one reason i enjoy obscurity

When you write a well-read blog, you can't even post about your new puppy without some killjoy prick showing up to make catty comments.

(in which i quote myself)

"Clearly, the only rational response to this is to start mailing weed to every politician in America."

--me, in regards to this.

quick wit, slow fingers

It finally happened.

I won a thread!

(Sometimes you have to learn to find joy in the small things, ya know?)

the tsa has a blog

Really.

You can comment and everything.

Comments are, surprisingly, moderated. Who wants to bet on how long it will take to crash the site?

UPDATE--Perhaps against my better judgment, I submitted the following (under a different handle, naturally):

Al Qaida never has to hijack another plane--ever--to have its impact felt.

Every time I pass thorough a metal detector shoeless, pants falling down, clutching my boarding pass in one hand, eyeballing my laptop as it comes down the belt while trying to respond politely to the orders being screamed at me by a surly agent; every time I reassemble myself into something publicly presentable in the middle of a busy concourse; every time I arrive at the hotel without contact solution; every time I do the mental calculation of whether driving 6 hours might actually be preferable to flying 1...I am intensely aware of Al Qaida's impact on the world.

And I cannot help but think that the "no risk is the only acceptable level of risk" mentality that seems to drive the TSA's policies and their implementation has a great deal more to do with this than any actual existential threat I face from Islamic extremists.

What is lacking is any serious consideration of the tradeoffs between marginal increases in security against statistically improbable (albeit newsworthy) events, and the significant costs imposed on an integral component of our economy and culture. After all, in a nation--indeed, in a world--as large, dynamic, and interconnected as this one is, mobility is fundamental.

You say we're on the same side. I know you believe this, and sincerely. But please take time to consider the possibility that such a disproportionate response to a remote threat may actually further the goals of those that have employed such morally reprehensible tactics.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to seeing whether this passes the comment moderation process.

Which--to their credit--has been posted.

80 gazzilion comments and counting

Aw geez, reason just put up a post about Ron Paul and abortion. I hope their servers are ready...