http://www.themonitor.com/…

Preparations for Tropical Storm Dolly include plans by the federal government for thousands of illegal immigrants in custody at the detention center.

But U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Sarita checkpoint will not stop motorists evacuating from a hurricane, an official said Monday.

“We’re not going to be stopping people and asking where they’re from,” said Lloyd Easterling, a spokesman for the Border Patrol in Washington, D.C. “We don’t want to slow the evacuation process. Life is paramount at this point.”

Isn’t that nice of them. Tom from New Hampshire on last night’s FTL said that representitive Ciro Rodriguez, who was on a plane with Ron Paul which had to make an emergency landing yesterday in New Orleans, said that people evacuating should bring identification just to be sure. Never know when the thugs will change their minds.

In other news, the police state wants to make it easier for you to be harassed.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/…

TSA asked luggage makers to come up with prototype designs that will make it easier to view a laptop in the X-ray machines, basically by building in a place to store the laptop in a back or front compartment where there are no straps, pockets, zippers etc. Cables and chargers would have to be stored in side pouches.

“We’re looking to see what works in terms of fewer obstructions in the bag itself that often mask what’s really in it,” said Dwayne Baird, a TSA spokesman in Seattle. “One of the biggest things we hear is people saying, ‘we’re tired of pulling out our laptops.”‘

TSA says not having to remove laptops would speed up security lines and reduce the number of claims it gets for computers damaged during screening.

One manufacturer says it hopes to have a bag ready by this fall that will meet TSA’s specifications. Tustin, Calif.-based Pathfinder Luggage will begin producing a rolling style briefcase (14 x 8 x 17 inches) with wheels and separate zippered compartments that would retail for around $100.

The laptop changes would follow on the TSA’s new “Black Diamond” program that calls for passengers to segregate themselves into color-coded security lines based on their traveling expertise.

In place at one security check point at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, it calls for travelers to voluntarily go to different lanes — black for “experts,” meaning frequent fliers who pack light, know the security drill and won’t hold up the line; blue for “casual travelers” who fly just a few times a year and may not be familiar with all the new rules; and green for families with children or others needing special help.

Nice to know the criminals want to make the victim as comfortable as possible. They wouldn’t be able to continue if they started getting all uppity.