Fearfully Absurd

Since the news seems to be favorably received from many on the right and the left, I'm probably the only one who finds this ludicrous.  The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced a ban on all lighters on board flights, effective as of April 14th.  The TSA's reasoning is that a lighter could be used to set off a bomb.

*blink*  It's at this point where this just stops making sense to me.   The folks who favor this point to the "shoe-bomber" Richard Reid, who had a bomb in his Keds and tried to light it with a match.  Fair enough.  Except for this, isn't it a bit more important to security to make sure the bomb doesn't make it on the plane?

Don't get me wrong; I'm not boggled because this is some kind of civil rights issue.  It just isn't making any sense to me.  I mean, which thought do you find more unsettling, that someone on a plane might have a lighter to more easily ignite a bomb, or that even the TSA thinks that someone on board a plane with you might have a bomb?

Maybe I give too much credit to your average would-be mass murderers, but I just kinda assume that if they have the wherewithal to get a bomb on a plane, they'll probably have come up with a way to ignite it.  The lesson from the Reid case is, quite clearly, check shoes for bombs, not "FIRE ...  BAD!"

Maybe we should all be required to fly naked.  I'm sure it will help someone somewhere feel safer.

 

Comments

[Jon]

Agreed. This is indeed one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

We ask the question - What if, god forbid, someone sneaks a bomb on the plane. How can we prevent them from being able to detonate that bomb?

Ban lighters!

Brilliant. Especially since most terrorist bombs seem to be detonated via cellphones, altimeters, or manual switches. Following the logic we'll soon be unable to carry electronic devices in public.

[Sheila N]

I agree - ludicrous! What about "strike anywhere" matches? Are they ok? And what's up with banning nail files but allowing ball point pens?? A pen can be an excellent self-defense weapon so what's stopping someone from using one to attack with?

[Kate S.]

"Occupado"

Now how in the hell am I supposed to light the cherry bomb I made especially to launch the flying toilet?

[Linkmeister]

We know that Bush/Rove want to take the country back to the McKinley era, and this is but one more manifestation. Back then anarchists all had bombs with fuses one lit with flames; see "Spy v. Spy" (or the early Mac OS when there was a system error). Their thought processes have devolved back faster than those of the rest of us.

[Jaded]

So it takes more cunning to sneak on a lighter than a bomb? What about keys? You can seriously hurt someone with those. I've even heard of a lolipop stick being jammed into some one's throat as a self defence tactic. Should we ban candy too? What about books? After all some of them are pretty heavy and could be used to knock someone out. Or hears an idea. Manditory phycological tests before buying your ticket. Got to weed out those lunatics somehow.

[Ralph, Wonder Llama]

"Fly Naked!"

I like it!!

[Clif]

What really makes this stupid is that the airlines are still not required to screen cargo for explosive residue or even to x-ray it. The system relies on "know your customer" policies in place at the shippers. So. . . there won't be lighters on board but you could have an altimeter tripped package of plastic explosives in the hold, no problem.

Airline security has always been more about management of flyer expectations than about actual security. Rembember when they used to make you turn on a laptop. I must have bit my tongue a million times to not say "You know, if I were smart enough to put a bomb in a laptop, I'd sure as shit be smart enough to make it turn on for you . . . "

All this is why I drink when I fly.

[Rocky Smith]

No lighters? Another shot at those damn smokers? "They won't be able to poison us if we take away their lighers!" I doubt any real bomb thing was the real motivation. I guess you could throw your bic down really hard on the flight deck. They do cause a slight bang when the gas chamber is broken open in this manner. Scary! Light up your keds? I agree with the notion of find the shoe bomb before it gets on board.

Fly naked? That might be great in some cases, but what about that 300 pound guy- or grandma? No thanks!

[Adria]

CNN reported to day that Zippo will be challenging this ruling. They feel that it will hurt their sales as they sell many of their lighters in duty free shops in Air Ports.

Sadly for this administration, this is just one more feel good bandaid that doesn't really cure the wound.

[Dennis]

For what it's worth the shoe bomber DIDN'T have a lighter he was seen trying to light his shoe with a book of matches! Others became aware and gave him the ole bum rush and the rest is history. Point is they haven't banned matches so what the F*&K are we doing? We are really showing our ASSES here people.