"You Are Now Free To Pee About The Country"

That's a paraphrase, of course, of Southwest Airlines famous ad slogan.

It also represents that great triumph of the new head of the Department of Homeland Security, the weak-chinned (and, we assume, weak-bladdered) Michael Chertoff, who has lifted the post-9/11 rule that airline passengers headed to and fro D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport not leave their seats for 30 minutes before takeoff and landing.

This is part of Chertoff's boldly vague new plan to increase the efficiency of the agencies comprising DHS. Who knows how many more sports-merchandise vendors DHS-related agents can thwart now that the pee patrol has been disbanded?

Comments

[Ron Hardin]

I suppose this means removing the motorman's friends at each seat as well.

[jf]

So it's a thing to be ridiculed that DHS has gotten rid of a bad regulation?

The unpopular 2001 restriction has been rendered obsolete by security improvements, including hardened cockpit doors and armed federal air marshals aboard Washington flights, Chertoff said.

What does that have to do with any "boldly vague new plan to increase the efficiency of the agencies comprising DHS"?

[JMoore]

What continues to amaze me about the DHS and the Thousands Standing Around is that they have overlooked the airline employees who are in the best position to spot, and potentially thwart, hijackers. I have heard no calls to federalize flight attendants.

[gene]

Nick,
Why did you write that the guy was weak chinned and had a weak bladder??? It means nothing and takes away from your post.
Gene

[drf]

The weak bladder comment was funny. It has humorous content. It adds to the post.

And DHS needs to be ridiculed for the knee-jerk way it was set up. All of these dog-and-pony show "fixes" were a friggin joke.

So, looking at the original ideas, which were a joke, with humor seems to be perfectly appropriate.

Did the national review link to this site or something?

[Jennifer]

If they realy want to make our planes secure they should just remove the bathrooms altogether. That way, no terrorist will have the presence of mind to hijack anything, since they'll be using all their willpower just to not poop their pants.

[mk]

Nick,
Please don't refer to it as Ronald Reagan National Airport. It's not that I have anything against the Gipper, it's just that the renaming of the airport was such a clear example of "Don't they have anything better to do" government abuse that hearing it called that still makes me wince.

[Creg]

A simple solution to all airplane restrictions is siimply to buy your own plane. You own it, and you make the rules.

[Seamus]

"It's not that I have anything against the Gipper, it's just that the renaming of the airport was such a clear example of 'Don't they have anything better to do' government abuse that hearing it called that still makes me wince."

So I guess you still refer to that airport in New York as "Idlewild."

[saw-whet]

A purist would call it the International Airport at Idlewild Golf Course.

[joe]

If we call the baseball team the Gippers, can we start referring to the airport by its given name?