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Name: MrsPhoenix

Comment: Mister Joe, I saw you on the season premiere of "Vanished". What an excellent role for you.

Name: slinky07

Comment: I guess it doesn't get any more absurd and paranoid than searching subway passengers. Pretty soon civil liberties will no longer exist in this world.

Name: DoctorSmooth

Comment: Well, as a NYC resident who still vividly remembers 9/11, let me put my 2 cents in on this. I often agree with Joe on a lot of things, but on this, I think he’s off. The fact is, subways in NYC are a target for terrorists almost as much as airplanes are. (Terrorist plots have to blow up NYC subways have been foiled in the past…. And lets not forget the London subway bombing last year!!) If cops have the right to search anyone carrying a bag on a plane, why can’t they search the bags of people entering the subway system? And as far as the “shopping mall” argument… if police had information that terrorists were looking to blow up your local shopping mall during the Christmas season, would it be reasonable then for them to search the bags of those going to the mall at that time? Of course it would. The key word here is “reasonable”. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the cops to search my bag when I’m entering a public facility. That’s just a reality in the world we live in. People need to stop thinking like this is 1975 or something. The world changed on 9-11-01. This is the new reality, whether we like it or not.

Name: slinky07

Comment: DocSmooth: While I understand how witnessing 9/11 firsthand would have you still on edge, it seems to me that folks would rather many be inconvenienced for the solace of a few. Yes, we are living in a world of terroism. Yes, 9/11 was devastating. It does not mean that the average person should be subjected to searches to board a subway or plane. I think paranoia has gotten the best of us and we are sitting around waiting for lightening to strike in the same places it has previously.

Name: DoctorSmooth

Comment: Slinky, are you serious? You cant be. You said people shouldnt be subjected to searches when boarding a subway or a PLANE? Really? U don’t think we should search people boarding planes, even though we all know planes are terrorist targets! That doesn’t even make any sense, especially since people were getting searched at airports long BEFORE 9/11. And as far as searching people boarding subways, keep in mind that here in nyc it is not done every day on at every train station. And where the police are stationed they don’t always search every person , but the do post signs stating that the have THE RIGHT to search bags of people boarding the subways. I don’t see what’s wrong with that. Over a million people take the train every day, so they can’t search everybody, but they should have THE RIGHT to search someone, especially if the person is acting suspiciously. But even for someone not necessarily acting suspiciously, random searches can still act as a deterrent, since police presence can (sometimes) act as a deterrent to those who would do us harm. I am not sure that the searches will stop a terrorist, but I don’t see what harm it does. If they want to open my bag, and see the books and papers I have in there, then so be it . I’ll show it to them, and move on. You state that we’re waiting for lightning to strike the same place it has struck before. Again, a statement made in ignorance, I assume. You seem to not know that NYC police and the FBI have broken up MULTIPLE plots to blow up nyc subways. Trains have already gotten blown up in London, and Madrid. Ask the people of London and Madrid if its “paranoid” to expect a train attack. And ask them if they’re “offended” at police cheking their knapsacks at the train station. I guess people like you will have to wait till a nyc train actually gets blown up before you take it seriously. You call it paranoia. You obviously have no idea. I’m not paranoid at all. I’m just AWARE. Big difference .

Name: Stephanie

Comment: What's the big deal? The U.S. government is going to continue doing it anyway. Like they're really going to be honest with the tax paying American citizens, pulease! They'll say and do anything to please the masses but in the end, they'll end up doing whatever they want to whomever they want so why waste time and energy trying to worry about it.

Name: VickiE

Comment: My only comment on the article is Mr. Phillips reference to there being no public outcry over this ruling. MOs Americans are bombarded with news about a 10 year-old murder of a pre-teen beauty queen. So, excuse them for not being well-informed.

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