Uh, what in the fuzzy blue hell ?

I'm sorry, excuse me, I didn't hear you the first time, Mr. Chertoff. What's that ? No hair gel, shampoo, body lotion, or perfume on flights ?

You want a sign of the apocalypse, right-wing terror-whores ? I'll give you one, a hypothetical future situation: me in an airport, being forced to throw away a bottle of my favorite conditioner while on vacation. I WILL SING THE SONG THAT ENDS THE WORLD.

Stupid. This is utterly, totally stupid. I am writing to the airlines with which I do any business, and letting them know that I'm done with them unless I can carry my hand lotion on trips to visit my mom. I am also writing to a few local major-chain hotels and tourism bureaus. Not to mention the usual letters to senators and congressmen. Is this a little issue ? Maybe. Is this worse than, say, racial profiling ? No. Absolutely not. I've written my letters for that, too. Detainments and profiling are both dangerous and unspeakable. But there's a certain point reached, just in day-to-day acceptance of circumstances, when we cease to be treated like human beings. I also think it's an issue that's easier for more Americans to grasp- most people can be persuaded to believe bringing screwdrivers and nail files could be dangerous, but I don't think Mom and Pop middle-class see anything dangerous in Pantene Pro-V. I wish this could be a rallying point, a line where we stop taking this ridiculous shit and see it for what it is: ridiculous shit.

Ridiculous shit that doesn't make anyone safer.

Brick

In nicer news, I saw the movie Brick last night (at last.) It's the story of a loner trying to solve his ex's murder, and getting tangled into a seedy underworld of drugs, guns, money and sex.

Oh, yeah: and it's set in high school. ( This was amazing stuff.... )