Today's The Day: Redfern and Pradhan vs. TSA Thuggery
Robert Taylor writes at policymic of the appeal brought by Jeffrey Redfern and Anant Pradhan, who were Harvard law students when they started on this action in 2010:

On April 3, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will hear an appeal for a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) filed by two Harvard law students in 2010 claiming that their Fourth Amendment rights were violated by "nude body scanners" and "enhanced pat-downs."

A victory on the side of the two students, Jeffrey Redfern and Anant Pradhan, would definitely be a win for civil liberties and the Bill of Rights. But even if, however, the lawsuits are struck down, this case will help continue to highlight and expose one of the most pervasive institutions of government abuse that exists in America.

...While some may defend the TSA as supposedly "necessary" for security and many others may acquiesce to their civil liberties violations to go along with the crowd and not raise a fuss, the TSA is truly one of the most vivid examples of the cold, cruel nature of government power. Every time I have had the unfortunate experience of waiting in an airport (and now, even taking the train or bus), I see Orwell's nightmares staring back at me: the latex gloves, the hideous uniforms, the omnipresent voice-overs, the sheep-like lines, the arrogance of undeserved authority. It truly is the purgatory of the national-security state.

...The growth of TSA also exemplifies a point made by economist Robert Higgs. Higgs, in his classic work, Crisis and Leviathan, describes what he calls a "ratchet effect" that perpetuates the costs and increases in government power. Whenever there is a crisis, real or imagined, the government claims new authority, creates agencies, and taxes and transfers wealth. After the crisis is over, the authority may shrink a bit, but never is reduced to the extent that it was before.

...That's why this Wednesday's appeal hearing is so important. Not because it will turn the Department of Homeland Security's lights off the next day (though one can hope!), but because at the very least it will add to the growing lists of public grievances that are piling up against the TSA, giving Americans fewer and fewer excuses to stay silent in the face of abusive state power.