Today is the biggest traffic day yet for Impeach Underperformin’ Norman. I’m also seeing the graphic on a variety of sites. I got to thinking this afternoon about the Impeach Mineta meme. It’s a simple slogan that “fits on a bumper sticker” so it’s easy to understand. It’s easy to pass on. It’s represents a set of ideas incredibly concisely. I’m just starting to realize how much that kind of packaging matters. I’ve been railing about the transportation security agency, and our nation’s approach to security, for a long time and falling upon deaf ears. All of the policy studies and detailed analyses fail. Now, I think the analysis has to be there to undergird the marketing — I’m not sure that the marketing is sustainable without a strong argument — but the marketing really…
Tremendous thanks go
Tremendous thanks go to Instapundit for introducing so many of you to this site — and more importantly for keeping the pressure on in the fight for real security at airports — that takes both actual threats and our liberties seriously.
The current issue
The current issue of The Atlantic has an outstanding piece on security — airline security, computer security, and how to think about protecting ourselves from terrorism. The bottom line is that we need systems that “fail badly.” It makes no sense to have a security checkpoint where if something bad passes through the system shuts down. We need to strengthen cockpit doors, arm pilots, and create sundry other redundant systems.
JetBlue is offering new members
JetBlue is offering new members of their frequent flyer program 10 points (10% of a free ticket) for signing up.
I had a
I had a Sand in the Gears moment at the local Giant grocery last night. My girlfriend asked me to pick up ice cream on the way home. A simple task that was about to become not so simple. I picked up a package of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey (let’s leave their politics out of this — we’re talking about ice cream, chocolate, and banana here!). I walked to the front of the store and found three checkout lines open, each one with at least five customers ahead of me. I got in the express line designated for shoppers with ten items or less and found that it was being worked by the store manager. I advanced through that line… and I was next. The store manager said, “I’m sorry, this line is closed.”…
The bumper stickers are in.
The bumper stickers are in. I’ll be getting them into the mail tomorrow.
Residents of FL, IL, NY,
Residents of FL, IL, NY, OH, PA, and VA earn 250 Continental Onepass miles for an online insurance quote.
If it weren’t so pathetic,
If it weren’t so pathetic, it would be funny. In the name of airport security, Orlando airport is introducing a security scanner that shows naked images of the people who pass through it.
American Airlines cuts
American Airlines cuts 7,000 jobs and reduces flights. Will United be far behind? Will Norm Mineta shoulder some of the blame? … Developing …
Our nation’s airlines are in
Our nation’s airlines are in dire financial straits, and the Transportation Security Agency makes their problems worse. The Dow Jones Transportation Index is down 13% over the last year, and the nation’s two biggest airlines lost more than $3 billion combined in 2001. USAirways, the nation’s sixth largest carrier, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. USAirways is a high cost carrier which relies on business travel up and down the East Coast. (Their route map is made up of short distance travel throughout the east coast, with plenty of takeoffs and landings relative to flight miles and utilization of high cost airports.) The economy is suppressing business travel, but so is the hassle (delay, cost, aggravation) of airline security. This has hurt USAirways especially, because their profitable routes are the New York-DC-Boston shuttle which has…
