04.08.05 City Club: Terrorist Profiling: Safer Airlines or Violation of Civil Rights?

Terrorist Profiling: Safer
Airlines or Violation of Civil Rights?

Talk Show
Host Michael Smerconish speaks at The City Club of
Cleveland.

 

CLEVELAND, OH—Conservative radio talk show host
Michael Smerconish will discuss his book �Flying Blind: How Political
Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11� at
noon on Friday, April 8,
2005, at The City Club of
Cleveland.

 

In his book, Smerconish argues that
airline security should include terrorist profiling, that is, screening
passengers based on appearance, race, religion, ethnicity and other traits
common to the 9/11 hijackers: Middle Eastern; males; between the ages of 20 and
40 years; followers of Islam; and dark-haired. His campaign for terrorist
profiling led to a Senate hearing on the subject last
summer.

 

Michael Smerconish started this
project after a family vacation to Florida when his 8-year-old son was singled
out for secondary screening by airport security. Very soon thereafter, he
learned during the 9/11 Commission hearings that the government used a quota
system for screening based on ethnicity.

 

A Philadelphia lawyer turned
political commentator, Smerconish is heard daily on WPHT 1200 AM in
Philadelphia, is a regular substitute host for
Westwood One and has filled in for Bill O’Reilly on The Radio Factor. In
addition, he is a columnist for the “Philadelphia Daily News,� a regular
commentator on CNN’s Paul Zahn Now and Anderson Cooper’s 360, and a counsel to a
law firm.

 

Smerconish
has won numerous awards, including Philadelphia Achievement in Radio awards for
Best Talk Show Host and Best Evening Program, “Philadelphia Magazine� 2004 Best
Radio Talk Host and 2003 nominee for “Radio & Records� best local talk
host.

 

Tickets for this City Club Friday
Forum are $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Lunch is included.
Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. They can be purchased by
calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at
www.cityclub.org.

 

Established in 1912 to encourage new
ideas and a free exchange of thought, The City Club of Cleveland is the oldest
continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of
debate and discussion. The City Club’s mission is to inform, educate and inspire
citizens by presenting significant ideas and providing opportunities for
dialogue in a collegial setting.

 

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Missy S. Toms

Director of Membership & Marketing

The City Club of Cleveland

850 Euclid Ave., 2nd Fl.

Cleveland, OH 44114

216.621.0082

mtoms [at] cityclub [dot] org

www.cityclub.org [1]