Security Theater
The Atlantic covers news and analysis on politics, business, culture, technology, national, international and life on the official site of The Atlantic Magazine.
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Youssef Boudlal/Reuters Before Tonight's Speech About ISIS
When people say "we must act now!" they are usually wrong. When people say "we can't look weak!" it's usually time to discount whatever else they say.
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FAA Sectional Chart Annals of the Security State, Presidential-Vacations Edition
Protecting modern presidents is a legitimate and crucial goal. Here is some of what it ends up meaning in practice.
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Wikipedia When U.S. Law Enforcement Had a Different Look
Americans have often thought of themselves as level-headed and BS-detecting. What would a modern Mark Twain or Will Rogers make of policemen all dressed up for war?
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Reuters Turning Policemen Into Soldiers, the Culmination of a Long Trend
Another poisoned fruit of the post-9/11 sensibility
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Yuri Gripas/Reuters Friday Update: Filibuster, Surveillance State, Political Macho, and Other Hardy Perennials
A word we should use more frequently ("filibuster"), and one we should use less ("tough")
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Edward Snowden in Hong Kong
I'm glad we have this information; I am sorry we are getting it from Hong Kong.
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'I Cannot Figure Out Why This Was Classified to Begin With'
What the PRISM leaks have in common with the Pentagon Papers
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Rice, Power, Obama—and NSA
The good and bad of today's political news
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First They Came for the Chinese Tourists, Then They Came for the Yeshiva Students ...
Air travel as indicator of fray points in society
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Annals of the Security State: Hypotheses
Why not call it 'spatial profiling'?
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Annals of the Security State: Turboprop Edition
"At this point I was shaking in my boots. I was absolutely concerned they were going to plant something in my aircraft."
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Annals of the Security State: 'Is Puerto Rico in America?'
Stop-and-frisk, in the skies
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Summarizing the Latest Security-State Post
The TL;DR version of stop-and-frisk taking to the skies
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Annals of the Security State: The Airplane Stories Continue
"I figured at this point that I was being hijacked by drug dealers who were going to steal my plane." But no, it was the Feds.
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Brian Snyder / Reuters For Memorial Day, Another 'End the War on Terror' Speech
A message I have been waiting to hear.
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Annals of the Security State: Even More Airplane Stories
One more reason why it matters that the open-ended "war on terror" come to a close. Plus the "war on drugs."
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Annals of the Security State: More Airplane Stories
"My dad fought a war so this can never happen in America. I will not dishonor my father's memory by giving up what he fought for. No, sir. With all due respect, I will not consent to a search without a proper warrant."
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Annals of the Security State, Gabriel Silverstein Division
We all notice the parts of security-overreach that affect us.
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People. Who. Prefer. Not. To. Be. Moved. (Cont.)
Readers debate who is really to blame for yet another minor "air-rage" episode.
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'Some. Passengers. We. Just. Can't. Move.'
What Bartleby the Scrivener foresaw about modern air travel
