Really? Isn't that why Israeli profiling is not based on race or attire but on how the person acts? What methods have actually shown success, and how easy is it to defeat the TSA's current practices? Just a few things to start the conversation.

The great thing about the new standards is that it really forces the pension issue to the forefront. Californians will still mostly vote for the wrong people two weeks from now - there just isn't time this election cycle for the fiscal reality to sink in -- but hopefully in two years we will elect people who will do something to tackle a lot of our financial woes. It's much less about who will be governor and more about who will be in the legislature.

I absolutely agree, making cuts like these would hurt many people in some professions. But first of all the activities I described are not essential for life - they are pleasurable, and they create a lot of CO2. And second, the Global Warmists are always demanding immediate action, yet they keep supporting plans that will take decades to have any effect on output (I'm not even going into claims of what the impact would be, just the amount of CO2 output). My point is not that these steps should be taken, but that anyone who supports action to rein in GW should be willing to consider them. I have never heard anyone make or consider these suggestions. To me this proves that either they are ignorant of all but what is told to them by their 'prophets' or that they have no interest in actually helping other people, rather in controlling the conversation.

I always felt that if anyone was serious about combating Global Warming, or climate change, or whatever they want to call it, that rather than push programs like Kyoto, which involve years of setting a base (and inviting corruption on a national scale), leading to small improvements and massive individual energy costs, they would support something like:
Eliminate all pleasure boating.
Eliminate all pleasure flying.
Eliminate car races.
Etc., etc.
These are all things that can be implemented immediately, cost nothing to eliminate, lead to immediate CO2 reductions, and don't hurt the poor. I am not proposing these things, but if anyone proposes Cap 'N Trade without giving these ideas any consideration I feel they have outed their elitist roots.

Sherrod's statements clearly showed that she took race into consideration when dealing with someone it was her job to help. It is worthwhile to note that she did assist the family, but that doesn't let her off the hook. The fact that her audience voiced its approval clearly showed that at least several of its members approved of her treating people differently because of race. It was a knee-jerk reaction for Vilsack to demand her resignation within hours rather than put her on leave but that was his choice. That the Obama administration is now reaching out to rehire Sherrod is going to do far more damage to the administration than the video.

To me this carries some similarity to the Comedy Central/Muhammad issue. Despite repeated attempts by the South Park creators to put the image of Muhammad on TV in a very mild way, threats of violence from those opposed led the management to censor the show. While it is a permissible action by a private entity it speaks to the world of the double standard that some accept, and the ensuing activities (including 'Everybody Draw Muhammad Day') help individuals develop their own understanding.

Similarly, we certainly should call for Helen Thomas to be fired for her atrocious and racist statements. Hearst will not do it, largely because it carries similar sentiments, and this sends a message to the world about what they stand for. And hopefully it will lead to a few more people making a decision to move away from those harboring a true hatred which is denied but not hidden, and toward those who are more honest and accepting.