Source: Future of Freedom FoundationWendy McElroy
The transition to a police state will not come about with a dramatic
coup d'etat, with battering rams and marauding militia. As we have
experienced first-hand in recent years, it will creep in softly, one
violation at a time, until suddenly you find yourself being subjected to
random patdowns and security sweeps during your morning commute to work
or quick trip to the shopping mall.— John W. Whitehead
The headline read, “Tennessee Becomes First State To Fight Terrorism Statewide.”
News Channel 5 reported that on Tuesday, October 18, Tennessee deployed
multiagency “Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response” (VIPR) teams
“simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the
state.” These teams conducted unannounced airport-style screenings of
truck drivers at weigh stations and passengers at bus terminals.
Clarksville Online explained
the authority under which the warrantless searches were conducted, “The
Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security … partnered with
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) and several other federal and state agencies.”
Among the agencies represented in the VIPR teams were Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
