Well isn’t this fantastic. Who needs probable cause when you can search whoever you want, whenever you want…and they wouldn’t necessarily even know that they’ve been searched? The level of intrusion is getting really scary out there, and it doesn’t seem like adhering to the Constitution is even a fleeting concern.

Giving Transportation Security Administration agents a peek under your clothes may soon be a practice that goes well beyond airport checkpoints. Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.

We’ve known about the mobile scanning vans for some time now, with the “rationale” being that they were being used to scan buildings before going in on raids, etc. But the plan to scan pedestrians is simply outrageous. What’s a little extra dose of ionizing radiation among friends, anyway?

If developments in security plans/protocols continue down this path, I shudder to think what privacy in the US may look like in 5-10 years. But no worries….because this isn’t a concern if you don’t have anything to hide, right?

Right?

h/t to Forbes Magazine