Mark,
The rules haven't been relaxed to 15 minutes. They can either transmit the entire manifest 60 minutes before, or do it on a person by person basis with the last report being no later than 15 minutes before departure. "Departure" now means when the plane pushes away from the gate, which is usually 20 minutes before the plane leaves the ground.
The important thing is not the timing of the manifest delivery. It is the manifest itself. The list of people to be detained has grown from 1000 to 80,000. American political activists speaking out against the Bush Administration are being detained.
It is the manifest itself and how it is being used. Trust me. Everyone the government doesn't like is now a terrorist if only because they say so. Today you're fine with this because you want to be safe. Tomorrow you write a letter protesting something the government has done. Wouldn't you find yourself amazed that you couldn't go on vacation because you're a person on that list?
And you say it is open to public comment. First, where else besides my posting did you read this was even going to happen? So much for publicizing so citizens can comment. And just because the public comments doesn't mean they have to follow their recommendation.
You may think me paranoid. That's fine. But if you've been watching the Bush government closely, you'd know there is plenty of reason to be afraid.
Barry
