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Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose department includes TSA, said officials "will go back and look at our protocol" for handling such e-mails. He said that the agency gets a high volume of e-mails about possible threats and that officials decided that Heatwole "wasn't an imminent threat."

So what Tom Ridge is really concerned about is email security? Figures. As a Pennsylvanian, I know Gov Ridge had a propensity for programs that infringed on individual rights, and he's continued that trend as head of Homeland Security. He'll probably be out now lobbying for more broad surveillance of email in light of this situation, so they could have identified Heatwole and his email before it threatened the TSA. The issue of the quality of screeing on planes apparently isn't the problem.

The kid sent the e-mail to the TSA on the same day he planetd the objects. No e-mail monitoring or snooping program was needed, this one was addressed and delivered to the TSA. They read the e-mail. It said objects had been placed on certain flights, and indicated exactly which flights. TSA reaction? Did they check those 2 flights? Nope.

Fast forward about 40 days. Airline employees find the objects. After that, AFTER that, the TSA forwards the e-mail to the FBI. Oh, another point about the e-mail ... not only did it indicate which objects, which flights ... it also gave an accurate name, address and telephone number for the kid. TSA didn't even call anytime between day 1 and day 40.

It appears the reaction was to read the e-mail, and archive it with no action required. My bet is nobody is fired for poor judgement in handling the e-mail. The kid should have been interviewed on day 1, and the planes should have been inspected on day 1. After all, the TSA had ALL of the information it needed on day 1. It waited until after the objects were found, then went into a "search all 7000 planes" fire-drill as a smoke screen. It waited until AFTER the objects were found to alert the FBI as to the perpetrater's identity.