Letters to the Editor
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FUD
The best way to understand Aviation is to go to pilot's ground school. Fortunately, some community colleges offer it for very little money. Even if you aren't near a CC that teaches it, its worth the money to buy a Jeppesen book, take the class and read the FAA's incident reports online. Commercial air travel is very surviveable. I'm not so sure about MDs in Bonanzas.
The TSA thing is so bad that a friend of mine who is rather famous and lives in Europe has vowed to never return to the US or to go anywhere through Heathrow. I have stopped travelling by air for pleasure and have actually looked up what is involved in driving cross-country and taking Cunard to Liverpool rather than fly on an airplane.
I remember one trip where the TSA agent took my toothbrush out of my bag and ran her gloved thumb along the bristles. This was probably the same glove that was up someone's ass an hour before. That was when I stopped flying for pleasure.
Bickering with the minimum wage people at the TSA station is useless. They are not paid much, are not skilled at other jobs, have a strict list of what they must ask for and look for, and have a line of people just as cranky and put out as you are to deal with. Because they don't want to get sued for patting down dark skinned men, they have to harass toddlers, 75 year old nuns, German tourists, and (in one case) two penguins. For the penguins: http://tinyurl.com/yrr7qh
If everyone just flat out refused to fly anymore (I know some business people insist they have to - try teleconferencing. It works!), maybe the airlines will get the message. Either that, or the air will be a lot cleaner.