Flying Imams: The Sequel
Powerline ^ | 1/28/07 | John Hinderaker
powerlineblog.com
We have written repeatedly about the strange case of the six flying imams, who, following an imams' convention, were kicked off a flight originating in Minneapolis for what appeared to be deliberately provocative behavior. We have speculated that the event may have been a set-up designed as the predicate for anti-racial profiling legislation in Congress. The latest news from the Associated Press is consistent with that speculation:
The repercussions of an airline's decision to remove a group of imams from a commercial flight in Minneapolis could be heard in Congress this year, with civil rights groups pushing Democratic lawmakers to ban racial profiling. The incident happened in November, made national news and reinvigorated an old proposal that got little attention from the GOP.
Now, a champion of the legislation, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction on the issue. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who sponsored legislation to ban racial profiling in the last Congress, now chairs the Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution.
No bill has been introduced so far, but Feingold made it clear the issue will be a priority for him.
Another reminder, were it needed, that elections have consequences. |
