When civil liberties are outlawed, only outlaws will have civil liberties!

NEW YORK, Aug. 11 -- A federal appeals court said Friday that random bag searches on New York subways are constitutional, agreeing with a lower court that the police tactic is an effective and minimally invasive way to help protect a prime terrorism target.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit rejected a challenge to the searches by the New York Civil Liberties Union, saying U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman properly concluded in December that the program was "reasonably effective."

Searches on the nation's largest subway system began after the deadly terrorist bombings in London's subways in July 2005. The NYCLU sued, arguing that they were an unprecedented intrusion on privacy that terrorists could easily evade.

The appeals court agreed with Berman that preventing a terrorist attack on the subway was important enough to subject subway riders to random searches.

Via the Washington Post.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Via the Bill of RConstitution of the United States of America.

I honestly don't care how dire the threat is. If continue to get all crazy and scared and live in constant terror, then it's possible some of the eeee-vil terrorists may be laughing at us as we do their work for them. The point of terrorism is not, really, to kill people. It's to make a point about a government/group by inflicting fear upon the masses.

I think the wrong guys are winning this one.