Its promoters claim that the “Forecastle Festival,” held since 2002 in Louisville, KY, is “one of the country’s most anticipated summer festivals…” Especially among musical commies: “tens of thousands of fans from across the world” descend on “Louisville’s scenic 85-acre Waterfront Park” for “a who’s who of musical acts” and some ripe ol’ “environmental activism,” I kid you not. What’s a little croonin’ riverside without a lot of hot air on “global warming”?
Not much there to do with transportation, though. So we might wonder why the “TSA PreCheck program” is “offering a special entry lane to Forecastle“? Or, as the Courier-Journal (“PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK”) cheerily puts it, “it’s airport security meets music festival this week. … Those who attend Forecastle are required to go through security checkpoints upon entry.” Why? Since when does a governmental groping precede kicking back for some music and propaganda?* But far be it from the Courier-Journal to ask why a federal bureaucracy, whose “mission” is to gum up–sorry, “protect the nation’s transportation systems,” is pestering folks at a concert. (The TSA’s full “mission” is too good not to reprint in its entirety: “Protect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.” I laugh hysterically every time! “Freedom of movement” with 3-hour lines! Only bureaucrats own enough gall to write drivel that preposterous.)
The fascism thickens: at Forecastle, you can “sign up for [PreCheck,] the increasingly coveted federal transportation pass.” “Coveted,” hmmm. Let Our Rulers spy on your background and fingerprint you, then pay them $85 for the privilege, and you, too, “can register now to receive a voucher to use an exclusive ‘Fast Pass’ lane into the festival…” You’ll “also get access to a special viewing platform on the main festival lawn and faster access to the Bourbon Lodge, a popular venue with a large bourbon selection.”
What treasures Our benevolent Rulers lavish on subservient serfs! Meanwhile, some animals are increasingly more equal than others, not only in airports but whatever other venues of American life the TSA decides to invade.
*Journalism’s abysmally low standards now allow articles that are as long on propaganda as they are low on clarity to masquerade as “news.” So I can’t state for certain that the TSA is actually on site at “Forecastle,” molesting the audience. The reporter implies that–and it certainly fits with an agency that pops up at political rallies and other events. But it’s possible “private” security is manning the checkpoints.
11:37 am on July 15, 2016
