ulitave

misia and millions of other passengers had their coffee, cosmetics, toothpastes, and everything else confiscated at security checkpoints yesterday. this was in reaction to a plot, foiled by the British. The plot allegedly involved smuggling liquid explosives onto planes. Combine this with that and KABLAMMO.

Except in the cold light of day, absent of fear-mongering, none of it washes.

The Brits knew of this plot two weeks ago. They advised Bush & Co. two weeks ago. He went on vacation. He's still on vacation.

If liquids were such a threat, why weren't they confiscated when the plot was revealed? how about Monday? Tuesday?  The timing of the arrests - the day after Lieberman loses his primary election - is interesting.

I can think of plausible explanations to these questions - homeland Security blah blah, don't tip them off, etc. Here's the one that sticks in my craw:


I'm yet to hear any report, from anywhere, saying that people's private property is being confiscated - that is, taken for some other use. The government is taking their property and throwing it away. In several places, passengers dump their liquids into a collective bucket (and pray it doesn't blow up?)

If the government was intent on preventing terror, I'd think the government would bag and tag these liquids, examine them. They would not, under any circumstances, combine them in some al-chemical soup. They need some idea of who brought what, into which terminal, for which plane. How many of us remember poison gas scares, anthrax, a laundry list of bio- and chemical agents that could kill us? Why doesn't the government seem worried about any of that? Why don't the TSA workers have gas masks or chemical gloves? Since when were baggage inspectors experts in chemical explosives? Why are they throwing terror plot evidence down drains?

If this were a fiction story I had to critique, I'd say the plot was weak and the details didn't add up. No one would every buy this story.

School starts Tuesday. I have to buy 11yo's school supplies. Markers, pencils, pens, tissues, notebook paper, glue sticks, on and on. The list this year is actually a bit shorter than last year's, but I'm not fooled. Some homework and project lists read like a Halliburton slush fund: margarita machine, Fujitsu GeoStream R980 industrial strength router, HAWK Surface to Air missle system, juice boxes. Even though her entire back-to-school list can be filled by items we already have, I'll buy new stuff. There's a stigma attached to sending a kid to school on the first day with non-new items. She has enough to deal with. I can eat beans for lunch.

The school "Sneak-a-Peek" is on Monday, from 4-6. This is an annual event at Single Parent Elementary, where we all "sneak-a-peek" at which parents are wearing wedding rings and which parents are not. As an unmarried, single, employed, custodial dad for five years running, I'm either a fine trophy or irretriveably damaged goods. I even have a car. Somewhere in there, we'll let the kids figure out where their classes are and who their classmates are. 11yo has been paired with her one of her best friends every year, a delightful boy. Unfortunately, his father is a serious alcoholic. We've (parents) have had to restrain him from driving his son home from school on more than one occasion. I hope he's had treatment.