This wouldn't have happened if they'd named him Thomas Paine

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Rich Kulawiec <rsk () gsp org>
Date: January 11, 2008 1:47:59 PM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>, Richard Forno  
<rforno () infowarrior org>, Fergie <fergdawg () netzero net>
Subject: This wouldn't have happened if they'd named him Thomas Paine

Or, another 5-year-old on the no-fly list, via Cory Doctorow:

        Another five-year-old on the no-fly list: meet Sam Adams - Boing Boing
        http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/10/another-fiveyearold.html

        Ted Adams -- the publisher of IDW comics -- named his little
        son "Sam Adams," a good, solid patriotic name. It's also a name
        on the TSA's no-fly list, and the five-year-old has spent his
        young life being harassed by airport security goons who think
        he's a terrorist.

            Saw the article you posted on Boing Boing about the five
            year old on the no-fly list. My son, also five, is on that
            same list and it's a nightmare.  Every time we fly with him,
            we can't use the computer terminals to check in and the
            attendant has to call some never named government agency to
            make sure he's not a terrorist. Some attendants joke it off
            but some are insanely serious about it. His seat always goes
            unassigned (even if it was assigned when the reservation is
            made) which always causes problems.

            I've tried everything that anyone has suggested. There's a TSA
            form that you can fill out for this situation, which I did,
            but they won't tell you if they've removed your name. We got
            him a passport -- that didn't work.  We've tried booking
            the tickets with his full name (including middle name),
            that didn't work. We tried booking the ticket under Master
            Samuel Adams, with still no luck.

        Yeah, and if you think that's funny, imagine this kid's life
        when he's an adult and Every goddamned flight he takes involves
        an extra hour of hassle, a search, no assigned seats, being
        turned away, being humiliated, being harassed...  There's a
        special circle of hell that's being prepared for the domestic
        fear-mongers who've helped the terrorists make Americans so very
        afraid.  (Thanks, Ted!)

---Rsk


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