TSA mulling security measures on trains, boats, public transportation

According to an article at The Hill, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano is considering applying security measures to trains, boats, and public transportation.

While appearing on "Charlie Rose" Monday night, she said:

“I think the tighter we get on aviation, we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime. So, what do we need to be doing to strengthen our protections there?”

Napolitano did not say what measures would be taken or when they would be put in place, but she has defended the invasive procedures now being used at airports nationwide, including Spokane International Airport.

This means the scanners currently in airports could be used to screen passengers traveling by bus, train or by boat. 

But as The Hill reports, this would not be the first time scanners would be used outside of airports:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, introduced legislation this past September that would authorize testing of body scanners at some federal buildings.

Forbes magazine reported in September that the backscatter technology is already being deployed in vans to surreptitiously scan vehicles on the street.  According to the article:

...the company (American Science & Engineering) says law enforcement agencies have also been using them domestically, deploying the roving scanners to search for vehicle-based roadside bombs in American cities. "This product is now the largest-selling cargo and vehicle inspection system ever," says Joseph Reiss, AS&E's vice president of marketing.

But now that the TSA has secured America from threats posed by autistic children in baggy clothes, senior citizens with knee implants and breast cancer survivors, the agency is looking to expand its presence - perhaps at bus terminals or train depots.

Napolitano did say she hoped for a time when such measures were not needed, and that she was, "actively promoting research into the psychology of how a terrorist becomes radicalized."

“I think having a better understanding of what causes someone to become a terrorist will be helpful."

“We don’t know much,” she said. “If you were to try and devise a template about what connects this terrorist to this terrorist and how they were raised and what schools they went to and their socioeconomic status, or this or that, it’s all over the map. 

Most Americans have a clue, but would be branded racists if they dare speak it out loud, as Bill O'Reilly discovered on the set of The View.

One has to wonder - what's next?  Are we going to have armed soldiers on the streets?  Will citizens be forced to random scans and searches when entering stores and cafes?  Is the Department of Homeland Security looking to turn America into a police state under the guise of "security"?

Hopefully, the new Congress will be able to keep this federal agency under control - before it's too late.