A non-discrimanatory solution to air flight security

Matt Yglesias writes today about the question that is greatly exercising the minds at the national review. That question? It's "Why shouldn't we formally discriminate against Muslims (i.e., “profiling”) who are flying on American airlines?"

Matt offers some good arguments why we shouldn't do it.

...the strategic costs of becoming a country that engages in systematic formal discrimination against Muslims are rather high. I would like to live in a country where if a teenage American Muslim reads on a message board somewhere that the United States is a racist country hell-bent on persecuting Islam that he thinks “no it isn’t” not “that’s why I got singled out for strip searches when we went on vacation last winter.” Nor do I want the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to come under political pressure at home to divest from US firms because Emirati citizens who visit the US are being treated unfairly. Right now if a talented Bangladeshi scientist is weighing offers between an American and a European university, I can honestly tell him he’ll find the US a more welcoming place—that’s a strength we have as a society and as a country, and not something we should be eager to give up.

The United States is a gigantic, diverse country that does business and policy all around the world. Air travel in this country is as safe as it’s ever been. Taking reasonable steps to make it safer would be nice, but cutting ourselves off from a huge swathe of the world and poisoning relations with 1.5 billion Muslims is going to be much worse than an exploding airplane. We could enhance security by making everyone fly naked, but common sense is that it wouldn’t be worth it.

But let me suggest that the throwaway line there "We could enhance security by making everyone fly naked, but common sense is that it wouldn’t be worth it." does suggest a solution.

We should have everyone who is going to get on a plane enter a room before boarding and remove all their clothes. Then they step into the next room where they are issued an airline-approved passenger's uniform with flight slippers for the flight. Their clothes and all carry-on baggage would then be packaged together and shipped (separately on non-passenger aircraft) to their destinations where they could pick it up upon arrival. That way everyone is discriminated against equally.

That might work, although it would give a whole new set of meanings to the announcement by the airline "I'm sorry, but we cannot find your luggage."

Proposition 8 - the musical

This is good. Short, but funny.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Good gag

• Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, AKA Joe the Plumber, was closely related to Charles Keating, the disgraced former savings and loan chief.
• Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.

Martin Eisenstadt is a senior fellow at the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy and an adviser to the McCain campaign. He is the source of the above news flashes.

Except ... neither Martin Eisenstadt nor the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy exist. They are a year-long hoax, pumping fake news items like the two above into the news media and the blogosphere.

The story is in the New York Times.

You've got to admire a good hoax on the media like this one.

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Addendum 8:24 pm
This is interesting. Steve Benen points out:

An MSNBC report credited Martin Eisenstadt, who doesn't exist, as the original source of the Palin/Africa claim. The hoax, however, is the bogus source validating the story, not the Palin/Africa story itself.

The original reporting on the Palin/Africa story came from Fox News' Carl Cameron, who reported last week on the McCain campaign's apparent frustration with Palin's ignorance. Cameron cited campaign aides as his source. Later, Palin said her comments about Africa had been "taken out of context."

We mustn't credit Palin with more education that she has demonstrated.

Bush to speak tonight; will preempt the TV show "Criminal Minds"

Bush is to go on TV tonight to try to convince the American public to support the Paulson Proposal.

It seems incredibly ironic that Bush is going to use the time slot normally filled by the TV show "Criminal Minds."

Funny - on so many levels

White House: Bush is really very in touch with the economy! Honest!

The other day, when asked how he would deal with $4 a gallon gas, President Bush gave the rather disconcerting reply that he had not heard predictions of $4 per gallon gas as most of us have. The clear impression he left was that he is "Out of touch with the Economy." That impression has been strongly reinforced by the fact that the discussions of the current economic problems has been handled by either fed chief Ben Bernanke or Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson with no involvement by from Bush. It doesn't help Bush's image as a leader.

As a result, the White house media staff has had to respond to the criticism that Bush is out of touch with the economy. Here, according to the New York Times is what the White House media flacks said about bush:

“He is very much in touch with the economy,” said Tony Fratto, the deputy White House press secretary. “He is out in the country a lot."

Yeah, maybe Bush is in touch with the economy, particularly sine he is directly responsible for much of the current set of economic problems.

If I were in charge and as responsible for the current mess as he is, I'd be out of the country a lot, too.

Bush administration humor

This is funny.

But don't read it. It's off the record.

Voles plague central Spain

A plague of voles is attacking agriculture in north central Spain. Voles are small, mouse-sized rodents which resemble lemmings. There has been a sudden unexplained massive surge in the number of voles in central Spain. They are eating the crops, and do not stop until they eat the roots. Grapes, beets and potatoes are all threatened.

The problem is so bad that the European Union has approved the rarely-permitted tactic of burning the fields. Burning has begun in the Valladolid area of Castilla-Leon region and is expected to begin soon in Avila, Palencia and Segovia.

In spite of the similarity in the name, the plague of voles is not known to be related to the recently well publicized battles with Voldemort. Besides, Voldemort was reptile, not rodent. Still, one needs to ask the real question today on a cat-blogging Friday - where in Hell are Spain's cats?

A massive increase in mouse-sized rodents would appear to be a major picnic for cats in any country. So where are the Spanish cats?

Those of us with a house cat at home know that cats consider themselves to be aristoc[r]ats, but have they gone Republican on us and quit working for a living? Are they all indoors laying around waiting for the next refilling of the cat-food bowl? Purring for their kibble and stroking instead of doing honest work?

I know that good mousers have to be trained as kittens by the mother cat. Is there a shortage of mother cats training kittens? Does the European Union need to declare total war on voles, then draft some mother-cat mousers as drill sergeants and send Europe's draftable kittens to them for basic training on a mass basis?

Where in Hell are Spain's cats when their country and their farmers really need them? It would be more than just patriotism. More than just every cat at the service of his or her country in its time of need. It would also be cat-appropriate fast food.

Or should we just give up on cats? Are they useless as anything except fat purring status objects for households with bloggers and cat-lovers?

If the latter is the case, then my suggestion is that we draft terriers. My White West Highland Terrier (Westie) didn't even need to be trained to 'remove' the mouse he trapped on our kitchen floor. Two-steps, a quick muzzle-snap-and-a-shake and he presented a limp, dead mouse. No blood. No bait needed, either.

And pleased? That terrier was so proud of himself that for nearly two weeks he would present his head for petting if you even looked at him. Why bother a bunch of aloof, lazy fat cats? Terriers were bred for the job and they love it.

Spain needs to quickly raise and organize an army of terriers.

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See also:

• Rodent ruining crops in Spain agriculture
  AP Thu, Aug. 09, 2007
• Spain wields weapons on rodent plague
  AP Tue, Aug. 14, 2007

Passing bird commits lese Magesty, dumps on Bush.

Bush was conducting a Rose Garden news conference, when a passing bird contributed its view of what he had to say. Here's the video.



[Note: I have been trying to post this for two days, but the ABC News version in Flash simply would not run for me.]

Just how desperate ARE the Republicans?

So far for President the Republicans are looking at

• a 71 year-old twice-divorced Senator, now trying hard to run from his previously well-earned reputation as a maverick who disdained the Republican social conservative base,
  
• a three-times divorced ex-mayor of New York City with possible mob-ties and a reputation for choosing crooks to work for him, and
  
• a Republican ex-Governor of Massachussets who is now running against his own Massachusetts constituencies and the person he convinced them he was to get elected as their governor. Oh, and did I mention his religion is Morman, not one of the best subjects to present to the social conservative fundamentalists and evangelists who make up the Republican base that is essential if he were to win the Presidency.
  

Besides their negatives, not one of them has the charisma required to pour piss out of a boot.

To top it off, Bush/Cheney have stuck the Republican Party with their voluntary war in Iraq which may not be over by 2009. Iraq isn't America's war. It's Bush's and the Republican Party's war. Even a sizeable group of the Republicans consider it a disaster that should not have been allowed to happen.

The climate for running as a Republican - well, let's just say it sure could be a lot better. An example of the problems the Republicans face is the statement just presented by Nancy Pelosi with what so far is the best sound-byte of the season: "With his veto threat, the President offers only an open-ended commitment to a war without end". (TPMCafe) This has the real virtue of being true, as well as being a powerful political soundbyte that resonates with the mood of the voters.

So how desperate are the Republicans? Desperate enough to try to get a charismatic Hollywood actor to run for the Presidency? Apparently so.

No, No. They aren't going grave robbing. Reagan is still dead. And Schwartzenegger is still not born a U.S. citizen, so he's out. A late running "American Idol" isn't likely to offer a winner old enough to run for President, and besides, what if he or she weren't Republican? Or straight?

No, what is happening now (See Law.com) is that Howard Baker is trying to convince Senators to look at Fred Thompson, currently playing Howard Branch, District Attorney, on "Law and Order." Rep. Zach Wamp has been approaching his colleagues in the House with the same proposal. Even from Hollywood this seems to be the best the Republicans can muster.

Actually Fred Thompson has a decent resume and would certainly bring more star-power to the Republican ticket than any current option, along with a lot fewer negatives. But if he asked my advice, I'd strongly suggest that he not give up his day job. It has more future.