Apparently someone in the government is under the opinion that American travellers aren’t so much passengers, but pets:
The Electronic ID Bracelet, as it’s referred to, would be worn by every traveler “until they disembark the flight at their destination.” Yes, you read that correctly. Every airline passenger would be tracked by a government-funded GPS, containing personal, private and confidential information, and would shock the customer worse than an electronic dog collar if the passenger got out of line.
If the TSA, two-hour pre-flight arrivals and the rising price of oil don’t kill off the airline industry, this should do the trick. I think I can safely guarantee that neither I nor any member of my family will ever fly on an airplane again for any reason should this brainstorm ever be forced upon the airlines. I can’t imagine any possibility for abuse of this little piece of technological innovation, can you?
Hey, why not just go all the way and make it a collar? Sure, the concept sounds wildly insane, even for federal bureaucrats, but given what’s happened in the last eight years, can you really be so sure that this won’t be crammed down the throats of those dwelling in the land of the free and the home of the brave? I wait with an almost unholy glee to hear the lapdogs of the conservative commentariat defending this federal brainstorm. Because if Americans don’t wear shock collars, then we’ve surrendered in Iraq, Israel will be destroyed by Iran and the terrorists have won.