to the person in front of you in line.”

http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-thanksgiving-travel-kci-security-112410,0,5552374.story

Protesters Voice Internet Organized Opt Out For TSA’s at KCI

Sovereign in Pink — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:36:02 +0000

The TSA controversy hasn’t gone unnoticed at KCI. About 30 protesters gathered this morning outside of the terminal, holding signs with that read “Avoid the human microwave” and “Do you want the TSA to see your child naked”? An internet organized Opt Out protest has circulated nationally over the TSA’s more intrusive pat downs and screening process.

http://www.kmbz.com/pages/8644866.php?contentType=4&contentId=7212173

Opt-Out Day could bring airport delays as some protest screening methods at U.S. airports

Sovereign in Pink — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:33:38 +0000

Posted: 11/24/2010
Last Updated: 40 minutes ago

CHICAGO – Check your KCI flight status online – click here.

The lines of Thanksgiving travelers moved smoothly at airports around the country Wednesday morning despite an Internet campaign to get passengers to gum up the works on one of the busiest days of the year by refusing full-body scans.

The Transportation Security Administration said very few passengers opted out. And there were only scattered protesters — including, presumably, a man seen walking around the Salt Lake City airport in a skimpy, Speedo-style bathing suit, and a woman reported to be wearing a bikini in Los Angeles.

After days of tough talk on the Internet and warnings of possible delays, some passengers decided to go to the airport especially early and were pleasantly surprised.

Retirees Bill and Margaret Selfridge arrived three hours ahead of schedule at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport for their flight to Washington. It took only 10 minutes to get through the checkpoint at 8 a.m.

“Now we get to drink a lot of coffee,” Bill Selfridge said.

Ruth Billingsly, 52, showed up three hours early at the Philadelphia airport for her trip to Los Angeles. “It was a breeze,” she said. “I’m really, really early. Maybe I should take a nap.”

A loosely organized effort dubbed National Opt-Out Day planned to use fliers, T-shirts and, in one case, a Scottish kilt to highlight what some call unnecessarily intrusive security screenings. The screenings have been lampooned on “Saturday Night Live” and mocked on T-shirts, bumper stickers and underwear emblazoned “Don’t Touch My Junk,” from a line uttered by a traveler in San Diego who objected to a pat-down.

But the weather was shaping up as a much bigger threat: A ferocious, early-season snowstorm pummeled the Rockies, bringing whiteout conditions to parts of the region and closing roads. It was expected to delay air travelers and drivers in the West. Also, heavy rain was forecast in the Midwest. And windy weather in New England could create snags.

More than 40 million people plan to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to AAA, with more than 1.6 million flying — a 3.5 percent increase from last year.

Two protesters at the Phoenix airport held signs decrying “porno-scans” and drew sidelong glances from some passengers but words of support from others, who told them, “Thank you for being here.”

The protesters, husband and wife Patricia Stone and John Richards of Chandler, Ariz., said the TSA has taken security too far.

“Just because you buy a plane ticket doesn’t mean you have to subject yourself to awful security measures. It’s not a waiver of your rights,” said Stone, 44. “The TSA is security theater. They’re not protecting us.”

But at security lines at the airport, one of the nation’s 10 busiest, lines were moving quickly and steadily. In fact, wait times for security checks at major U.S. airports from San Francisco to New York were 20 minutes or less Wednesday morning, according to the TSA, and no serious disruptions were reported

Asked early Wednesday if the protests were having any noticeable effect, TSA chief John Pistole told The Associated Press, “Not that we’ve seen overall. I mean we’ve, you know, had a couple of one-offs here and there.”

“So far, so good,” he said. “No long wait times or anything.”

Earlier Wednesday, Pistole told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that his agency is fully staffed to deal with problems and that travelers should be prepared for delays because of the threatened protests. For days, he has pleaded with Thanksgiving travelers not to boycott the body scans and delay other people.

“I just feel bad for the traveling public that’s just trying to get home for the holidays,” Pistole said, noting that TSA screeners “just want to get you through.”

At least some passengers brushed aside claims the screenings were needlessly intrusive and too cumbersome.

Greg and Marti Hancock of Phoenix, on their way to a vacation in California, breezed through security after going through the body scanner.

“It was a day at the beach, a box of chocolates,” said Greg Hancock, 61, who was chosen for the scanner after a golf ball marker set off the metal detector.

Marti Hancock, 58, said ever since she was in the air on Sept. 11, 2001, and thought there was a bomb on her plane, she has been fully supportive of stringent security: “If that’s what you have to do to keep us safe, that’s what you have to do.”

At Denver International Airport, Chris Maj, a 31-year-old computer programmer, carried a sign that read, “STOP THE TSA ASK ME HOW.” He and three others handed pocket-size copies of the U.S. Constitution.

“They’re touching breasts, they’re touching buttocks, all of these places that if you or I were to touch, we’d go to jail,” he said.

Another traveler, Robert Shofkom wasn’t too worried about delayed flights, maybe just strong breezes. The 43-year-old from Georgetown, Texas, said he planned for weeks to wear a traditional kilt — sans skivvies — to display his outrage over body scanners and aggressive pat-downs while catching his Wednesday flight out of Austin.

“If you give them an inch, they won’t just take in inch. Pretty soon you’re getting scanned to get into a football game,” the information technology specialist said.

Shofkom was disheartened when his wife informed him Tuesday that the Austin airport doesn’t yet have body scans. But he decided to wear the kilt anyway, in a show of solidarity with fellow protesters.

One Internet-based protest group called We Won’t Fly said hundreds of activists would go to 27 U.S. airports Wednesday to pass out fliers with messages such as “You have the right to say, `No radiation strip search! No groping of genitals!’ Say, `I opt out.”‘

“If 99 percent of people normally agree to go through scanners, we hope that falls to 95 percent,” said one organizer, George Donnelly. “That would make it a success.”

If enough people opt for a pat-down rather than a body scan, security-line delays could quickly cascade. Full-body scans for passengers chosen at random take as little as 10 seconds. New pat-down procedures, in which a security agent touches a traveler’s crotch and chest, can take four minutes or longer.

The full-body scanners show a person’s contours on a computer in a private room removed from security checkpoints. But critics say they amount to virtual strip searches. Some have complained that the new enhanced pat-downs are humiliating and intrusive, too.

TSA officials say the procedures are necessary to ward off terror attacks like the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound plane last Christmas, allegedly by a Nigerian man who stashed explosives in his underwear.

——

AP writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Blake Nicholson in Bismarck, N.D.; Ted Shaffrey in New York; Eileen Sullivan in Washington; Cara Rubinsky and Kate Brumback in Atlanta; Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama; Tony Winton in Miami; Ron Todt in Philadelphia; Amanda Lee Myers in Phoenix; and Kristen Wyatt in Denver contributed to this report. contributed to this report.

So far, so good as travelers pass through KCI

Sovereign in Pink — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:39:19 +0000

By LYNN HORSLEY The Kansas City Star

Today may be one of the busiest travel days of the year, but everything was calm, cool and collected this morning at Kansas City International Airport.

“It’s slow and steady,” said airport spokeswoman Kathleen Hefner.

Lines were minimal at the Southwest ticket counter, and security lines appeared to be moving without incident.

Hefner said more and more people travel earlier in the Thanksgiving holiday week, or later, so crowds on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving are not as severe as they once were.

But bad weather in the West could affect flights later today, so people should check with their airline on flight status before heading to the airport.

A peaceful protest was planned this morning outside Terminal B by people who oppose the new full body scanners used at some airports. There are two such machines at KCI, at the Southwest and Delta Airline security areas.

Tracy Ward, with the Liberty Restoration Project of Kansas City, said the group in no way wants to disrupt travel today. She said the event, expected to draw about 30 people, is not so much a protest as an “educational outreach.”

The group has concerns about the health and privacy impacts of the body scanners and urges people to opt out. Those who opt out will be subject to a pat-down, but they can request that it be done in a private room, with a witness.

Protests of security procedures threaten to delay flights at KCI

Sovereign in Pink — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:38:44 +0000

By LYNN HORSLEY

The Kansas City Star

JOHN SLEEZER

9-month-old Joseph Arnett was comfortable as he waited in line to check bags with his father Tom Arnett and his mother Mary Arnett, left, all from Blue Springs, MO, as they prepared to fly to New Mexico for the holidays on Tuesday November 23, 2010, at Kansas City International Airport in Kansas City, MO. This was Joseph’s 3rd flight on an airplane since he was born. John Sleezer/The Kansas City Star

More News

So you’re flying out of Kansas City today. Interesting.

It’s one of the busiest travel days of the year. A controversy over body searches at airports has been building. And some people are calling for a security protest.

Any reason to worry?

Probably not, say federal officials — but arrive early all the same.

“We will process people as quickly, as efficiently and as securely as possible,” Transportation Security Administration Chief John Pistole said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.

He said he remained concerned, however, about the potential for a large numbers of protesters to intentionally slow screenings today.

An Internet campaign has been calling on passengers to boycott the full-body scanning machines in what is being called National Opt-Out Day. The idea is that the extra time needed to pat down people who refuse the scanners could cause a succession of delays throughout airports.

TSA officials said 99 percent of passengers nationally chose to go through the advanced imaging technology (AIT) machines. If screeners see something suspicious, passengers are then subjected to enhanced pat-downs, which some people say are overly intrusive.

Very few passengers require pat-downs searches, which now include the crotch and chest, officials said.

Kansas City International Airport spokesman Joe McBride said KCI had received 15 to 20 questions and concerns about screening procedures on its website since Friday, with some people saying, “I don’t want to do this.” But he said there had been no evidence of intentional delays so far this week.

“It looks routine,” he said Tuesday of the lines, estimating most were no more than five minutes long.

Because today is a traditionally busy day anyway, TSA officials advise all passengers to get to airports at least two hours ahead of their flights.

Indeed, Thanksgiving travel by both car and plane is expected to be up this year.

A protest is planned at KCI today, but it’s being done with a permit and outdoors, not within the terminals.

A group associated with the Liberty Restoration Project of Kansas City says it will gather outside Terminal B from 10 a.m. to noon as part of the national protest against the new scanners and enhanced pat-downs.

McBride noted that at KCI, the two AIT machines are only used in Terminal B by the airport’s two busiest carriers, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines. In each instance, passengers have a 50/50 chance of getting full-body scans. Otherwise they go through regular metal detectors.

People are subject to pat-downs if they set off the machines, if screeners detect something suspicious, or if the people decline the machine screenings.

McBride doubted that many people, especially those with nonrefundable tickets, would deliberately risk missing flights or deliberately delay other passengers by slowing down the screening process.

However, he acknowledged that if delays occurred at other airports, such as in Chicago or Denver, it could have a “domino effect” on flights into Kansas City.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that about two-thirds of Americans support the full-body scanners to increase security but that about half the 514 adults said the more rigorous pat-downs go too far.

Earlier this week, Pistole essentially pleaded with Thanksgiving travelers not to boycott the scanners, which could snarl what is already the fourth-busiest traveling day of the year. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day.

“It is irresponsible for a group to suggest travelers opt out of the very screening that may prevent an attack using nonmetallic explosives,” he said in a statement. “This technology is not only safe, it’s vital to aviation security and a critical measure to thwart potential terrorist attacks.”

Pistole said his agency welcomed “feedback and comments on the screening procedures from the traveling public, and we will work to make them as minimally invasive as possible while still providing the security that the American people want and deserve.”

Pistole said in Tuesday’s conference call that the agency had received about 2,000 complaints about either the body scanners or the enhanced pat-downs.

Mike Right, an AAA spokesman from St. Louis, said Tuesday he traveled throughout six airports last week and noticed security screenings were taking longer.

“It was intrusive, to say the least,” he said of the pat-downs. “They shimmy up your legs.”

Passenger advocate Kate Hanni, director of FlyersRights.org, said it was time for passengers nationally to “send a message that the TSA has gone to far” in violating the privacy rights of travelers.

Hanni said her organization recently received 1,000 complaints a day over the scanning devices and pat-downs, and some people were canceling their travel. She was advising others to opt out of the scanners and request a private room for a pat-down, with a witness.

The Business Travel Coalition, which represents corporate travel managers, is criticizing both the TSA and groups that were calling for a boycott.

In a news release, the group said protesters had effectively raised awareness about “intrusive and sometimes wasteful TSA security processes.” But it also said that for the safety and security of the public, these groups should cancel their boycott and redirect their efforts toward a “complete review of the TSA.”

David Castelveter, vice president of communications for the Air Transport Association, which represents leading U.S. airlines, said its members were hearing from customers both for and against the new procedures.

He said some people considered the new pat-downs excessive, but most of them hadn’t undergone one. The majority of people, he said, think that if the procedures ensure that every passenger on a plane has had a thorough screening, “we’re OK with that.”

Despite all the hassles of traveling, Right said AAA was projecting a 3.5 percent increase in air travel nationally over the Thanksgiving holiday, and a 12 percent increase in people traveling by car 50 or more miles from home, over last year.

KCI projects about 350,000 more passengers, a 4 percent increase, during the 12-day period that began last Friday and concludes Nov. 30.

Right attributed the increase to a moderately improved economy and the fact that people felt a little more secure in their personal financial situations this year versus last.

“It’s hard to miss Grandma’s house two years in a row,” he said.

From the TSA blog
•Children. TSA officers are trained to work with parents to ensure a respectful screening process for the entire family. Children 12 and younger who require extra screening will receive modified pat-downs.•Adults. Only passengers who alarm walk-through metal detectors or AIT machines, or who opt out of the AITs, receive pat-downs. For this reason it is designed to be thorough to detect potential threats and keep the public safe. Pat-downs are performed by same-gender officers, and all passengers have the right to a private screening with a travel companion at any time.

•Exemptions. No one is exempt. Everyone is subject to the same screening. TSA says it is sensitive to religious and cultural needs, but everyone must be screened effectively.

Operation Defuse debuts on TruTv’s CONSPIRACY THEORY, November 12, 9pm

Sovereign in Pink — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:38:17 +0000

Watch the Operation Defuse team on Jesse Ventura’s show Conspiracy Theory tonight! Operation Defuse is hosting a watch party at Brave New Books in Austin Texas starting at 7pm central, but you can stream the watch party and the show right here:

http://www.operationdefuse.com/

We are currently raising money to send activists to visit more fusion centers and police state conferences and also to initiate and finalize open records requests to every fusion center in the country.

If you appreciate our mission please consider donating to Operation Defuse. We are a strictly volunteer grassroots operation and every dollar goes a long way.

Be sure to check out Operation Defuse’s YouTube Channel with more original footage not seen on the show! Check back, more videos to be posted soon.

OPERATION DEFUSE

Mission: Empower the public so they may better understand the police/surveillance state by educating them about fusion centers and the role they play in both militarizing and nationalizing our police forces.

Vision: A harmonious relationship between law enforcement and the people that promotes peace while respecting liberty.

Methodology: Throughout the year 2010 representatives from TAG and LRP will travel across the United States visiting America’s fusion centers, holding public forums, leading activist trainings and meeting with representatives and local law enforcement.

STATEWIDE Liberty Restoration Project Meetup THIS Friday, November 5

Sovereign in Pink — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:46:31 +0000

Remember, Remember the 5th of November..

To our liberty-loving friends all over the State of Missouri!

Come out for a fun evening with some of the best and brightest champions for liberty in the Midwest. Activists you’ve heard about from Saint Louis, Kansas City and southern parts of the state, (as well as Columbia) will literally meet in the middle this coming Friday, November 5th.

For those looking to carpool, split travel costs, or share lodging for the night, please post below and try to make arrangements. Couch space is available but limited! http://www.regencydowntown.com/

Bring yourself, bring a friend, bring ideas, bring issues to work on, just be there if you can!!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169162263110143