There, I said it. That's what we are becoming. A nation of pussies. I say we tell the once or twice a year Aunt Bessies who parrot "well, it's inconvenient, but if it helps keep me safe I'm all for it" to drive or take Greyhound. You take away a business traveller's ability to roll on and roll off the plane, and you will make him take seven trips a quarter instead of ten. And the ten trips he takes each quarter probably are worth at least ten grand. So you lose three grand each quarter from that business traveller.

On the other hand, the "if it keeps me safe I'm all for it" Aunt Bessie travels what, three times a year and spends maybe a grand tops on the tickets?

So, what we are doing is making the Aunt Bessies happy while pissing off the business traveller. What does this mean for the airlines? They are losing more money each quarter because business travellers are pissed off than they will make on the Aunt Bessies in an entire year!

I say this as someone who isn't quite a road warrior but who travels enough to make "elite" status. Thank God for that. I get to bypass the Aunt Bessies in a lot of airports and I get to get on the plane before them.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for so eloquently verbalizing what I have been thinking since the beginning of the absurd 'shoe dance' at the 'security' checkpoint.

If access controls of this tedious level (or worse) were actually effective, there wouldn't be any drugs, weapons or other contraband in prison. As we all know, that is plainly not the case. These ritualistic substitionary actions serve no purpose but to lull the sheeple into a false sense of security. Instead of inconveniencing millions of passengers we should indeed focus effective police work on the few insane lunatics who are plotting against commerical airliners. To my knowledge, not a SINGLE terrorist plot has EVER been foiled by a gate checker, either pre-TSA or thereafter.

If these TSA and DHS high priests of doing ineffective things efficiently insist on treating us all like criminals, then soon only the desperate and criminal will want to fly.

This whole thing is propaganda. If they had actual evidence of an imminent plot they would have actually charged someone in England by now. Nobody in England has even been formally accused of a crime.

The security measures are ment to frighten people and make them fear terrorists. At first I was skeptical, but after this much time without anyone being accused of a crime in England, this is looking more and more like a trumped-up mess without real substance. Keep in mind the brits are the ones who murdred an innocent Brazillian man execution-style in public because the police thought he was an Arab.

This column should be mandatory reading for all passengers before boarding, and everyone in the TSA [nice logo; it fits].

Salon should try to spread this one far and wide.

What a bunch of cowards many of these so-called Americans have become. Their ancestors who took risks every day would be ashamed. They want to cossetted in cotton wool and live forever, and ignore reality. As a Vietnam vet and annual or oftener world traveler, I'm ashamed to be associated with them in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Drug mules from Columbia used to fly into Miami with as much as a kilo of cocaine in rubbers stuffed up their bums.

It wouldn't be that hard for a terrorist to get on a plane with a kilogram of C-4 and micro detonator stuck up his ass.

A kilo of C-4, I guarantee you, would cut an aircraft literally in half. But oh-my-god we can't think about that.

We have to go after aunt Maude's wrinkle cream and little Jimmie's Nikes.

The only real reason I can see for the Bush administration punishing the American public this way is because they are making all-out fear-mongering their central re-election strategy. It's just about all they've got left.

Having just travelled an international leg (US to Europe) right after the London scare, I find the security measures as prudent and reasonable with only minor inconvenience. Your "where will it all end" squealing amounts to a kind of reverse scare mongering. In reality putting the brake to conspicuous leisure travel and business travel that could just as well be substituted by video conferencing or other electronic collaboration tools is just what the US needs.

I too believe that many of these so called plots are BS and propaganda.

As I see it we have competing "terrorist" groups creating a constant threatening environment in which all of earth's citizens are forced to "JUMP" to attention everytime one group or the other trys to raise the fear quotient to the next level. It is quite obvious that our lives will be forever disrupted if we continue to act like a nation of Chicken Littles.

We have the regular terrorist organizations, now too numerous to mention or give credit where credit is due. And then our own government who raises the level of terror by reacting like a bunch of lunatics at every opportunity. (sending jet fighters to escort a woman having a panic attack who has vaseline and matches on board?)

Really, all threats aside, these "terrorists" have to be pretty satisfied and laughing their asses off just watching our government's reaction and then watching American citizens comply with the newest round of idiotic regulations like a bunch of bumbling sheep.

Americans GET A GRIP . . .

The terrorists have our government right where they want them—under their control. Jump—how high?

Our government has us citizens right where they want us—under their control. Letting them create law after law and canceling right after right to protect us from the unprotectable.

Life is taking a chance, everday. You can live in constant fear. You can allow our government to embellish the fear. OR, you can get up in the morning and just LIVE.

We are all being feared to death before our own individual times.