This past July on Sunday, I flew back to Amarillo—following the celebration of my son's wedding—from Milwaukee, WI. I flew into Billy Mitchell International Airport on that previous Friday without a single bleep. That was from Amarillo via Dallas and on to Milwaukee (eventually) past all of the TSA screeners. On that fateful Sunday, the screener in Milwaukee confiscated a corkscrew and a tiny penknife after going through ALL of my carryon stuff. Now, a student at Guilford College in NC—Nathaniel T. Heatwole—is getting the book thrown at him by the Ashcroft Justice Department for carrying box cutters and the harmless equivalent of plastic explosive material (modeling clay) and bottles of bleach aboard Southwest Airlines flights out of Raleigh-Durham and Baltimore. What is wrong with this picture? Heatwole sent warnings IN ADVANCE to the FBI. Duh! Ashcroft is even dumber than W. At least W didn't lose an election to a dead man. In the meantime, here is Ben Sargent's take on airport security in October 2003. I have a question for the Democrat nominee (whoever he/she is) in 2004. At the first debate, ask W: Should we feel safer than we did 4 years ago? See how the genius handles that one! It gets worse and worse in Iraq. It gets worse and worse in this country. Where is bin Laden? Where is Hussein? Nathaniel Heatwole deserves a commendation for exposing the sorry state of airport security in 2003. If this be (fair & balanced) sedition, make the most of it!
