Panic and reality

According to a recent article in Time magazine,

He [Zachary Abuza] and other experts warn that bombs on airplanes will always remain one of the most tempting targets for terrorists, who have killed almost two thousand passengers over the last three decades.

For 2,000 deaths, we are willing to gut the Constitution? According to the car accident topic in the Wikipedia, the USA averages 42,000 car crash related deaths a year. Over three decades, that comes to around 1.2 million deaths.

2,000 vs. 1,200,000.

Is this worth turning our Republic into a police state?

Accelerating down the slippery slope

Here we go -- paranoid and frightened by every incident that happens on an airplane. CNN reports that after "British authorities arrested 24 people in an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound planes with explosives disguised as common liquids," passengers may no longer carry liquids in carry-on baggage, including water bottles(!).

At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Kristin Reinke, of Champlin, Minnesota, complained to her husband, Mike Reinke, "I just threw out $34 worth of hand lotion."

He was sympathetic, but accepted the Transportation Security Administration's reasons for the ban.

"What are you going to do?" he said. "I guess you have to be safe."

Bahhhhh. Nice little sheep. You just want to be safe, don't you? All that ancient stuff like "The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either." Who did Benjamin Franklin think he was anyway?

Oh, and I really liked this one:

Kingsley Veal, 35, a geologist from England, said his Continental flight from London's Heathrow airport to San Francisco was "long and boring" because he couldn't bring any books or music on board, but he thought the no-carry-on policy should always be in effect.

"If no one's allowed anything, then you'd know, right?" Veal said.

OK, right. What about booby-trapped checked baggage? What about implants or prosthetics? Belt buckles? To save time, why not just put a nothing-at-all policy into place?

1. No carry-ons or checked baggage allowed; they must be shipped separately. FedEx and UPS will have dropoff points at the airport for your convenience.
   
2. You must remove your clothes; you will be provided with a standard jumpsuit by the TSA. Clothes may also be shipped or left behind in lockers (for a small fee).
   
3. Any small items such as false teeth, glasses, wallets and cell phones will be confiscated and placed in armored lockers for the duration of the trip. You will be charged by the pound for this service.
4. To insure that nothing remains on your person (except the jumpsuit), you will have the choice of an X-ray or cavity search.
5. Anyone with an implant (pacemaker, etc.), medication or any other medically required items will be seated in a special sealed compartment on each flight guarded by air marshalls.
   

Here's to high fuel prices -- maybe trains will make a comeback!