Other people have blogged this, but it is so ridiculous that I had to post this as well. Armed national guard soldiers being shipped to fight for America in Iraq are being asked to give up their nose hair clippers before flying:
King, who in civilian life is the Doraville police chief, rolled his eyes at the FAA regulation that requires soldiers – all of whom were armed with an arsenal of assault rifles, shotguns and pistols – to surrender pocket knives, nose hair scissors and cigarette lighters. “If you have any of those things,” he said, almost apologetically, “put them in this box now.”
All which confirms my belief that airline security is riddikulus. Unfortunately, you can’t banish it like a boggart once you realize what it really is: a showy facade of security designed to make selfish, unreflective, self-absorbed people without a clear moral grasp on liberty feel good about air travel, thus distracting them from the serious debates about national security policy issues that might actually improve our safety (Should we arm pilots? Why aid Israel? How can we achieve oil independence? How do we prevent today’s allies of convenience from turning into tomorrow’s enemies a la Castro, Noriega, Saddam, etc.? What can we do to promote nuclear non-proliferation. How do we show leadership on international issues without creating more fear of American power?).
Riddikulus. Nope. Still didn’t work – the crazy distractions are all still there, masquerading as supersized Senate deadlocks over activist reality show judges and pro/anti-globalism factions kung fu fighting over This Week’s “Trial Of The Century”.
Riddikulus.
-the Centaur
