Some smart guy showed it's possible to bring down a plane by cell phone, without even being on the plane. I'm not sure; should we thank him for inspiring all the ne'er do wells who blindly assumed this couldn't possibly be done, or should we be thankful for this demonstration of technical prowess, and hope that maybe, someday, someone will figure out a way to prevent it from happening?
At about the same time, the brilliant people at TSA, who, for many years, would confiscate nail clippers
, now think it's o.k. to bring knives and golf clubs on board. Oddly, scissors with blades up to four inches long, and screwdrivers up to seven inches long were already approved.
TSA's logic is that none of the things on the approved list can be used to bring down the plane (except, of course, for the cell phones). How many hijackers have tried to do their work by, say, cutting into the fuselage, or digging through the floor to attack the hydraulic system? Isn't the normal method one of taking hostages, and threatening to kill them?
I'll try to keep this in perspective the next time I take off my shoes at the security checkpoint.
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