The Bobcat Nation

I don't know after changing my daughter once, Bill may see her as definite source of biological warfare


The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

More proof that airport security has run amuck.

Apparently, a number of American babies have been stopped from boarding planes because their names are the same as individuals on the government's no-fly list.

Ingrid Sanders' 1-year-old daughter was stopped from boarding in Phoenix, and Sarah Zaploski's 11-month-old son, I should say, was booted of a plane in D.C.

Ridiculous? Of course. Unless the kid's name is Baby bin Laden. Leave the babies alone. A grenade in the diaper? What?

When I was working as a law clerk in DC, the judge I worked for did a lot of travelling on government business -- he heard cases all over the country, so he was travelling probably, on average, several days per month. When federal judges travel for official business, their airline ticket has a notation of some kind that alerts flight personnel, security, etc. that the individual is a federal judge travelling on government business.

Guess what? *Every* single time he flew anywhere after 9/11, he *always* got taken aside and searched by security. Always; no exceptions.

Now, I understand why they did it; if they ever get accused of racial profiling, it is probably convenient for security to be able to say "see, we also search white males who happen to be federal judges." And honestly, I even understand the concerns behind racial profiling, and I'm sympathetic to that issue as well. However...

...the man was appointed by a President, underwent an intense FBI background check, and was confirmed by the Senate. Personally, I am pretty comfortable making the statement that he's probably not going to hijack any jetliners in my lifetime. I understand the need to avoid profiling, but doesn't it seem like there are better ways to do it that making it a policy to search federal judges?

The whole airport security effort is a joke. As Carlin said " It exists so white people feel safe". We know several NWA employee's and for the most part they could carry a bomb onto a plane the size of a large suitcase anytime they wanted.