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How do you prove a negative?
By Jim O | August 22, 2008
The short answer is you don’t. Why? Because you can’t.
Cop: Did you kill Joe Blow?
Suspect: No!
Cop: Prove it.
Suspect: I can’t. Besides, I shouldn’t have to prove anything! You prove that I did.
That’s more or less the situation in which Erich Scherfen of Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania finds himself. Scherfen is a Gulf War veteran, having served in the infanty. Following that he became a helicoptor pilot in the Army reserves. He served a total of 13 years in defense of the United States. He now works, or should be working, as a commercial pilot for a small airline, Colgan Air Inc. Unfortantely, Scherfen is suspended from his job and was due to be terminated in ten days unless he can prove a negative in the interim.
What’s my beef? Is Colgan a terrible company? Not really. They’re following a reasonable policy. They don’t emply terrorists. Is Scherfen a terroist? Heck if I know but I suspect that he isn’t. So what’s the deal here? Well, it seems that Scherfen has found himself on the US government’s terror watch list. His crime? Scherfen is a convert to Islam and is married to a US citizen who is also Muslim, and who was born in Pakistan. His wife, Rubina Tareen, operates a small business that distributes books and DVDs about Islam, publications that she describes as nonpolitical. Even if they are political, that does not in and of itself equate to promoting terrorisjm. Both Scherfen and Tareen deny any involvement in terrorism or with terrorists.
According to CNN.com, Scherfen said “I have no idea why I am on the list, and they’re not telling officially that I’m even on the list”. The US Justice Department said it will not confirm or deny that the couple’s names are on a watch list for national security and privacy reasons.
So where does this leave Scherfen? This honorably discharged US Army veteran is soon to be out of a job and a career unless he can prove a negative. How much does that suck?
Scherfen has filed a lawsuit against the TSA with the help of the ACLU. A federal judge has asked Cogan to delay Scherfen’s termination and they have agreed, for now. So much for innocent until proven guilty.
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