...is designed to make the Merkin Sheeple feel both scared shitless and snuggly wuggly, while accomplishing very little actual "security." Someone in the government did a psychological analysis and determined the more inconvenienced we are, the more likely we are to be reminded that: a) there are terrorists out there! And they want to kill us!, and b) the government is strong and powerful and doing something about it!

Honestly, it's the biggest farce I've ever seen in my life. The day I can travel with a couple of tubes of hand lotion and a bottle of water is the day I'll feel "safe" and "secure." Not this useless exercise in phony security.

Back when they were requisitioning baby formula and toddlers' sippy cups I put a bag full of sandwiches and condiments from the Stage Deli through the x-ray machines and no one said a peep. I guess mayonnaise, mustard and dill pickles can't be turned into bombs?

Oh and one more thing. I am sick and tired of taking my goddamned shoes off at the security checkpoint. The only reason to do that is to remind us of Richard Reid the "shoe bomber." So when Osama bin Laden invents the exploding pen, I suppose we'll all have to toss our writing implements before boarding an aircraft.

Wake up, people. It's all propaganda and manipulation.

Ignored by the media (but not bloggers such as myself) was the fact that last week, in the midst of the "debate" about opening offshore and ANWAR lands to drilling, gas prices plunged because of a decrease in demand.

Oh, wow. So we can lower gas prices virtually immediately just by doing those things we already know to do: increasing gas mileage on cars, car pooling, using public transportation. And we don't have to drill one drop? Or build one new refinery? Or wait 10 years for the oil leases we're talking about today to come on line?

That's amazing. We lowered gas prices without really even trying. Imagine what we could do if we radically increased efficiency on the industrial front. If we stopped burning oil to generate electricity and started using solar and wind power. If we finished transitioning away from 12 mpg SUVs to 35-40 mpg hybrid.

Of course we don't *need* to drill any more oil. But when our president, vice president and a big chunk of the Bush Administration cabinet is made up of people from the oil industry, this is the predictable result.

Dare I say it? "No one could have anticipated ...."

Evidence may suggest Suskind was right, but will the mainstream media cover it? Or will they continue to focus on the more pressing issues of the day: Paris Hilton's ads, Hillary supporters staging a convention coup, U.S. Olympic athletes offending the Chinese by wearing face masks, and handicapping the vice presidential picks of both candidates.

Because when it comes to major news stories, fabricating evidence to drag the nation--no, the WORLD--into a war that has killed thousands just pales in comparison to the Paris Hilton video smackdown.

If multiple impeachable offenses happen in the Bush Administration and no reporters are there to cover it, did they really happen?

" ... and by 6 a.m., McCain had a new attack ad."

Which CNN was happy to air, gratis, as part of their "news coverage." The McCain camp gets more free advertising courtesy of the mainstream media than any presidential campaign in recent memory.

Back when John McCain used the exact same "lipstick on a pig" slur related to HIllary Clinton, no one batted an eye.

Barack Obama says it and .... call for the smelling salts!!!!

Watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHAOodl6ZfE

I wrote about this as soon as Palin was picked by the McCain campaign (hit my home page if you're interested). Maybe I'm being naive but it seems to me the only folks fired up by this pick are the 26% who love George W. Bush to begin with. These are the same folks pushing for Intelligent Design in the science classroom, banning abortion, and believe you can pray away the gay. In short: the same people who have relished their prominent seat at the table for the past 7 years and who would NEVER have voted for Obama anyway. At most they might have stayed home.

This wackadoodle wing of the Republican Party has alienated most Americans, though, and I can't imagine that too many folks welcome another 7 years of wedge issue politics.

I used to live in Copenhagen back in the 1980s. The winters are hard because it's so dark, but the summers make up for it. I went back to Scandinavia for a visit in June -- this time we hit Norway and Sweden. I decided Norway is the promised land! I now have an exit strategy. Oslo, here I come! Hej hej!

I found myself asking: Why wasn't Piper home attending school, like the Obama daughters did most of the time?

That's what I wondered all through the campaign. I didn't understand why the entire family had to crisscross America, it was like watching some bizarre political version of National Lampoon's Vacation, with Palin in the Chevy Chase role. Who, exactly, was running for Vice President? Considering Todd's hyper-hands-on role in Palin's administration in Alaska, this had me worried.

Sarah Palin is the worst sort of politician. She's an ideologue, with little substance to back up her ideas. The media is fascinated with her, perhaps because they'd been denied access during the campaign. But this interest should wane, in a sane universe. I guess it's understandable that Sarah Palin would get more media attention than Joe Biden, the guy who won, at this point, since she's the new thing. But I hope it stops soon. I really see her as irrelevant to the issues that Americans face right now, and I frankly don't care to see her any more. I'm tired of her. Enough. She's not that interesting.