New Blog to go along with www.airsoftdiscounter.com

I also decided to start a blog to talk about all things airsoft. The blog is here and is just getting started. I plan on posting all sorts of cool information about airsoft tactics and new products as they come through my store.

New airsoft site.

I decided I'm going to try affiliate marketing. I had heard about it before, but never really had the drive or desire to create real content. I have things here and there, but have never had a legitimate site on the internet until now. Since I have friends who are into airsoft and I know a thing or two about it, I've decided to start www.airsoftdiscounter.com. A site where people can get anything related to airsoft or air rifles their little hearts desire.

All of the sales are handled by amazon, so I don't have to deal with the headache of shipping, keeping items in stock, suppliers, etc.

Lens Hero

So I was browsing reddit the other day and I found a link to this site. My wife and I are into photography a little bit and she has the basic Nikon D90 setup. She has been bugging me to find some new lenses for her though and I don't know too much about them. Lenshero not only lets me choose something in my price range, it also has a ton of features that let me get reviews and specs on all the lenses. I am by no means an advanced photographer, but this site helps me feel confident that I could make a purchase and have no fears of getting something that doesn't do what I want it to do. I also love how easy it is to search within a budget. I would highly recommend this site for all level photographers (who own a DSLR of course).

Update: Got a response

I got a pretty quick response to my email about the TSA, just your standard form letter. But hey, it's better than the response I got from the senator I wrote about the COICA...crickets.

Dear Mr. [echo],



Thank you for sharing with me your frustrations and concerns about the TSA. The challenge before us is how to make security more effective and less evasive.



Attached to this e-mail is an article I wrote about Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) as well as a Deseret News Editorial on the subject. I invite you to read the attached article and editorial for a more comprehensive view of my feelings on this subject.



Again, thanks for writing to me. If you've had a personal experience that you would like to share with me about the TSA's AIT machines or invasive pat downs, please let me know. You may e-mail your experience to[removed], a member of my staff collecting these stories on my behalf.



Sincerely,

Jason Chaffetz
Member of Congress

Here is the editorial he was referencing.

Amid news reports this week of TSA agents “groping” passengers in the name of security, public outcry against airport screening practices has intensified. In particular, Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines and the new TSA pat-down procedures have resulted in numerous reports of abuse.

Offended passengers describe being patted down by TSA screeners using the new palms-first, slide-down search technique which has replaced the former back-of-the-hand pat-down. Others report of attractive women being singled out to go through the AIT machines, where TSA screeners are able to peer through their clothing to see detailed images of the naked body.

In June 2009, the House passed my amendment restricting the use of AIT scanners as a primary screening device at U.S. airports. Support was overwhelming, with more than 300 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle voting in favor of the amendment permitting the use of the technology only as a secondary screening device.

The measure, which amended a larger bill that stalled in the Senate, allows the machines to be used when further screening is warranted. If a passenger sets off the metal detector, engages in suspicious behavior, or appears on a watch list, secondary screening would be appropriate. However, until AIT machines are upgraded to protect passenger privacy, I oppose a blanket policy forcing every passenger to submit to an AIT scan.

Since the time my amendment passed the House, a new and equally troubling issue has
arisen. TSA’s new “enhanced” pat-down procedure is an unwarranted invasion of privacy and dignity. This thorough pat-down of the entire body (including chest and groin areas) is the only alternative for those who opt out of AIT scans. In any other situation, this so-called pat down would constitute sexual assault – particularly when done to a minor child. A choice between a virtual strip search and a physical groping is no choice at all.

Even more frustrating — AIT machines are not even the most effective tool available. Certainly new technology improvements that use digital stick figures rather than the nearly naked image of a person’s body are promising. But such technology is years away from being operational at a large scale. More effective, less invasive options are available now. According to a recent Pentagon report, bomb-sniffing dogs are the most effective bomb-detecting resource currently available. We would be safer with more bomb sniffing dogs at our airports and fewer AIT machines.

Finally, it's time to get serious about gathering better intelligence to profile terrorists. We don’t have to profile based on religion, race, or ethnicity, but on characteristics and behaviors which repeatedly appear in terrorist profiles. Israel has successfully deployed this strategy for years in the face of more frequent and serious security threats. Through the use of extensive behavioral profiling, Israel manages to have one of the safest and most secure airports in the world. Passengers there suffer far less inconvenience and intrusion than passengers here in the U.S.
Passengers should not be forced to choose between being physically or verbally violated and being safe. It is possible to secure an airplane without sacrificing privacy. Not only are the measures I propose less invasive, they are also more effective. We can utilize metal detectors, bomb-sniffing dogs, and behavioral profiling to actually increase both liberty and security. I am committed to continue the battle I began more than a year ago. It’s time to reign in the TSA and reject the violation of our rights.

Letter to my senator about the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act

If you don't know about the COICA, it is a bill intended to get rid of "piracy" on the internet. The goal is to protect the investments of groups like the RIAA and MPAA. The way they intend to do this is to force any internet service provider to blacklist any site that is deemed inappropriate. The implications of a bill like this are crazy. I felt I had to take action so I wrote this letter to the cosponsor of this bill from my state.

This email is regarding S. 3804, the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA). Where does the authority to be a censor of the entire internet come from? How is this bill not a direct violation of the Constitution? One could have raised the argument that freedom of speech for a company is different from freedom of speech for a person, but that precedent has clearly been set in regards to campaign finance. As a republican shouldn't you be about spending less money and having less government interference? Please at least explain your motives for introducing this bill aside from pressure from the RIAA and MPAA. If a website is doing something illegal, they need to be prosecuted in a court of law. It shouldn't be up for companies like VIACOM to decide which websites they allow their content on.

This type of legislation opens the door for some seriously bad things. For example, somewhere down the line if someone were to post an unfavorable review of some company's newest IP. The new company can claim that based on videos, screenshots etc that it is copyright infringement (even though it clearly falls under "Fair Use") and the website owner runs the risk of being erased from the internet. Since the precedent has been set with campaign contribution laws, corporations are equal to people and speech is equal to money (because every viewpoint has to have enough support/money to be seen) the company/person with the most money has the most speech. The little guy does not stand a chance of surviving in an environment like that.

This bill is UN-American to its core and would surely have our founding fathers spinning in their graves. Freedom means that you have to allow for bad things to happen. As terrible as it sounds, you have to give people the opportunity to do the wrong thing, otherwise it isn't freedom at all. Certainly law breakers should be punished, but this type of legislation is meant to be preventative. If the choice isn't there to do the wrong thing, then it isn't a choice at all.

Please respond as I am genuinely curious about how this came about and how an educated American could possibly support it.
-[echotech]

You can find more about the bill here. Feel free to write your representative here, it only takes a minute.

Open letter to my congressman.

Here is the letter I wrote to my congressman. Please feel free to write your own at this site. You can edit, take sections or the entire letter if you wish, but please stand up and say something about this.

The TSA is unconstitutional. As you know, the 4th amendment of the Constitution protects my rights against unlawful search and seizure, unlawful being defined as without warrant or probable cause. There is no clause stating that in times of crisis or when flying in an airplane that these rights are forfeit. There is no probable cause to search every passenger, and randomly selecting does no good.

There are other examples of security from around the world that is not nearly as invasive, but is even more efficient. You probably have better access to this type of data, but how many actual terrorist threats has the TSA stopped? It seems like every new security measure comes AFTER a threat gets through security. We didn't have to take our shoes off until someone tried making a bomb with their shoes. We didn't have "enhanced" pat-downs or rapiscanners until someone tried to make a bomb out of their underwear. The security is entirely reactive and shows how irrelevant it is.

But the effectiveness of the TSA doesn't even need to be called into question because whether it is effective or not, it is still wrong. As terrible as the thought may sound, in order to have a free society, you have to allow people to do wrong. People will always drive drunk, does that mean we start confiscating alcohol from everyone? No, because we have to assume people's intentions are good unless they prove otherwise or else there is no freedom.

Is it really worth the estimated cost (from the TSA's website) of $1 per person for a small feeling of safety? Ben Franklin said, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" I feel like allowing agencies like the TSA to take powers like this is exactly the problem in this country right now. Even if certain airports want enhanced security practices, they can hire a private force to do it and not use the taxpayer dollar. They will then have to deal with the consequences of their actions in the marketplace.

Please do something to stop this madness and help us return to the free society that the terrorists allegedly hate so much. Turning into exactly what the terrorists want us to turn into is not the solution. They have won unless we do something.