Carrying Subversive Literature on Int’l Flights Will Get You Noticed, But Tom Clancy’s OK For Now

Wired News ran a report yesterday about how much Homeland Security personnel observe during baggage inspection for travelers leaving or entering the United States by airplane. What makes this particularly relevant for this blog is the notes in one report on John Gilmore, the co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, that record he’d packed a book called Drugs and Your Rights.

Homeland Security’s response? “I flatly reject the premise that we care at all about the latest Tom Clancy novel a traveler is reading,” said a Department spokesperson. “But the fact does remain that [Customs and Border Protection] officials are going to be mindful of whether there is anything that suggests there could be possible violations of a law associated with a traveler or items in possession of a traveler as they make an admissibility decision about that traveler… That is what they are charged by Congress to do.” So, you know, if you’ve packed a book advocating the legalization of controlled substances in your carry-on, the counter-narcotics team is going to pay attention. Anybody want to lay odds on whether reading Burroughs will set off any alarms?

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