No-Fly List – the Final Laugh!

David Heath
Friday, 02 May 2008 19:33

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Just when you thought the TSA had started to figure itself out (as if!), another belly-laugh comes rushing out of the “No-Fly List.”

Believe it or not, some airlines are refusing to permit Air Marshals to fly because their names are the same as, or similar to, entries on the infamous no-fly list.  The Washington Times, in its usual restrained manner, reported the fact that questions are being asked.  Being asked???

Never mind the fact that the TSA administers the No-fly list. 

Never mind the fact that the TSA administers the Air Marshal program.

Never mind the fact that Air Marshals have darned good identification.  My goodness, so good that the TSA guarantees it!

No, none of that matters.  Aircraft have departed without their appointed Air Marshal because some airline customer service representative has refused to issue a boarding pass.  Senator Edward Kennedy would be turning in his… hang on, he’s not dead!  Darned good thing he’s not an Air Marshall, though, with all the problems he had proving he wasn’t about to blow up the next flight he took!

The No-Fly list started life as a good idea and went steadily downhill from there.  “Let’s have the name of every person who has ever been an irritation to every law enforcement agency in the country and make their life hell.  While we’re at it, let’s lump in every person with a similar name as well.  Wrong gender, wrong age, wrong ethnicity… doesn’t matter – it’s their fault for having a similar name.” 

“Whaddayamean you want to get off the list?  No, sorry, that’s not possible – we don’t have a form for that.”

Really, no method has ever been offered for anyone to gain a “right of travel” if they’ve been in ‘violation’ of the no-fly list.

America’s response to 9/11 has done a lot of things.  Unfortunately there are two things it has NOT done.

Firstly, it has done nothing to reduce terrorism (in fact, it has probably increased it – after all, if you yell at someone who annoys you, they yell back; if you are conciliatory, they’re probably more reasonable in response).

Secondly, and much more importantly, it has NOT improved the feeling of safely of the American people.  Their lives have been dragged into fear by the combined paranoia and rhetoric of their leaders.

The song keeps ringing in my ears… “Come fly (without) me, let’s fly, let’s fly away.”