All about the junk

Well, I don't fly. So I don't have to worry about strangers goosing me in the name of national security.

You do know how terrorism works? Terrorists aren't trying for the typical capture-the-flag war goals. Their aim is to destabilize governments, create internal conflicts, and provoke otherwise benign governments into becoming oppressors for the sake of "public safety."

So with the new TSA airport feel-'em-all-up policy, Al-Qaeda seems to be winning. Actually my favorite description of the policy comes from a bumper sticker: "Can't see London, Can't see France, Until we see your underpants." I do hope Janet Napolitano flies commercial. She really should. I mean if anybody's a threat to the USA....

What bugs me the most is the posture of so-called Homeland Security. Their modus operandi is to wait until terrorists think up some new tactic, and then respond to that by stripping away one more layer of privacy and dignity from American citizens. We had the shoe bomber, so everyone had to have their shoes scanned. We had the underwear bomber, now airline passengers are subjected to the "porn scans" and/or "enhanced pat-downs" that, in one case, required a breast cancer survivor to show the screener her breast prosthesis. And supposedly neither the scanners nor the pat-downs can detect things like potentially lethal powders or C-4 plastic explosives.

Someone on Fox asked something like, "What will the response be if a terrorist sticks some C-4 up his butt?" Don't even want to think about it. I suppose in that case, every airport would be equipped with an MRI or something. Or you'd have to have a colonoscopy immediately before boarding.

I'd rather drive, anyway. But soon we'll all be required to drive only Government Motors "enhanced semi-electric-powered roller skates," so that the bird-brains in the EPA can nurture their own personal doomsday myth.

It all kind of emphasizes that those in DC have put Al-Qaeda in charge of US security policy. That pisses me off more than anything else. Like, "We'll have to wait and see what they do before we can do anything." That's truly stupid. No other word to describe it.

And meanwhile, any ol' terrorist who wanted to could strap on 150 lbs of C-4 and simply stroll unmolested across the border into Arizona. He'd be lost among all the other mules burdened with marijuana.

What's wrong with this picture?

I think the Israelis have a better program. A former security chief for El-Al airlines was talking, and noted that stopping and searching everyone isn't half as effective as using your brain. The guy brought up the explosives recently found in toner cartridges that were being shipped to Chicago from Yemen. The El-Al guy pointed out that it was a curious situation all together, since there are no toner cartridge factories in Yemen, and tone cartridges don't need to be imported to Chicago. Apparently these things made some people suspicious.

'Course, the USA doesn't want to offend anybody. So even if a Nigerian kid's father calls the US Embassy and warns that his son is probably going to blow up an airplane, the US does nothing about that. Or some schmuck buys a one-way ticket on a trans-Atlantic flight and has no luggage with him. Doesn't even raise an eyebrow.

But that's the difference between putting on a show for the public and really getting smart about security. Napolitano et al fall into the first category, unfortunately. Challenge her or Pistole (strange name for a security guy?), and they demand "Well, what would you do?"

Tell you what, give me your salary and resources and I'll come up with something.

And that's all for now. Probably write more later. I'll feel better once I get my load of tryptophan.

Save the Republic.