I’ll probably not be able to fly commercially again until The Revolution. *heh* (No, I’m not on any watch lists. I’m only “dangerous” to the egos of fools. It’s cos I do not suffer fools–gladly or not that I’ll avoid commercial flight.) Still for those of you who stand in the anarcho-tyranny inspired “sheeple to subjects” transformation line often enough, perhaps these will relieve some stress.
Or not.
*heh* I suspect not, if actually used. (“Book two to Bogota!” Two points and whatever remains of the last Frisbee I had eaten by a dog to whomever can identify the speaker of that quoted remark and its context.)
TSA: sufficient evidence that the “feddle gummint” is serious about full employment for goons, idiots, dumabsses and other close relatives of congresscritters and bureaucraps. Incompetent security theater whose not-so-secret motto is, “Whenever a stupid man does something he knows is wrong, he always claims it is his duty.”
[Oops. neglected to h.t. Chaos Manor. *sigh*]
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Adam’s Blog, Webloggin, The Bullwinkle Blog, Woman Honor Thyself, The Uncooperative Radio Show!, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, CommonSenseAmerica, Church and State, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
You ain’t kiddin’! LOL.
According to my wife, this is all “that paranoid Bush’s fault”. Reasoning with her was next to impossible and made our flight from Tennessee very tense.
It wouldn’t be so bad if the TSA people didn’t make arbitrary decisions that didn’t line up with the posted information about what is and what is not acceptable to travel with, or that could not be reconciled with the decisions made by TSA officials at other airports.
No, Perri, Fifi Mohammed Bush could not have created the abortion that is HOmeland Security and its bastard child, the TSA, ex nihilo. Let your wife know that it is the result of a confluence of events.
1.) Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy (mentioned here, among no few posts on this blog)
Also strongly described well in Kipling’s “A Servant When He Reigneth” and other Departmental Ditties and Barrackroom Ballads…
2.) The need of politicians *spit* (of all dam*ed stripes) to be seen as “doing something” even when (or especially when) that something is empty and useless “beating at the air” or even worse, theater that can be claimed to perform its intended real world function but which does more harm than good (see: “welfare” and any number of other “feddle gummint” destructive behaviors).
3.) A desire by congresscritters and bureaucraps to see full employment among their illiterate, stupid, thuggish brethren.
And that’s all it took to get re-education camps established in our nation’s airports, working 24X7X365.25 to “re-educate” once semi-free citizens into subject drones who will take any unreasonable abuse “feddle gummint” thugs will dish out.
It’s simply an extension to the masses of the Ruby Ridge/Waco mentality: freedoms, liberties and rights now are no such things in the minds of more and more former citizens. Now, they are licenses which can be easily restricted, denied or revoked outright by whatever government funtionary wants to flex his muscle. It’s the lesson learned by Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby… and through them re-taught to the masses: the old Roman laws concerning maiestas are alive and well in “feddle gummint” functionaries’ minds. Whoso insults the mighty power of the “feddle gummint” faces the wrath of the gods. I’m reminded of something else Pournelle had to say specifically about the TSA and the profound differences in governing philosophy between an imperial outlook and that required for a republic:
“…Perhaps it is fitting to contemplate this on the day on which we no longer honor the man who said that a nation cannot live indefinitely half slave and half free. I would add that we cannot live half citizen and half subject. We are citizens of a Republic, or subjects of a command government: an empire by whatever name it is called and whatever the exact structure of the Chief Executive office and how that is selected. Either you have Rule of Law or you do not. Clearly the Patriot Act, with Officers blowing up luggage to punish someone for a remark, is not Rule of Law. But the empire was merciful in this instance: the lady was not charged, and could feel well off at having suffered only the loss of her luggage as punishment for maiestas…” Monday February 21, 2005
Now, I’m not a big fan of Lincoln, but the comment referred to is certainly worthwhile and an application to “feddle gummint” abuse of citizens is certainly apropos, IMO.