Were it not for the courage and sacrifice of the passengers of United Flight 93 who forced their plane into a Pennsylvania field, many in Congress might not be here today, with a gaping hole where the U.S. Capitol still stands. We wonder if this fact is appreciated by those trying to block final passage of the so-called "John Doe" provision protecting from legal action those who report suspicious behavior on airplanes.
Today's passengers have an advantage. They know what can happen. They know what to look for. They will not be taken by surprise, and they are willing to take action. But some in Congress would sacrifice their lives on the altar of political correctness.
Last November, six Muslim imams leaving an Islamic conference were removed from U.S. Airways Flight 300 in Minneapolis when passengers reported that the imams had acted in suspicious ways. Both U.S. Airways and the passengers soon became targets of legal action charging discrimination and racial profiling.
Also attending the conference, interestingly enough, was Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, D-Minn., who took his oath of office on the Quran, and who most recently compared President Bush's actions after 9/11 to Hitler's after the Reichstag fire. Ellison condemned U.S. Airways for "prejudice and ignorance."
So last March, the House of Representatives passed by a 304-121 vote the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007, with language protecting from such lawsuits airline passengers who might report suspicious activity. All seemed well.
But last week, as Republicans tried to have the "John Doe" protection included in final homeland security legislation crafted by a House-Senate conference committee to implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, they found Democratic conferees blocking its inclusion.
"Democrats are trying to find any technical excuse to keep immunity out of the language of the bill to protect citizens, who in good faith, report suspicious activity to police," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. "I don't see how you can have a homeland security bill without protecting people who come forward to report suspicious activity."
Neither do we, and certainly the actions of the six imams last November qualified as suspicious. While at the gate, according to police reports and witnesses, the six made anti-American comments and provocatively chanted "Allah, Allah, Allah." On the plane, they asked for seat-belt extenders with heavy metal buckles, even though none was obviously in need of them, and then dropped them at their feet.
Last time we checked, there was no tenet of Islam that required them to leave their assigned seats shortly before takeoff, a violation of federal rules, and occupy the exit and entry rows of a jet aircraft, a pattern associated with the 9/11 attacks. All six moved — two to front-row first class, two in the middle on an exit row and two in the rear of the cabin.
Was it racism to report these actions? Stereotyping? Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute notes: "A stereotype in this instance is nothing more than a compilation of facts about who has attacked American interests in the past and who, given what we know, is most likely to do so in the future."
We wonder how the plot by the Fort Dix Six to attack a U.S. Army base might have unfolded if a courageous Circuit City employee hadn't overcome similar fears to report a video showing the six engaged in paramilitary training while shouting "Allahu Akhbar!"
As a federal air marshal in Las Vegas observed: "The crew and passengers act as our additional eyes and ears on every flight. If they are afraid of reporting suspicious individuals out of fear of being labeled a racist or bigot, then terrorists will certainly use these fears to their advantage in future aviation attacks."
What bothers us is why some Democrats want to let them.
Because the elected Democrats in congress are stupid and evil and they are the bought dogs of the stupid and evil and greedy trial lawyers who oppose this law because it might lay the groundwork for general tort reform.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you exhibit 9,854,541,336,874,599,476 why I hate the left with every fiber of my being. Why I would gladly throw every last one of them alive and screaming into a giant bonfire. Then drink wine, dance and play the bagpipes while they burned.
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