From Colonia, Yap, to Kolonia, Pohnpei, Micronesia
In the past 30 hours, I have been to 6 international airports, in 4 nations, in 3 states and crossed 4 time zones (Manila, Koror Palau, Yap FSM, Guam, Chuuk FSM & Pohnpei FSM). Today's two airplane landings were the kind where you descend over water and keep descending until it looks like the pilot fully intends to land on the water, only to have the runway appear out of nowhere under the landing gear.
Now I'm in Kolonia with a K, which seems to be a real town, rather than Colonia with a C, which is essentially a couple of grocery stores and a bunch of government buildings.
The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is really a true marvel of the Bush Administration. The Republicans managed to create a massive government bureaucracy whose success (if any) can only be measured by the absence of results. This has taken billions of tax dollars and injected it into the economy by paying hundreds of thousands of workers to examine your shoes and rummage through your luggage. This has essentially been an FDR-Democrat-style Work Project Administration to stimulate the economy, only because of 9-11, the Republicans get off scot-free for the inflated and unnecessary costs because of the fear & terror and all. It's not a bloated government work program, it's security.
The really interesting part is seeing how much money is being poured into other economies. TSA must easily employ 15,000 Filipinos in Manila.
Guess who broke the lock on my luggage to dig out a 7-year-old laptop and tossed in a "courtesy card" explaining that it was necessary to break the luggage and that the TSA is not liable for any such damage. I'm a lawyer, and just writing those words does not necessarily make it true, assholes.
They had to destroy the luggage in order to save the luggage.
Anyway, I'm safe and sound on a different tropical island. It seems beautiful, with massive stone formations majestically and starkly towering above the town. It's a much bigger island than Yap.
Now I'm in Kolonia with a K, which seems to be a real town, rather than Colonia with a C, which is essentially a couple of grocery stores and a bunch of government buildings.
The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is really a true marvel of the Bush Administration. The Republicans managed to create a massive government bureaucracy whose success (if any) can only be measured by the absence of results. This has taken billions of tax dollars and injected it into the economy by paying hundreds of thousands of workers to examine your shoes and rummage through your luggage. This has essentially been an FDR-Democrat-style Work Project Administration to stimulate the economy, only because of 9-11, the Republicans get off scot-free for the inflated and unnecessary costs because of the fear & terror and all. It's not a bloated government work program, it's security.
The really interesting part is seeing how much money is being poured into other economies. TSA must easily employ 15,000 Filipinos in Manila.
Guess who broke the lock on my luggage to dig out a 7-year-old laptop and tossed in a "courtesy card" explaining that it was necessary to break the luggage and that the TSA is not liable for any such damage. I'm a lawyer, and just writing those words does not necessarily make it true, assholes.
They had to destroy the luggage in order to save the luggage.
Anyway, I'm safe and sound on a different tropical island. It seems beautiful, with massive stone formations majestically and starkly towering above the town. It's a much bigger island than Yap.