Couple charged under Patriot Act after allegedly making out on plane (a blast from the past)

I'm bored talking about the primaries - Obama and McCain won handily today - so let's talk about what there's gonna be more of if Bushism doesn't receive the smackdown it so richly deserves.

This story apparently received some press in a few areas, but I hardly saw anything about it. In 2006, a couple was charged under the Patriot Act after allegedly making out on an airplane. I say allegedly because it appears they didn't even do that. On the Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Raleigh, the couple, both in their early 40s, was allegedly seen snuggling and kissing "inappropriately." An authoritarian prude who thought they saw such activity complained to the flight attendant to make the couple stop because it was making the complainant "uncomfortable."

Had the crybaby who complained ever left their own house before? The couple's alleged actions (even if they were doing what the complainant thought) weren't anything you don't regularly see in plain sight at public parks, on university campuses, or even on city buses. For Pete's sake! Get out of the 16th century!

When the attendant rudely confronted the couple and put his hands on the woman, the male half of the couple warned that he'd have to report the flight attendant to his superiors if he didn't let them be. The FBI and some news accounts put their own Captain's Quarters-like spin on it to make it sound like an unprovoked physical threat - which it clearly wasn't, if you read all the facts. (Now that's journamalism!)

Being charged under the Patriot Act could have landed the couple in prison for 20 years.

According to the FBI indictment, the man was "observed nuzzling or kissing" the woman's neck and then later with his face on the woman's "vaginal area" - also known as a lap, geniuses. Much, much worse than this, according to the FBI, the woman "was observed smiling." Gasp!

Now I know what the guy who I told the story of my bogus NKU trespassing arrest to meant when he said that soon there'd be "anti-smiling laws." These days, you have to watch out, because your happy attitude might get you 20 years.

Believe it or not, the man on the plane was actually convicted of interfering with a flight crew. You read that right. He was convicted over this! Charges against the woman were only dropped after a months-long ordeal. Late last year, the man was sentenced to probation. A former Navy man and '91 Gulf War vet, he reportedly lost his VA benefits as a result, because the offense is a felony. (Is launching bogus Patriot Act prosecutions how the government treats veterans?) Not only that, but the allegation that the couple was even making out seems to just be hearsay. It appears that the man actually put his head down because he was resting from chemotherapy.

It angers me that the government put the couple through such an ordeal. I'd file a lawsuit against Southwest and the FBI at once.

I hope I have all the facts on this case, but the pop-up media muddied the story so badly that I had to dig deeper.

Until the Patriot Act is repealed, malicious prosecutions are going to keep happening. The current Congress has a mandate to repeal it, but hasn't done so. So be prepared for more stories like this every so often. Bush lied (big surprise) when he said the Idiot Act was only going to be used against terrorists.

(Source: http://www.disgrunt.com/blog/2006/11/15/mid-flight-sexual-play-lands-us-couple-afoul-of-anti-terrorism-law;
http://consumerist.com/consumer/drunks-on-a-plane/man-convicted-of-in+flight-felony-his-face-was-pressed-to-vaginal-area-258218.php;
http://www.wwaytv3.com/man_sentenced_six_months_probation_in_mile_high_case/08/2007)