by Megan McArdle
But don't feel too bad. It's not you, it's me. Or rather, it's the TSA.
I'm not going to lie. It's come between us. If I have to let someone else see me naked in order to be with you--well, I'm just not that kinky. And deep down, I don't think you are either. I think it's the TSA making you act like this. Frankly, you haven't been the same since you started running around together.
But I can't put all the blame on them. I think you went along because you thought I had to have you--that I couldn't live without you. That no matter what you did, I'd stay. And it's true, you had a pretty strong hold on me. Took away the food, and I still loved you--who wanted to eat a terrible, fattening meal anyway? Narrowed the distance between the seats, and still I stayed, using my airline miles to upgrade to first class. Charge me for baggage? I'm an economics writer--I love unbundled products. So I can see where you got the idea that I'd stick by you no matter what.
But the kinky stuff is just a bridge too far. I'm not saying I'll never see you again: we can still meet up for a drink, or even a quick weekend trip to California. But our days as a regular item are through....
It wouldn't be fair to just drop out of sight and not return your calls without letting you know why I was leaving. As it happens, I'm a frequent flier on American, and a pretty reliable customer of Delta and United. Or rather I was. Because like I said, I'm leaving you.
In fact, I've already left. My cousin's wedding in Buffalo in October? Drove eight hours each way. Going to visit Dad in Boston over Christmas? We're taking a slow train from DC rather than subject ourselves to the increasing indignity of flying. If it's under 500 miles, I'll do anything rather than hop on a plane. And if it's over 500 miles, it had better be way over . . . or I'd better be carrying a cooler with a still-beating heart in it.
Read the rest here.
Megan could offer to haul diplomatic pouches. They get no screening.
ReplyDeleteI embedded the SNL TSA skit in this post. It's at the bottom for anyone interested:
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2010/11/box-cutters-and-personal-pouches-state.html
I applaud Megan for her stance. I see it as Jeffersonian:
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2010/11/would-thomas-jefferson-fly.html
Scum, pedophile TSA agents, yet another violation of our rights. Add it to the list of gov’t violations of our right:
ReplyDeleteThey violate the 1st Amendment by placing protesters in cages, banning books like “America Deceived II” and censoring the internet.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns.
They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by molesting airline passengers.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars for foreign countries.
Impeach Obama and sweep out the Congress, except Ron Paul.
(Last link of Banned Book):
www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526
If you are an Airline executive read this:
ReplyDeleteThe Airline business has a broken model where they let a fascist government take over part of their operations (security) now they will pay the consequences. Take our family as reference; we are not going to accept radiation and nude picture taking of our members nor sick PAD-DOWNS. The current procedures targets disable persons for sexual harassment my wife has a titanium hip. So the whole family is not flying any more. Members of the family are now buying motor homes, new cars, etc. We are re-adjusting our recreation activities. Even if they fix this mess in the future, the monies for flying are not there anymore the money went into buying new cars (we just bought new car yesterday cash) and motor homes.
If you own airline stock sell them as soon as you can, there is no future in a business like that.
The airlines knew that the TSA was going to implement those machines and start humiliating your customers and you did nothing about it. Where your lobbyists in Washington are, fire them all, you needed someone at the helm of the TSA that understands the airline business. But you accepted the current administration of the TSA and you are now going to suffer the consequences.
Is it possible that the government in fact wants people to stop flying in preparation for the cutoff of oil from the middle east because of the war to come with Iran when hitlery clinton is elected in 2012?
ReplyDeleteRead this also:
ReplyDeleteScientists with the University of California at San Francisco were so worried that they wrote a letter to the White House Office of Science and Technology in April, 2010 raising "a number of red flags" on the scanners' safety.
http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf
And you want us to fly?
Thank you very much !!!
Don't fly, saves money and use the phone or with Skype you can even see each other while talking or showing each other thinks.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the TSA menace.