Patrick,

I have to disagree with your assessment of the Registered Traveler program as something intended "for those who can afford it". I would characterize it as something for those that need it. At $80 a year, it's a non-starter for casual holiday travelers and a no-brainer for frequent flyers. I agree that we should expect the TSA to streamline the whole security screening process, but you're dealing with the government, and the fact is, government is totally incapable of doing anything efficiently, including getting "rid of the bottlenecks". Since when did the goverment ever "deal with its own incompentence"? As you note, though, the discussion is moot--the TSA will eventually modify the program such that there aren't any real advantages to it.

I enjoy your column and bought your book. Keep it up.

Thanks,

Mark

Not sure how we apply the word "honor" to someone who made a fortune as an ambulance chaser.

I wonder if for the second time in her adult life she's proud of her nation...

Be careful what you wish for -- Mr. Obama has zero record of meaningful accomplishment we can reference, other than the Nov 4 milestone in his "personal journey". Frankly, no one has a clue what we're getting in the way of the next leader.

Would be interested in your comments, Patrick, on the Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 that crashed February 25th near Schiphol. The Press has been unusually quiet on that one. Thanks.

Have never understood how anyone could support a member of the plaintiffs' bar in any manner, much less as POTUS. And in the end this plaintiffs' attorney showed showed us who and what he really was...

If you enjoy a trip to the Post Office, or ride Amtrak often, you'll love big government health care.

The stimulus was neither slow nor inadequate -- it was misdirected. Washington (Reps and Dems) couldn't pass up an opportunity to spend $787B on their pet projects. If you want to stimulate the economy, you give the $$ to the people that earned it and paid it in and let them make decisions about how to spend it. Obama will always trust a big gov't solution over people and the marketplace, as you might expect from someone who has never held a "real" job. If you like Amtrak, you'll love Obamacare.

Sorry, Camille, I can't reconcile "representing the U.S. with dignity and authority abroad" (your description) with BO's non-stop and continuing apology tour.

Of course American doctors make more money than doctors in "similar" societies, ours need to support the extravagant cost of supporting ambulance-chasing trial lawyers like John Edwards...

@Rance, who are you expecting to do the research and innovation? Government? I guarantee research dollars would then be allocated based on congressional seniority, "who you know", campaign contributions, and organization minority demographics. Business as usual for government, with typical government results.

If such a system had been established in say, 1850, I doubt we'd have effective antibiotics or anesthetics. Think about that next time you get a toothache.

From the first paragraph: "I don't understand why people would call you socialist."

You think maybe it's because President Narcissism had the most liberal voting record in the Senate and he's carried that thinking into the Oval Office?

Yes, "waiting" -- if we get a public option then get used to waiting to see a specialist, waiting to undergo a procedure, waiting for new life-saving technologies to be developed, waiting for the deficit to go down...

"Kudos" to your editors for printing a view that clearly doesn't conform to that of the majority of Salon readers. To those close-minded readers that wrote in to disparage Salon for printing it: you should be ashamed -- I thought "liberal" meant tolerant and open-minded -- I guess not.