Sunday, December 27, 2009

Quote of the Day: Mark Steyn on Terrorism and the Self-Reliant Individual (Updated with the Pantybomber!)

Here it is:
On September 11th 2001, the government's (1970s) security procedures all failed, and the only good news of the day came from self-reliant citizens (on Flight 93) using their own wits and a willingness to act.
On December 25th 2009, the government's (post-9/11) security procedures all failed, and the only good news came once again from alert individuals.
It's true. Be such an individual. More from the Insta-Prof.
What we had was a failure of intelligence. Meanwhile, there are all sorts of new rumors and reports of more misery-inducing travel restrictions to be dumped on the rest of us. Heh. When the horse has already escaped, closing the barn door is a little pointless.

(I'm already annoyed since on the trip out of Nerdworld, TSA confiscated my brand-new bottle of Crabtree and Evelyn rosewater lotion -- that was expensive! -- even though it was fine and then frisked me. TWICE. And poked through all my stuff and made me go through the metal detector TWICE. Yeah, like hassling a miserable nerd is really going to do anything for air security. Not when people are dropping the ball elsewhere and letting mealymouthed political correctness and multiculturalist mewlings run roughshod everywhere.)
UPDATE 1: Steyn, you adorable wordsmith you. He's dubbed the would-be jihadist the Pantybomber. Next up in TSA security measures: as you are required to remove your shoes at the security point because of Richard Reid the Shoebomber, you will now ... Well, you fill in the blank here. *Snarky note to self: go by Victoria's Secret before flying back to Nerdworld.*
UPDATE 2: I looooove what Lileks has to say about the misery of being a passenger going through security:
On the flight back, we shuffled through the Comedy of Useless Shoe Removal (every time I take my shoes off I curse Richard Reid and all who spawned and sheltered him; if only there was a statue of the Shoe Bomber right there so you could hit it in the yarbles with your footwear before you put them back on) . . .
UPDATE 3: Pretty much, yeah.

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