By Daniel McAdams, Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity | July 17, 2025
We have been pretty critical for some of the more bonehead moves coming from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in these early days of the Trump Administration. She has staged some embarrassing cosplay “takedowns” of illegals and she inexplicitly spent her first Memorial Day as a Senior US Official – a day to honor fallen American soldiers – wailing at Israel’s “Wailing Wall” for some reason.
Nevertheless – and some may rightly criticize the slow pace of “progress” – the “easily excited” Homeland Security Secretary announced earlier this month that US travelers are no longer required to remove their shoes in order to board an airplane.
The shoe removal requirement in the first place was based on a dubious story that a foreigner tried to light his shoe on fire on an airplane flight in the heady “you’re with us or you are with the terrorists” days after the 9/11 “attacks.”
So thenceforth every grandmother in a wheelchair was suspected of being a secret al-Qaeda operative poised to light up her orthopedics – or perhaps colostomy bag – in the name of global jihad.
(The history of TSA is a history of total failure to “keep us safe,” but like all government programs the more you fail the more money you get.)
But yesterday we got a bit of cherished good news in that DHS Secretary Noem is considering lifting the equally absurd limits on the volume of liquids that travelers are allowed to carry on flights. To this point, travelers have been limited to 3.4 ounces per container to carry on the plane.
Anything more was obviously al-Qaeda.
How many 4.0 ounce contact lens solution bottles ended up in the trash to “protect” America from al-Qaeda’s planned takeover one can never know.
I happen to know, by the way. Dammit.
What would actual Americans who value our Constitution like to see? The end of TSA altogether. The government has no business even knowing who is boarding a private car or plane or locomotive. Either we are a free people or we are subject to governmental permission to travel within our country as was required by the Soviet “internal passport.”
Lots of Americans love to attack the “Chicoms,” but these same Americans seem to have no problem with the actual policies that such authoritarian governments embrace.
I would cheer for the end of a TSA that put its hands all over my then-13 year old daughter and then in retaliation for my objection to a Miss Trunchbull violation of my little girl seven years ago proceeded to attempt a live gender re-assignment maneuver on me which even the supervising Washington Metro Police Authority found to be outrageous.
Thankfully the heroic Rutherford Institute came to our rescue and unleashed their civil liberties lawyer team on TSA over the sick attack on my family. And TSA apologized!
So yeah, thanks Kristi. We are happy for that little trickle of freedom our government is so graciously returning to us. Now have a look at the Constitution and completely disengage from the business of Central Government regulation of travel.
Daniel McAdams - Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity and co-Producer/co-Host, Ron Paul Liberty Report. Daniel served as the foreign affairs, civil liberties, and defense/intel policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, MD (R-Texas) from 2001 until Dr. Paul’s retirement at the end of 2012.
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