Mountain Trader:

I apologize for any impression that you are on their side (the current nitwits at the DoT). I've read your critical posts.

Inasmuch as we are a government of LAWS, and not a government of MEN, my rants are not just about me. I intend to scream from the rooftops until those who would govern with secret regulations see the error of their ways. Especially when their errors appear to be hobbling an important industry.

In a calmer frame of mind, I admit I can leave my sharp and pointy household items (that are legal to possess everywhere but jail, prison and sterile areas of airports and planes) at home (and I have, for over eight weeks), but you have more confidence than I when you say that this inconvenience will probably last "for a while." Because it looks to me like a permanent situation, I hope you're right and I'm wrong.

And in any event, we only suspect (without much hope of proof) that boxcutters and other types of knives were used to overpower the four planes and kill all those poor souls. Since nearly every traveler for the last 40 years probably carried on several of the now prohibited items without much history of hijacking using any of them, it seems like a typical government power grab to suddenly attempt to ban each and every one of them (except for all the potentially dangerous items listed by pointman) in the name of safety. Boxcutters didn't hijack the planes, bad people did. Bad people the great big good government did nothing about until after they acted on September 11.

Again, I didn't mean to equate you with Mineta or impute his lunacy to you, and I apologize.