House seeks to ban cellphones on flights…but not because of safety
By JR Hoeft | Thursday, July 31st, 2008 | Catch-AllIf it was because a terrorist could remotely detonate a bomb or because it caused some interference with radar/flight communications, I could see why a House Panel would vote today to ban cell phones on domestic flights. However, that’s not the reason Democrats gave today.
Yes, Democrats want to ban cell phones on domestic flights because they’re “rude”.
“My wife had to listen to a female passenger talk about her sex life the night before,” Chairman James L. Oberstar , D-Minn., said. “They get on a cell phone, and it’s like a megaphone. Who wants to listen to that? Certainly not when you’re trapped on an airplane.”
That is indeed rude, but it is not a matter for Congress to decide. That is an issue between passengers, flight attendants, and the airline’s policy.
What else will begin to be “rude” to do in public when it comes to speech?
Very slippery slope.
Is it any wonder why Congressional approval is at 9%?
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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Comments
5 Responses to "House seeks to ban cellphones on flights…but not because of safety"
This guarantees the vote of the Frequent Flier lobby. I absolutely can not stand the idea of having to suffer through someone engaged in a 3 hour conversation on my next flight south.
Thank you Congress!
I’m with you on this one JR. With this justification, this is beyond their scope (unless the airlines get nationalized).
My solution would be for the airlines to install equipment to block cell phones during most of each flight thereby aleviating the problem (?). They could disable the blocking system near the end of the flight and allow a brief window of cell availability for passengers’ convenience.
Congress has no dog in this flight, er fight …
you are right – solving interpersonal problems and “fixing” rude behaviors isn’t a government responsiblity, yet alone a federal one.
[...] If they think talking on cell phones is bad, they seek to ban them. [...]
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