TSA: Why the terroists have won.

As many of you have heard, the TSA has started to roll out new procedures for security screenings at airports. These procedures include X-Ray scanning and pat downs. How I feel about this issue is posted in the video.

I am mad as hell. What has happened to our country!!! When we have to pat down grandma's breasts to let her fly, then we have gone to far. When we have to go through x-ray machines that have been not tested at the same standards as medical x-ray machines, we have gone to far. When the TSA has deiced that we have "Given up our Constitutional rights at the door," we have gone to far. Here is another video about some of the issues with the new procedures.

The definition of a terrorist by our government is as follows: "[An] act of terrorism, means any activity that (A) involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human life that is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State; and (B) appears to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping." The government has cited that terrorists are trying to attack us. That is why we have these new procedures. By our government's own definition, terrorists are influencing the TSA policy at our airports! That is terrorism! Our government is so upside and backwards on terrorism, we have decided as a nation, that we must sacrifice our liberties for the illusion of security. Enough is enough people. Terrorism is a real threat. It is an issue that we must take seriously; however, we must not sacrifice that freedom the terrorist want to destroy. These increased security procedures help the cause of terrorist more than our own safety.

Finally, Ron Paul is the only politician man enough to stand up for the people’s rights. He has sponsored a bill recently that would take away the new procedures. Below are a few videos of Ron Paul taking about the issue of the TSA.

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The New Dallas

About three hours north of Dallas, is a little place called Oklahoma City.  Now while most of us would never dream of visiting the desolate place for fun, many SMU students call it home. This thanksgiving break, not being able to go back to NY for thanksgiving, I was invited to see this city, was I blown away.

In New Yorker during 1976, the cover was of New Yorker's perception of the rest of the country. It displays 9th and 10th avenue, the Hudson river, then a brown blob that represents the rest of the United States, the pacific ocean, and finally, the Asian continent in the far distance. While I would argue that New Yorkers aren't that stupid, they do have the blind belief that New York is the greatest place in the world. They believe that no place on earth is close to New York. While I do not have this belief, I do compare all cities to New York as my golden rule of a city.

Since moving to Dallas, I love it here. It is the perfect of big city life, in a more suburban setting. I might not always enjoy how spread out Dallas is, it is better than living on top of other people all the time. Many people might know this; however Dallas was not always a big city. During the 60's and 70's, it was about the same size as OK City just three hours north.

From talking to many people, they consider OK City to be the ugly cousin of Dallas. Talking to one person, they called it "the only settled area of Oklahoma." These misconceptions scared me before my visit. After visiting, I was blown away. OK City will be the next Dallas in a few decades.

While visiting, I was most impressed with the downtown areas and the neighborhood of Nicolas Hills. Downtown is a wonderful place. With large skyscrapers, great walking areas, and the Ford Center. It is hard to believe that someone could become bored downtown. Nicolas Hills is a great neighborhood just outside of the boundries of the city. The best way to describe the area is a mix between Rye NY and Highland Park TX with Midwestern charm.The people that I meet in the city were sophisticated and  to earth. To say the least, they are some of the nicest people I have meet.

I have two words for Dallas. Watch out. With the growth of OK City the past few years, I could see it becoming a bigger place than Dallas. If anything, I could see Dallas' growth stalling, while OK still keeps growing. OK City is a great place and I hope to visit again soon.