[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
Springtime
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TSA targets travelers who criticize TSA
Comments Off on TSA targets travelers who criticize TSA
Because clearly, actual terrorists, trying to slip through undetected, are routinely going to draw attention to themselves with “arrogant complaining about airport security.” Riiiiight.
Why, it’s almost as if this agency of the federal government is trying to use its largely unchecked power of detention, arrest, and general intimidation to harass innocent citizens into silence, lest they dangerously threaten American security by exercising their constitutional right to petition said government agency for a redress of grievances.
But no, no, that can’t be right. It’s okay; nothing to see here, people. Move along, move along. It’s all part of the plan.
OMG OMG OMG
A behind-the-scenes look at the start of filming on The Hobbit:
(Hat tip: Patrick, who wrote, “This video almost made me cry. I am such a nerd.”)
Only the TSA can touch you this way
This sort of thing makes me want to not fly with my daughters ever again.
And this TSA response doesn’t make me feel any better. Quite the contrary.
Ugh.
This is the part of the blog post where I make a flippant remark in an attempt to be funny, but as a father of three girls (a 3-year-old, a 21-month-old, and one in utero), there’s nothing remotely amusing about this. It just makes me feel sick — and powerless, because for all the online bravado, you know there’s really nothing you can do if you’re the one who gets stuck with a TSA agent on a power trip and a belief that American national security requires the groping of a young child. You can either acquiesce, or you can get yourself arrested, either of which is incredibly traumatizing to the kid. You have no other options.
Welcome to the United States of America in 2011, formerly a free country.
(Headline stolen from Volokh.)
P.S. Yes, “formerly a free country” is hyperbolic. But, unlike many instances where the Ben Franklin quote is mangled and misused, this truly is a case of giving up essential liberty — i.e., the liberty to not be publicly groped, or to not have your children publicly groped, or even just to not live in fear of having your children publicly groped — for a little temporary safety, or rather, the false appearance of fake temporary safety.
Justin Bieber qualified to be CT Attorney General, Joe Lieberman not
Or something like that. (Hat tip: my dad.)
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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
Daddy, there are two Miss Stephanies. Stephanie from school, and Stephanie from downtown.
Loyette
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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
I never knew the police were so involved in Botanic Gardens event planning.
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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
The chickens come home to roost (literally).
The Madness of Changing March
I don’t know if you heard, but the UConn men recently won a little something we call March Madness. Or the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship if you have no interest in fun. While the title game itself has been generally regarded as a bust—I choose to characterize it as a master class on defense—it is generally agreed that this year was one of the more thrilling tourneys in history.
This, of course, means we must destroy it!
Before we get too far into this debate, can we all just agree that this fella here is the most adorable mascot ever?
I’m not talking about the idea of 96 teams…although for the record I think that is an atrocious idea that will achieve approximately nothing of any worth besides a longer tournament. What I refer to is this idea that the NCAA tourney crowns a champion, but not the best basketball team in the country. And to this I say…and?
We are John Galt, my precious
I’ve never read Atlas Shrugged, so I don’t have a dog in the fight that this quote may create — I just think it’s funny:
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.
Heh.