Are they actually trying to be taken seriously?

Once again, US efforts to keep their population complacent by instilling an over-arching sense of fear are in danger of backfiring. The Transportation Security Administration, whose “no-fly” list is alleged to contain over 100,000 names, admits having received at least 89 formal requests to have names withdrawn … from children under the age of twelve. Thank-you, George Bush II, for keeping the 11 month old terrorist bombers off airplanes since 2001. Whatever would we do without you? I’m so glad Canada is following suit and implementing a no-fly list of our own!

In related news, Shannon recently visited a friend in Massachusetts. For a variety of reasons she didn’t have any non-expired, official-looking government ID, but she correctly assumed that if a nice white guy like this can walk across with a bloody axe, a home-made sword with an engraved swastika, a hatchet, a knife, two brass knuckles and a can of pepper spray, they wouldn’t be stopping a nice white girl like her, even with a butter knife packed in her lunch. Edit: Shannon reminded me that, of all the people on her bus, the only one taken aside for questioning… was also the only black passenger. Institutional racism just ain’t subtle. sigh

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On a happier note, we woke up early today and picked all the basil from our bountiful garden to make a litre of pesto before Shannon had to go to work. Mmmm…. I wonder how long we can hold off before eating it all. Yay for late summer harvests!