[Mb-civic] Letter

[Ian]

All:

I sent the following letter to The New York Times.  I don't need to tell you that It is doubtful that they will publish it.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ian 
To: letters at nytimes.com 
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 9:21 PM
Subject: Letter


Given The Times' highly laudable stance in fully supporting its recently jailed reporter, Judy Miller, vis-a-vis her First Amendment rights, I am saddened to see you cave in when it comes to your readers' Fourth Amendment rights (Op-Ed, July 26).

The random bag searches currently being carried out by the NYPD are almost certainly illegal, and are unquestionably a farce, since they create a perception of security which has no basis in reality or logic.

Consider.  According to the official story, on 9/11 nineteen Arab terrorists not only penetrated the security at three airports, but also evaded the entire U.S. intelligence community.  Given this, does anyone really think that if they want to bomb a subway, they will oblige us by entering through one of the stations they know is going to be policed?  Please.

There are 470 subway stations in NYC.  The police cannot possibly man every one of them.  If a terrorist wants to set off a bomb, he could simply enter one of the lesser used stations and ride to his destination.  Thus, the bag searches are a complete waste of time and money, and are not making anyone "safer," despite that perception.

Meanwhile, the bag searches are an intrusion on people's daily lives, as well as a violation of their Constitutional rights - the very rights that millions of servicemen and women have died to defend and protect.

The Times would be doing an extraordinary service (as well as showing far more consistency in its support for Constitutional rights) if it did not buy into the current hysteria, but rather told the truth: that the "safety" offered by the searches is only a perception, and that, in the meantime, the NYPD is shredding the Constitution by infringing on our fought-and-died-for freedoms.

Rev. Ian Alterman
New York City
(646.489.3444)
317 West 83rd Street
New York, NY 10024
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