[Poohbah]

Is "idiot juce" the stuff that makes you spell "juice" incorrectly?

I want something EFFECTIVE done. Giving pilots firearms is nice and symbolic. Please note that there are an APPALLING number of shootouts inside of ten feet where all rounds miss their intended targets. The pilot is going to have his hands full getting the aircraft on the ground ASAP--I would prefer a guy whose sole job is to keep the bad guys out of the cockpit.

[bvw]

Long term, the sky marshals are going to have problems ... the job is incredibly boring, monotonous, and is not a job that developes a person. It is the epitome of a job that will wear a person down, that will become full of worthless featherbeders.

Short term of course ... it looks grand ... you should see all the gung-hoo men at the FAA signing up.

This is one case where long-term only some version of the militia -- the armed crew -- is going to work. The sooner we get to that acknowledgement the better for us all -- the less aggravation, pain and expense we will bear.