Grar.
So, they took away my two jars of peanut butter that I had packed for cheap food in Bulgaria, because they are "liquids". (I have to eat a lot more often than some people.) I inquired, for future reference when packing, what the minimum viscosity a substance could have and still be considered a liquid. If they're going to ban a certain class of substances, then I want it spelled out. Am I allowed to take a grapefruit? It has liquid inside of it. They let me take cheese, which gets pretty darn soft at high temperature, and peanut butter crackers.
If someone can't figure out what your rules mean so they can follow them, they're bad rules.
I inquired about the cost to have those jars of peanut butter shipped back to me. The TSA dude said that the UPS box that does that isn't under their control, and that it'd be >$25. I responded, without malice or aggression (but with the understanding that a less simian CinC would let people take food on planes), "Meh, I'll just give the money to Obama."
Him: "One more comment like that and I'll have you arrested."
Me: "What? Uh, that's protected political speech."
Him: "Not here, mentioning the name of a terrorist in an airport!"
Me: "Uh. Obama. You know, the guy running for president, who is a sitting United States Senator."
Him: "Oh. Well, it's an easily-confused name."
Riiight. The sibilant "s" is one of the most distinguishable sounds in English phonology, and its absence should have clued you in to the fact that I wasn't referring to your arch-nemesis (who, incidentally, your president seems to have forgotten about in his mad quest for Iraq) even if you didn't understand what I said.
It also occurs to me that the fact that the maximum size is given as "3 ounces" in a "1 quart" bag is another example of American official arrogance: is a traveling Chinese or Japanese really going to know how big an ounce is? Heck, I as an American don't really know. In airports, of all places, use metric so the world can figure out what you mean.
They also made some feeble ancient fellow get out of his wheelchair to hobble through the metal detector, and then had the temerity to fuss at him when he wobbled and leaned on the side of the thing for support. If you have no sympathy for some poor bastard wanting to take food with him, at least show some grace when dealing with an old man.
And now here's some guy with a t-shirt with a Michael Savage quote on it that says "Liberalism is a mental disorder. --Michael Savage" If I had a shirt that said "Neoconservatism is a mental disorder", you bet I'd be harassed about it. Fail.
Maybe we'd all be safer on airplanes if our foreign policy didn't consist of systematically searching out nutjobs and then kicking them in the balls until they come after us with baseball bats?
If someone can't figure out what your rules mean so they can follow them, they're bad rules.
I inquired about the cost to have those jars of peanut butter shipped back to me. The TSA dude said that the UPS box that does that isn't under their control, and that it'd be >$25. I responded, without malice or aggression (but with the understanding that a less simian CinC would let people take food on planes), "Meh, I'll just give the money to Obama."
Him: "One more comment like that and I'll have you arrested."
Me: "What? Uh, that's protected political speech."
Him: "Not here, mentioning the name of a terrorist in an airport!"
Me: "Uh. Obama. You know, the guy running for president, who is a sitting United States Senator."
Him: "Oh. Well, it's an easily-confused name."
Riiight. The sibilant "s" is one of the most distinguishable sounds in English phonology, and its absence should have clued you in to the fact that I wasn't referring to your arch-nemesis (who, incidentally, your president seems to have forgotten about in his mad quest for Iraq) even if you didn't understand what I said.
It also occurs to me that the fact that the maximum size is given as "3 ounces" in a "1 quart" bag is another example of American official arrogance: is a traveling Chinese or Japanese really going to know how big an ounce is? Heck, I as an American don't really know. In airports, of all places, use metric so the world can figure out what you mean.
They also made some feeble ancient fellow get out of his wheelchair to hobble through the metal detector, and then had the temerity to fuss at him when he wobbled and leaned on the side of the thing for support. If you have no sympathy for some poor bastard wanting to take food with him, at least show some grace when dealing with an old man.
And now here's some guy with a t-shirt with a Michael Savage quote on it that says "Liberalism is a mental disorder. --Michael Savage" If I had a shirt that said "Neoconservatism is a mental disorder", you bet I'd be harassed about it. Fail.
Maybe we'd all be safer on airplanes if our foreign policy didn't consist of systematically searching out nutjobs and then kicking them in the balls until they come after us with baseball bats?