Hey there, buddy. It's been a while. Haven't seen you much lately. Everyone's been talking about your siblings, First and Second. But boy, are we happy you're back in town, even if it's just for a little while.
People seem to forget there's more in the Bill of Rights than just guns and free speech, important as those are. So we hope you aren't taking it too hard that most of the country seems to be forgetting about its rights concerning unwarranted searches. We still remember you and are grateful for what you protect.
Saw you in the newspaper the other day, Fourth. You were looking pretty good standing there with that federal court's ruling in Boston. What was it again? Something about no-warrant U.S. government searches of the phones and laptops of international travelers?
Can you imagine how arrogant a government entity would have to be to claim it has the right to snatch cell phones and laptops from travelers at international airports without a warrant? It's ridiculous, Fourth. You're there to make sure that's not supposed to happen, and they just walked all over you.
We can remember the most infuriating instance of this back in 2017. A NASA engineer with sensitive information on his work phone was stopped at a Houston airport and told to unlock it by a border agent. The agent demanded his passcode, even when the engineer explained he worked for NASA, and the phone had private corporate data on it.
It made us pretty happy to see the courts rule that such searches violate the Fourth Amendment. And we're sure your name will continue to get press as this legal argument works its way up the courts. It's going to be tiring, but we appreciate you fighting for us, Fourth. You're a pal.
Well, we'll let you get on your way now. Do you want anything to drink before you get going again? Oh, if you see your brother Eighteenth anytime soon, give him a raspberry for us. He'll know who it's from.
Editorial on 11/15/2019