BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!

Subject: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:10 PM

An article on the latest Homeland Security Dept's "airline safety measures" was published in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune.

According to the article, everyone who purchases a plane ticket will now be subject to a background check which will include a credit check, and the ability to see your private banking records. Based upon this personal financial information, along with something nebulous that sounds as if it may be a criminal background check (as is used by certain employers, for instance those who serve at risk populations, like school kids, nursing home residents, the mentally ill, etc), you will be personally assigned a "terrorist threat level".

Looks like I'll never fly again!

Here are the salient excerpts from the article:

"The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has confirmed that it is testing a new security program that subjects airline passengers to more stringent screening that involves checking personal financial and other information and assigning a threat level to each passenger...

CAPPS II is drawing fire from civil liberties groups and privacy advocates, who say it will collect an unprecedented amount of data on individuals and give no assurance of accuracy. They also say the plan lacks sufficient controls over who would have access to the information.

"The federal government now has the authority to seize information from wherever they can grab it, whether or not it's accurate, to create a dossier on you," said Charles Samuelson, executive director of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union. "The TSA claims these records are going to be restricted, but according to these regulations, they're not. They're so open-ended that damn near anybody has access to these records."

The data collected would include bank records, credit reports and some law enforcement data, according to transportation officials. They say CAPPS II would use databases that operate in line with privacy laws and won't profile passengers based on race, religion or ethnicity...

The system rates passengers' risk potential under a color code. The vast majority of passengers will be rated green and subjected to only the usual checks; those rated yellow will undergo more thorough screening, and those rated red won't be allowed to fly. According to regulations published in the Jan. 15 Federal Register, a government publication, the system went into effect Feb. 24...

Samuelson of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union said he fears regulations will fall hardest on less-affluent people -- those with no credit history or who have misused credit. "Those people are targeted as potential terrorists," he said. "Where is it written that people with bad credit history are any more likely to be terrorists? . . . This isn't going to do what [the TSA] intends it to do. They haven't demonstrated any reason for this, other than the fact that they can."

Terry Trippler, an air travel expert in the Minneapolis office of CheapSeats.com, said he has been a strong backer of other measures to tighten airport security, but he said this program "is over the line."

"I have supported [President Bush] on everything he has done, but I do not support this in any way, shape or form," he said. "Once we allow stuff like this to come into play, what's next? We all have to carry papers, like in Eastern Europe? We have to take a deep breath on this one."

The full article can be read here:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/3731926.html

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:11 PM

Could someone please explain to me how knowing whether or not someone who purchases a plane ticket has good or bad credit can possibly help with the fight against terrorism?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:20 PM

Here in the Twin Cities, the transportation industry is just eating this stuff up. Metro Transit, the local bus system, recently announced it was going to change all bus passes this fall. The new passes will be issued to one person specifically, and "the system" will be able to track that person's trips. There will no longer be an ability to ride the bus anonymously, because cash fares will no longer be available on any buses under the new system. All passengers will be required to provide identity proof (drivers license, state id card, passport, etc.) to purchase any fare cards to ride the bus.

Not only will Big Brother know who is riding the buses, Big Brother will know what time and place you board which bus, they are also considering collecting information when you leave the bus.

Reason given for the change: the convenience of bus drivers. Right.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Beccy
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:58 PM

This really chaps my hide. I think my inner libertarian is going to have a conniption fit at the idea of the government looking at MY credit report. AAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Forum Lurker
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:59 PM

Big deal. So "The Man" will know that I take the 675 home at 2:32 every day except Thursdays. If you're really that worried, you can drive. If you can't afford to park downtown, you probably aren't up to anything the government is worried about.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 02:36 PM

It isn't a question of being able to afford parking for some of us Forum Lurker. It is a question of whether we can afford a car. Then there are the many people who live in inner cities who choose not to own a car, because they are a hassle and big expense.

You sound like a true selfish, self-centered American auto junkie! C'mon Forum Lurker. This isn't "an issue" for most Americans who drive, because it isn't their whereabouts being tracked.

BTW, Forum Lurker, what is your position on the new Homeland Security airline safety measures of using your credit report to assign you a terrorist threat designation?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Rustic Rebel
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 02:37 PM

I think it could be a big deal. It could dissuade people from taking public transit and that is not a good idea. Sure just drive instead of taking the bus. That is not sound advice if you ask me. There are already enough cars and traffic and pollution.
Peace. Rustic

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 03:16 PM

I cannot believe that the airlines would willingly go along with this plan. Just what they need - something else to make people resistant to flying.

Let's see.... If I want to fly from my home in northwest Florida to my daughter's in Atlanta, Georgia....

1) Spend one hour driving from home to airport
2) Arrive at airport two hours before flight to accomodate baggage screening, credit check etc.
3) Board plane and fly for one hour to Atlanta
4) Spend one hour waiting for checked baggage to arrive

Total time for flight: Five hours

Time to drive from home to Atlanta: Four hours

I suspect that I have taken my last domestic airplane ride unless the need for a transcontinental or transoceanic trip should arise.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 03:53 PM

If this ain't class warfare, I don't know what is! The thing is, there will be many like Bruce, who will say forget it, I ain't gonna fly. The airline industry is purportedly having a lot of financial problems as it is. This creates another barrier for them to get people's butts in the seats, doesn't it? Aren't the Republicans supposed to be FOR big business? Oh wait, I forgot--the elite have their own airplanes and their own airports!

Well, [sly grin] according to this Joe American "Instant Poll" at the Star Trib here, there are a few people who don't exactly like the idea of Big Brother (and god only knows who else) snooping through their bank accounts:

Star Trib Instant Poll

So, what I'd like to know is what are the credit scores and bank account balance combinations that will correlate to the green, yellow, and red alert terrorist status you are assigned?

If you have filed Ch. 7 or 13 bankruptcy, or are behind on the MasterCard payments, or were late more than three times in a year on your mortgage payment, will they still let you on the airplane? How much longer will someone with a bankruptcy on their record be detained than those without one?

Shows who the ruling elite are REALLY afraid of, doncha think?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Kim C
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 04:01 PM

What if you pay cash for a plane ticket? They still let you do that, don't they?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 04:10 PM

KimC, this isn't something that is related to how you pay for your ticket. This is a new "security measure" that every passenger will be subject to, BEFORE you get to the airport, ie when you purchase the ticket. The credit checks, bank account checks, criminal background check will all be done at the time you purchase your ticket. Based upon the result of the background checks on you, the airline "assigns" you to a green, yellow, or red terrorist alert status, which is put on your ticket (presumably--but I'm guessing it just goes into the airline's database, so it is checked at boarding time on the computer terminals).

Based upon your pre-determined "terrorist" status, you will either be free to board without extra searches (green), be subjected to extra searches and possible further delays and detentions (yellow), or not be allowed to fly at all (red).

It is that yellow category I find the most hideous, because that means you could end up being taken into police custody, with no habeas corpus rights, based upon your credit record. That is just one of the many reasons the civil liberties folks are raising a stink about this.

So if you thought the "terrorist" profiles weren't going to effect you because you were a model citizen in terms of obeying the law, this new security measure shows that isn't what it is all about after all.

What is next? Rounding up the poor and deporting them to Iraq, so Dubya can bomb the hell out of them?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: DougR
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 04:48 PM

Yes, Guest we know, the sky is definitely falling.

I don't think you properly addressed Kim's question. If you pay cash for a ticket what are they going to do? Have you fill out a credit report? I don't think so.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 04:55 PM

That is correct Doug. You don't fill out the credit report. The airline does the background checks without your knowledge or your permission.

You didn't read the article I linked to, OR the Federal Register published in January 2003 that spelled it out though, did you Doug?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 05:00 PM

I ask again (in hopes that someone has an answer for me)...

What the hell does a person's credit worthiness have to do with terrorism?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 05:08 PM

Nothing, CarolC. It is merely a draconian anti-poor law.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 05:15 PM

Actually, paying cash for an airline ticket raises an entirely different kind of red flag, and has done so for years. Especially paying cash for a one-way ticket. If you pay cash for a one-way ticket and your name happens to be Mustafa or Muhammed, you might as well go ahead and get directions to the interrogation room and meet the cops there. It's a lot quicker than waiting for them to come get you.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 06:28 PM

We paid cash for a ticket in the 1980's and had to prove to them that we had the money from Rog's employment income. I couldn't believe it.

Delta Airlines in implementing this as a trial in "undisclosed locations" in the US. I'd posted about it last week in one the ongoing threads. The government has a "watch" list which they will also compare people to. They have three colours: red, yellow, and green which will be noted on your boarding pass and which will be checked by security personnel. I wonder why they even bother with the red...think they'd really let a "reddie" on the flight?

Last I knew it was illegal for anyone to access your credit history without your consent, so presumably there will be some agreement you will be asked to sign...course that may be wishful thinking, too.

I heard a former governor of Colorado on the radio today going on and on about how the US should not recognise legal ID's of Mexicans who are living here and went to their consulates with proof of birthdate in order to obtain such ID's. The cards do nothing but prove who they are and where they live. Some of them are illegal aliens. His whole take on it was the cards give some kind of "blanket amnesty" and illegals are going to take over the country. Really paranoid. The cards by the way have been in use and recognised by our country for over 100 years.

I don't fly a lot anyway, but this is just one mroe good reason not to. Wouldn't it surprise the hell out of them if we all went to CASH ONLY?!! Until ten years ago, that's what we did.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Bobert
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 06:40 PM

Hey, what I don't understand is how "Regulation Z" which is a federal law that outlines rules for extending credit can be violated by an airline. And attorneys here that are familiar with the ins andm out of Reg Z. As I recall it reqires permisssion from the party whoes credit is being checked. Also, whenever credit is checked, it is recorded on one's credit report.

A "red flag" for lenders is a lot of activity of folks checking on someone's credit. If these hits stick on folks CBI's then it won't be long before those with good credit will become credit risks...

Other than this, this crap is pretty much we should expect in Johnny Ashcroft/Poindester's America.

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 06:50 PM

and then there are those of us who will be3 going overseas.....how else besides flying are we suppose to get there? swim to darling harbour?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,The Dreaded Guest
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 07:56 PM

On Sept 11, 2001, all the hijacked airliners were at EXACTLY 20% capacity. No more, no less. Passengers were turned away at what was the peak travel time in the most densely-populated and heavily-traveled part of the U.S.

Also, seating charts for the unfortunate 20% who were on each plane showed that they had been assigned seats where they would be least able to confront the hijackers as a group. And this was done on TWO DIFFERENT airlines, so it wasn't a systematic glitch specific to only one of the computer systems.

The U.S. govt orchestrated the hijackings of Sept 11, and since then they have placed troops in American airports. This is the mandatory first step in a coup. Control the airports, then control the media, then control the roadways. Then control the people, and once again start with financial transactions at the airports. So this isn't a surprising development.

Something that MIGHT be surprising, though, is the use of recognition technology at airports. Wonder why the 'shoe bomber' was trained by the CIA to act like he was trying to light his shoe as he drooled and stared off into space in front of a hundred witnesses? It was so shoes can be removed at airports. Cameras are recording your unique gait characteristics.

I could get into how this will all be tied into the Cashless Society and Total Taxation, but none of you has read this far. I typed in 'gait recognition technology' into google and turned up the following story. It talks about the software being developed, but the technology is already here and in wide use. When they admit it's 'in development' that means it is already been distributed to the military and us peons can now be let in on the 'secret'.

Gait Recognition Technology

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:10 PM

DougR, I like you, and respect your opinions, but I do get a little tired of your "the government knows best and anybody who says otherwise is paranoid" attitude. Under this plan, which is already in effect in a limited test market, if you obtain a ticket by any legal means--cash, check, credit card, or mileage redemption--you will be assigned a threat level, which will show up either on your boarding pass or on the computer at the gate. You don't have to request a credit check...they do it automatically.

Your comment was not only snide, but wrong. I hope you'll be person enough to admit it.

Aloha,
Mark

PS, No, kat, they've already made it clear that if your level is red you will not be allowed to fly. Even if somebody made a mistake and got you confused with somebody else.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Forum Lurker
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:30 PM

GUEST from 2:36-I'm not a self-centered auto junkie. Like I said, I take the bus to and from class every day. I'm simply pointing out that the government knowing when and where I take the bus isn't going to affect me in any way. They already know I take classes at the U of M, and anyone could find that out easily. The stop you get on or off of at the bus doesn't say anything about what I'm doing while I'm there. As far as the credit check, I'm confused as to what they think they'll find, and worried in a general sense as to what their intent is, but I don't have anything to worry about: I can't afford to fly.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Oldguy
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:49 PM

Sounds like a plan to me. Now when I fly I will feel safer because the government is finally taken steps to protect me. I wont end up as part of a building like the twin towers.

Of course the protestors have no plan except to bitch and bellyache about any action taken by the government.

Old Guy

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Dreaded Guest
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:54 PM

It is a fascist takeover, old guy. The Bushes orchestrated the Sept 11 attacks in order to put troops in the airports. Now they're going to rummage through your bank account. If you're REALLY old enough, maybe you recall Hitler doing all this.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 12:00 AM

DG, I think I'm starting to like you in spite of yourself.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 12:31 AM

Old Guy, would you please explain to me what a person's credit rating has to do with terrorism?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Dreaded Guest
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 01:22 AM

Yeah, well, just wait around Bee-dubya-ell. I imagine your opinion of me will change. I'm only whimsical tonight because I think the ballgames over for most of us. I think the Bushes are insane occultists who truly did put something into motion yesterday (the numerologically important 03-03-03), and now it's just a matter of waiting to see what they did. I wouldn't be surprised at a hundred million Americans dead in the next ten years. And it's all tied into the this hi-tech stuff we're being inundated with and some people claim they have no problem with at all. But it will be your downfall, folks.

I read once that (with computerization now) for each year of normal scientific advancement, military science advances 40+ years. So the AMAZING stuff we saw 12 years ago in Desert Storm would now be 500 years out of date according to those numbers. I believe we are being marched down the road to totalitarianism because the ruling elite have absolutely nothing to fear from us...300 million Americans. Even if the Bushes' armies turned on them, those armies could be neutralized. THAT'S why the Bush family is dismantling our nuclear arsenal...they have things in their arsenal even our wildest sci-fi writers couldn't dream up.

But the Bushes are brutes and pray to demons and are going to make our end as messy as they can...lots of plagues and radiation and blood. Just to satisfy their dark gods. So what do you do when you're sitting back and waiting for the other shoe to drop? You spit at your killers, and you joke. AND you hope for the best. Something could trigger an awakening and a backlash that even a whole FLEET of drone planes using microwave weapons to cook cities can't stop. So we'll see.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 01:23 AM

Pssst, Carol: Nobody's answering your question because there is no good answer. But I think you know that already.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Dreaded Guest
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 01:38 AM

Can I kill a thread, or what? Night.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 03:44 AM

Would you please explain to me what a person's credit rating has to do with terrorism?

That's easy, Carol. In today's consumerist, market-driven, money-worshipping United States of America one's credit rating is equivalent to one's level of citizenship. Since it's impossible (yet) for them to stick an electrode into your brain and find out whether or not you're the kind of "Good American" that they want flying in airplanes they check your credit rating instead. Good credit = good citizen. Good citizens don't blow up airplanes.

Of course, this ignores the fact that it's entirely possible to do the things that a good citizen does (vote, serve on juries, pay taxes, obey the law etc.) and have bad credit due to unemployment, divorce, illness or any number of other reasons. It also ignores the fact that it's still possible to live outside of the credit system and just pay cash for everything (A lifestyle that is coming to be viewed as an un-American activity - Refusal to worship the great God Interest may soon be a jailable offense).

I think it's ironic that the feds should consider one's willingness to participate in institutionalized usury as a benchmark for the purpose of combating terrorism when the Islamic fundamentalists who are, presumably, the terrorists in question view usury as a fundamental sin. It sort of guarantees that the plane will be full of infidels, doesn't it?

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Oldguy
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 12:35 PM

The Star tribune article was carefully edited to take out all of the benificial things and leave in all of the paranoid things. A typical attempt of a civil rights bellyacher to put a negative spin on everything.

Here are a few of the good parts and they make sense to me. Anyone that wants can get your credit history if they want it.

"CAPPS II -- Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System II -- will compile data from a number of sources to determine a level of risk for each passenger: green for the vast majority, yellow for those whom officials determine need extra screening and red for those who would not be allowed to fly. Passengers will receive scores similar to credit scores used for those applying for bank loans, Johnson said.

The screening will including information from commercially available databases such as credit bureau reports, but the TSA hasn't settled on which databases it will use, including whether passengers' bank records would be included, Johnson said. He said the TSA is aware that credit bureau reports often contain inaccuracies and is developing safeguards to address those problems.

Johnson said concerns that people with bad credit would be targeted are misplaced. "If you're not a terrorist, you have nothing to worry about when you get to the airport," he said. "If you are a terrorist, this program greatly enhances our chances of finding you and keeping you off that plane." He declined to say what characteristics the screening will look for."

Old Guy

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 12:43 PM

You still haven't explained to me, Old Guy, in what way a person's credit worthiness (or lack of it) can be used as an indicator of whether or not they might be a terrorist. Where's the correlation please?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Peg
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 12:50 PM

Good points all, Bruce. "Bad" credit has become a way of life in America. Most people have far more in debt than they do in savings. The European model used to be the exact opposite of us (i.e. Americans had a year's salaray worth of debt but Europeans had a years' salary in savings) about ten years ago but they are catching up with us...

Consider the people in the workforce who tend to make the lowest salaries: social workers, police officers, teachers (like me), and military service personnel. Oh, and let's not forget the guy or gal who serves up your cappucino or your Big Mac, or who folds your laundry or cleans your house or walks your dog or parks your car. Oh, and musicians, writers (like me) and artists, of course

Ooh, scary, dangerous people.

Then there's the people who tend to make the MOST money: lawyers, business executives, entrepreneurs, doctors, computer programmers, movie stars. Oh, and criminals.

Ooh, scary dangerous people (well, except for most of the doctors and maybe some of the computer geeks).

I have paid cash for airplane tickets. The travel agents sometimes raise their eyebrows but only because it's not the usual thing. But I have not done that in several years, as now I tend to pay with check or credit card, or more often the debit card attached to my checking account (just like cash in a way since it is an instantaneous transfer). Many stores do not accept personal checks now because debit cards are automatically issued with checking accounts, and travelling with travellers' checks is becoming a thing of the past because everyone uses ATMs for cash retrieval or just pays with their debit cards.

I cannot even fathom any association whatsoever with a person's credit history (unless they have been practicing some sort of fraud but that has nothing to do with a credit report in the context we're discussing here) with their risk of terrorist activity.

Is that an answer, Carol? It's not a very good one. But is IS a frightening and frustrating one.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Oldguy
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 02:38 PM

CarolC

Where does it say they would be using someone's credit history to determine if they were a terrorist or not?

It says they would have access like every organization has access now. There is no correlation that I can see. It is paranoid that assume they will use your credit history against you.

I think their primary use of someone's financial records would be to spot people who do not work and receive money from others not related. Seems like good sense to me.

If you have a better way to spot terrorists, tell us about it.

Old Guy

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: GUEST,Dreaded Guest
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 04:27 PM

Take a tour of the White House.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 04:43 PM

If they're going to obtain people's credit history, there needs to be a reason for it. From what I have seen so far, pretty much all of the references to this issue that I have seen say that they will be doing a credit check. If they do a credit check as a part of the information they use to give people a color rating, what is the correlation between a person's credit rating, and the possibility that they may be a terrorist?

They shouldn't be even trying to get that information unless there is a need for it. If there is a need for it, what is the need? If they are going to do it in the absence of a correlation between terrorism and credit worthiness, there must be some other reason that they would be doing it. Remember, all of this stuff costs money. They wouldn't be putting resources into getting that information unless they want it for some specific reason.

So - what is the need that is being served by checking people's credit history when they buy a plane ticket? Is it to help combat terrorism, or is there some other reason that they don't want us to know about?

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 04:50 PM

If you have a better way to spot terrorists, tell us about it.

My understanding is that some or all of the 9/11 terrorists had been traveling in and out of the US on expired visas. So enforcing existing laws might be a start.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 04:59 PM

Carol, I can't see any justification for any of it, but one AP report I read quoted one official as saying that all of the info they check will help to assess the passengers' "intentions" before they board.

This was part of the first reports on this by AP on Feb. 23, found at www.drudge.com:

The system, ordered by Congress after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will gather much more information on passengers than previously. Delta Air Lines will try it out at three undisclosed airports beginning in about a month, and a comprehensive system could be in place by the end of the year.

The nationwide computer system, which will check such things as credit reports and bank account activity and compare passenger names with those on government watch lists. Under the system, airlines will ask fliers more information than they do now: full name, address, phone number and date of birth.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 05:11 PM

Thanks katlaughing. I can understand the reasoning behind wanting to look at bank activity. But the credit rating part has me stumped.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Ebbie
Date: 06 Mar 03 - 02:42 AM

Carol, in Alaska (perhaps other places too) they use, or plan to use, credit rating in connection with auto insurance- if your credit is bad your insurance will be higher. I don't understand that one either. Since I don't have a car I haven't pursued the matter.

Subject: RE: BS: Bad Credit? You must be a terrorist!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Mar 03 - 10:06 AM

This also doesn't wash as far as terrorist cells and such, because we have been hearing about how there are folks who handle the cash, pay the bills, and it seems terrorists wouldn't stick out because of poor creditworthiness.

Ashcroft has been trying to erode civil rights since day one in office. This just gives him a fast track to do as much damage as possible until (hopefully) people wise up and kick Bush's ass out of office in the next election. But the damage will be done and these guys will glide into their golden years set for life with tax breaks and such.

With a jaundiced eye (and an excellent credit rating--probably because I don't fly often) SRS