Evidently, if one is a distinguished professor who has written and spoken about Bush’s violations of the Constitution, that’s reason enough to get on the no-fly list. That’s according to testimony by Walter J. Murphy, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus at Princeton University. Murphy is also a retired Marine. There’s an account of him trying to fly to attend a conference here.

“On 1 March 07, I was scheduled to fly on American Airlines to Newark, NJ, to attend an academic conference at Princeton University, designed to focus on my latest scholarly book, Constitutional Democracy, published by Johns Hopkins University Press this past Thanksgiving.”

“When I tried to use the curb-side check in at the Sunport, I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list. I was instructed to go inside and talk to a clerk. At this point, I should note that I am not only the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence (emeritus) but also a retired Marine colonel. I fought in the Korean War as a young lieutenant, was wounded, and decorated for heroism. I remained a professional soldier for more than five years and then accepted a commission as a reserve office, serving for an additional 19 years.”

“I presented my credentials from the Marine Corps to a very polite clerk for American Airlines. One of the two people to whom I talked asked a question and offered a frightening comment: “Have you been in any peace marches? We ban a lot of people from flying because of that.”I explained that I had not so marched but had, in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution. “That’ll do it,” the man said. “

Hmm. I’m sure glad I write under a pseudonym. I’ve recently been mulling changing that pseudonym, but I think this cinches it. So, “SpinDentist” will remain my name throughout the Bush Administration, at least.

Via Attaturk, guestblogging at Eschaton.