When we lost our sense of security, I was sad. When we lost our standing as a leader on human rights, I was bitter. When we began dismantling the Constitution, I was angry. But without our sense of humor, we are absolutely and completely fucked, my friends.
So the pathetic self-important Morlocks who detained passenger Ryan Bird for a message of protest on his toiletries bag should be sued, reprimanded and made an example of.
This wisecracking genius wrote “Kip Hawley is an idiot” on the see-thru bag that held his toothbrush. Hawley is the head of the TSA.
They detained this guy for 30 minutes until, according to CNN, they determined he was “not a threat.”
Maybe I’m just exhausted, but I think this is almost (okay not quite, but almost) as chilling as the disembowelment of habeas corpus and the Geneva Conventions that happened last night in the Senate.
There’s a popular notion that the government assault on liberty and the character of our country doesn’t bother most people because they’re not on the phone to Saudi Arabia so the crackdown won’t apply to them. Think again. If they can stop this frustrated traveler for a simple act of non-verbal protest, they can turn us all into sheep. That’s not the country I ordered. Please go back to the kitchen and get me my country.
You also have to love the Kip Hawley photo dropped into the CNN story, when it’s not really about him. Almost like they’re saying “Idiot? Could be. You decide!”