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Inauguration Security here in Pittsburgh
by Danny P
Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005 at 12:11 PM
dannyp@indypgh.org
Security around the inauguration of George Bush reached all the way to Pittsburgh, where bus riders ended up having to submit to a search of their possessions.
Riders destined for Washington DC from Pittsburgh, PA were forced to consent to a search in order to board they Greyhound bus. A private security company was administering the search, and in one case, the searches led to the bus being delayed over half an hour.
I was on the 5:50am bus out of Pittsburgh, headed for DC. Everyone who got on that bus- including people who were reboarding the bus as they were making a connection in Pittsburgh, had to consent to a screening process in order to get on the bus. The screening process included having to submit to a wand-style metal detector (legs are spread, wand is moved around body) and having all of your bags searched.
The screening process seemed absurd, and one man (who appeared to be Amish) was hassled by the security guards for having a pair of scissors in his possession. Many people were complaining about the unusual security procedures, wondering how it possibly could help make anyone safer.
The procedures ended up delaying the bus over 20 minutes, but the greater inconvienence was to the bus driver. The bus driver was not allowed to leave the bus for a rest stop without having to get everyone off the bus and the bus locked, which she noted was only due to the inauguration. It seemed there was concern that someone would try to smuggle something onto a greyhound bus, and in response greyhound is making their drivers do double duty as some type of security guard.
Anyone preparing to go to Washington, DC via greyhound this week should be aware of these security procedures. Only time will tell who decided that searches like this were necessary, and what their motives truly were.
random searches
by etienne
Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 at 7:45 AM
The last time i got on the morning local to Erie, they did the exact same thing, including the wand. They also went through our bags. In early December, when i rode Greyhound to DC, there was no search, just board and go. They are doing random searches now.
If you want to see a bus delayed by the security forces just ride greyhound from CANADA into the good old usa. I made the mistake of having some political shit (a little sticker) that the customs/homeland security did not like. That helped to delay the bus but it was toughest on all the folks who were crossing the "Peace? Bridge" into Buffalo and wrere not u.s. citizens and that was most of the bus.
Greyhound policy already shows a lack of respect for people and these searches add just another layer. Don't you just love the ample seating in the terminal. (I'm being facetious.)
Greyhound harrasses Bush protesters consistently
by Kathleen Smith
Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 at 8:17 AM
kmstks@hotmail.com
My husband and I along with a full bus were supposed to attend protests in Washington D.C. on Fenruary 14th right before the war began. We were to leave from Pittsburgh at 6A.M. The driver wore a large Bush '04 button. He refused to leave at the designated time. An hour passed and the driver kept making excuses as to why he could not leave. Finally, my husband walked to the front of the bus and said,"We paid to leave here at a 6 A.M. and here it is 7:15 and you have a different excuse everytime as to why you refuse to go. You need to do what you've been paid for and take us to D.C. You don't need to call your supervisor in Texas, just go." The driver kept calling the main office in Texas, which with the time difference wasn't open. The driver, left with no more excuses started to drive. That evening the driver did not show up and we had to wait for 2 hours for a replacement. I wrote a letter to Greyhound and they said that they had no control over what their drivers do even if their behavior is unprofessional. Our group was with the Thomas Merton center and the decision was made then to never use Greyhound again.
No Equal Justice
by Jym Dyer
Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 at 1:21 PM
=v= When you get a chance, read No Equal Justice, by David Cole. Aggressive police searches of Greyhound buses are part of the War On Drugs. Note that they target a mode used by folks with less money rather than trains and airlines. Which is the same sort of selective enforcement that goes into the "Driving While Black" scandal.
No doubt they're retargeting selective enforcement against protesters today. But it's the War On Drugs that put the mechanism -- police with their wands, full complicity from Greyhound, etc. -- into place.
Oh, and supposedly this stuff (and the "Bush '04" pin) is all okay because Greyhound is a private entity. Never mind its near monopoly or parasitic relationship with public roads.
Another One Rides The Bus
by Swift Race Dog With Brains
Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 4:25 AM
Why are you riding the bus to DC. You can drive there in a poorly maintained bumper-sticker encrusted "Visualize Whirled Peas" hippy mobile in about five hours and for less money, especially if you travelled in a car pool or small group.
I gues you really didn't want to go to DC and stand in the cold to protest when you could just hang at home and bitch about another failure in your life caused byThe Man.
Swift Race Dog proves Incompetence of Bushie Supporters
by James Jones
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005 at 10:27 AM
freedom - a civil or political liberty (freedom of speech).
-what people like Swift Race Dog would like to take away from all people. I've wasted enough time just reading his comment.
Another One Rides The Bus - II
by Swift Race Dog With Brains
Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 at 11:22 AM
Who the hell said I voted for Bush. You are a pretty prejudiced type aren't you. I have been a card carrying member of the Democratic party since I could vote and a proud member of the USW of A. It is just the idiocy of the radical left, the so called "progressives", that I am continually astounded by. It is this drivel about "Oh, Bush is killing our civil liberties because I couldn't take the bus to DC, boo hoo hoo" BS that makes our entire left party look like a bunch of whiny fools. And you have to wonder why we can't win a national election? Hell, we fielded the King Crimson of Whiners, John Kerry, who showed the world that we are a bunch of clay footed losers.
Come on, you want to protest, but you can't even get your lazy ass into a car pool and drive the 5 hours to DC? You deserve to be sitting in the bus station complaining. This is the problem. All of our so called progressive leaders at both the local and national level would rather complain than offer any real plan for change. This little Greyhound incident is just a metaphor for the entire "movement". Maybe Greyhound was rude because that's what they are. It is no secret that Greyhound is in serious financial trouble, largely because the employees are ignorant and rude. Is that because of GW? F No, and any rational intelligent person can quickly discern that. Unfortunately, we don't look very rational or intelligent these days.
Instead, on a local level we just bitch and moan. We for some ridiculous reason believe that having a march is success enough. Rather than try to win over the political hearts and minds of our fellow citizens, we just say that everyone in those red counties are a bunch of ignorant inbred assholes. Boy that should be really effective. Instead of offering tangible options to Republican policies we just bitch and obstruct. And ask me again why 60+ million people voted against us?
Barbara Boxer goes off on "Con"Dee Rice and makes herself look like a clown. The Democratic Party holds tight to Social Security even though we all know it needs reforming, but we offer NO alternative. THIS IS WHY WE LOOK NEITHER LIKE LEADERS OR FOLLOWERS, BUT JUST PLAIN LOSERS !!!
And then we can't even figure out how to get to DC from Pittsburgh for less than $79.20 per person in direct travel expenses.
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