(in best Ed McMahon drunk voice) "You are correct, sir, Yes!!!"

Some of us who go throught the charade frequently look at the whole performance as Kabuki theater in an attempt to assign some meaning to the performance. Strictly speaking, this is not entertainment, especially when $5 billion per year is spent on this endeavor. No matter who assigns SSSS, and I think joint and several liability between the national government and the traveler's airline should apply, this farce does little if nothing to ensure safety for the public, but sure wastes our tax dollars.

As I stated earlier, if a passenger is considered a risk, then screening at the gate is an exercise in futility, because the passenger has likely been in the "sterile area" for an extended period of time. During that time, if that passenger was actually a terrorist, he/she would have had sufficient time to secrete a dangerous instrument or weapon so that a confederate not designated SSSS could retrieve the object and carry it aboard the flight. Thus, gate screening of a passenger designated SSSS is only a "feel-good" measure.

The geniuses on the 9/11 Commission should not have spent time on "SSSS" designation. Rather, they should have addressed Able Danger and the wall that apparently prevented military assets from notifying civilian law enforcement and other agencies that terrorists were training in the United States.