Civil liberty unions throughout NYC are rejoicing with the implementing of mandatory random searches by the NYPD on all citywide railway systems effective immediately in the wake of subsequent attacks across the pond in London. Who said fear isn't a great motivator?

In a post 9/11-world, it's the obvious loophole to use "it's a sign of the times and drastic measures like this are now a necessary evil" as the logical explanation. But here's the 60,000 burning question: is this applicable to ALL commuters or just the black and brown ones that look "suspicious"? Commissioner Ray Kelly claims that straphangers have the option to "turn around and leave" as a decline from being searched – but what's the likelihood of that happening when the cameras are off and Farhoud or Rajib strolls past the turnstile with turban in full view?

At a time when the MTA was supposed to have pledged $600 million to beef up transit security, only $30 million has actually gone towards that cause as of March 2005.

Instead of holding up everyone's work route during rush hour, I'm more concerned about these fool ass High Entrance/Exit Turnstiles (HEETs) replacing conventional token booths like wildfire. Many of the traditional passages are locked after the early morning herd and you're forced to squeeze through a cross between a torture device and steel cage courtesy of Vince McMahon. If push came to shove (and it literally would) during terrorist attacks underground, how the hell would passengers escape quickly? The elderly, the parents juggling children in one hand, strollers in the other while a growing impatient mob jockeys take their cues from Ludacris to throw 'dem bows at the front of the pack... to say that chaos would ensue is putting it mildly. But, alas Chairman Peter Kalikow & Co. would rather give sanctioned profiling the green light rather than actually taking steps to make the city safer. Chalk one more up for homeland security.

Guard your grill and keep your eyes and ears open, people. Our civil rights are rapidly going the way of the 8-track. The USA Patriot Act has made privacy fair game and opened up a Pandora's box for Big Brother.