Joe Cadillic writes:
For years, Edward Hasbrouck of “Papers Please” has been sounding the alarm over the TSA and DHS. And yours truly, has published numerous articles warning the public about the continued expansion of said organizations under the guise of the War on Terror.
Last week the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the TSA is requiring Americans to wear masks on public transit.
“Passengers will be required to wear masks on the nation’s trains, buses, airplanes and airports through Jan. 18 under a federal mandate extended Tuesday by the Biden administration.”
This is a privacy advocate’s worst fear. What was once considered “fake news” by our mass media is now a reality. This is not a CDC request, it is a TSA federal mandate, which essentially means that the TSA is now in control of America’s public transit.
Read more on MassPrivateI.
So mayors and governors no longer have a say? I did not notice what happened/happens to public transportation in Texas and Florida — two states where governors have banned mask mandates in some settings. Under the supremacy clause of the constitution, a federal regulation should trump (no pun intended) a state directive, but will the states challenge the TSA mandate as unconstitutional — or have they challenged it already? I’ve totally not paid sufficient attention to this one. Thankfully, Joe keeps watching out for these developments.
If some governors weren’t so stupid, the TSA wouldn’t need to mandate masks on systems receiving federal funding.
Cities and states who don’t get federal funding are free to help their passengers get sick, if they like.
This is a privacy advocate’s worst fear.
How does wearing a mask harm privacy in any way?
The question you should be asking is…
How does a TSA mask mandate harm our privacy in the long-term?
I do not have enough time to list all the ways the TSA harms American’s privacy.
Is a mask mandate in and of itself a privacy advocate’s worst fear? I think the answer is obvious. But that is not what the article is about.
If you read the entire article, you might see how letting the TSA issue “public health” mandates to public transit can and will be abused.
Giving the TSA the power the to enforce federal mandates opens up a ‘pandora’s box’ of privacy concerns.