[an amused spectator]

Please excuse me if I don't shed a tear if someone doesn't feel like identifying himself before boarding an airplane. I'm sure Mohammed Atta would have appreciated that privilege too.

From the article: The elegance of Gilmore's thinking is that knowing someone's ID does not prevent the person from committing a terrorist act. The 9/11 hijackers had driver's licenses. Knowing someone's identity, as Gilmore argues it, adds less to a security than it takes away from a traveler's protection from authority that might oppress simply because it can.

I refuse to fly until they admit that even terrorists armed with AK-47s will never be able to fully commandeer another American aircraft. If I, or any other red-blooded Amercian man or woman was on the plane, we'd swarm the bastards. They'd have to kill us all, every last one of us.

So quit grabbing the nail-clippers and pretending you're making us safe, you stupid effers.

[mcg1969]

From the article: The elegance of Gilmore's thinking is that knowing someone's ID does not prevent the person from committing a terrorist act. The 9/11 hijackers had driver's licenses. Knowing someone's identity, as Gilmore argues it, adds less to a security than it takes away from a traveler's protection from authority that might oppress simply because it can.

Yeah, so? He's wrong.

[mcg1969]

I refuse to fly until they admit that even terrorists armed with AK-47s will never be able to fully commandeer another American aircraft. If I, or any other red-blooded Amercian man or woman was on the plane, we'd swarm the bastards. They'd have to kill us all, every last one of us.

As much as I'd like to believe that, I don't. To be clear: YES I believe they would have to kill us all before they could accomplish their goals. But I think it has been amply demonstrated that they are entirely willing to kill innocents to accomplish their goals. I'm sure the terrorists know as well as anyone that Americans are going to fight back next time; they will not attempt another hijacking until they strategize a way around that.

[zeugma]

I refuse to fly until they admit that even terrorists armed with AK-47s will never be able to fully commandeer another American aircraft. If I, or any other red-blooded Amercian man or woman was on the plane, we'd swarm the bastards. They'd have to kill us all, every last one of us.

That is my position as well, The only thing that they could do to reduce the threat any more than has already been done by 9/12/01 itself, is to arm the pilots and passengers. Of course they'll never do that, because it would empower US, not THEM.

So quit grabbing the nail-clippers and pretending you're making us safe, you stupid effers.

Hear hear!