Scout was thrilled when I rolled out of bed today at 4am. My wife, well, not so much -- ordinarily she doesn't get up 'til 5am.
By that time I was on the road, headed for our county airport to shoot a hot-air balloon launch. It'd been quite a while, maybe 15 years, since I'd photographed balloons, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it.
Bright colors and early-morning light make for a rewarding shoot, for sure, but it's the people I've missed. They're always so accommodating, so warm, so real -- and that makes it fun. I really need to do this more often.
A recent CBS News poll brings us both good and bad news.
The good news is that 81% of those surveyed said that airports should use full-body scanners to aid air-travel security. Respondents' answers, overall, differed somewhat by political ideology -- 83% of self-identified Republicans approve of the scans, along with 81% of Democrats and 78% of independents.
The bad news, sort of, is that 52% of those surveyed said that air travelers "of certain racial or ethnic groups...[should not] be subject to additional security checks." Broken down by political affiliation, Democrats were the only group with a majority (64%) declaring that racial and ethnic profiling aren't justified. A plurality of independents (47%) also disapproves of profiling, while a slight plurality of Republicans (46%) said that it's justified.
I'm a bit concerned that the results of the second question reflect our national discomfort with any kind of profiling. If the TSA and its counterparts profile only by race or ethnicity -- which is, specifically, what the CBS News poll asked -- that would be a bad thing from a security standpoint.
Fortunately, I can conclude this post with more good news -- for the last seven years the TSA has been conducting what's called "behavioral profiling," a comprehensive and proven technique for identifying high-risk actors before they act.
To explain why, I'll begin with the now-familiar threat uttered last week by a 31-year-old software programmer:
"If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested."
And these are the words of Benjamin Franklin:
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
I've heard the latter used to defend the former. That, in my opinion, demonstrates both a lack of common sense and a misunderstanding of liberty.
It seems pretty simple to me. The more inventive the terrorists become -- secreting IEDs in shoes or underwear, for example -- the more invasive our security measures must be. Profiling must be more aggressive. Random searches (not triggered by profiling) must be more frequent and less predictable.
Right now, air-travel security involves long lines and big hassles, scanners that can see our nether parts and, if required, pat-downs during which a gloved, uniformed stranger touches those parts. If we want to keep airplanes from falling out of the sky, that's (part of) what has to be done. It is what it is.
Some claim that the scans violate personal privacy and that the pat-downs are a form of sexual assault. While I'll grant that exposing our bodies to x-ray vision might tread on some folks' fragile sensibilities, we do not have a fundamental right to shield ourselves from a measure intended to facilitate the security of a commercial aircraft.
The contention that a security agent's touching of breasts, buttocks and genitals is tantamount to criminal sexual assault -- or even sexual in nature -- is patently absurd. There's neither sexual purpose nor criminal intent.
In support of current security measures, it's become cliché to say that flying is "a privilege, not a right." That misses the mark, I think.
Traveling by air isn't a privilege -- it's a choice.
When we choose to fly we accept the inconvenience of security checkpoints and, if it's our unlucky day, the embarrassment of a full-body scan or a pat-down. We live in a dangerous and uncertain world. Air-travel security is not a violation of our liberties.
Touch my junk, please.
I understand that none of that explains why I choose not to fly.
It's not because I believe that air travel somehow should be made completely safe. The Transportation Security Administration, along with private-sector screeners employed at 16 U.S. airports, overall are doing a thankless job as well as they can under the circumstances.
I can accept (and until now have accepted) a certain degree of risk. That risk is about to rise to a level which I'm unwilling to assume.
Next Wednesday, arguably among the year's busiest at U.S. airports, is National Opt-Out Day:
"It's the day ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, stand up for liberty, and protest the federal government's desire to virtually strip us naked or submit to an 'enhanced pat down' that touches people's breasts and genitals in an aggressive manner. You should never have to explain to your children, 'Remember that no stranger can touch or see your private area, unless it's a government employee, then it's OK.'"
"You have the right to opt-out of the naked body scanner machines.... All you have to do is say 'I opt out' when they tell you to go through one of the machines. You will then be given an 'enhanced' pat down."
"The government should not have the ability to virtually strip search anyone it wants without cause. The problem has been compounded in that if you do not want to go through the body scanner, the TSA has made the alternative perhaps even worse by instituting 'enhanced' pat downs. ... We do not believe the government has a right to see you naked or aggressively touch you just because you bought an airline ticket."
Yes, it's silly. In spite of that -- or perhaps because of it -- Rep. Ron Paul (natch) has introduced the American Traveler Dignity Act:
"Mr. Speaker, today I introduce legislation to protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse by federal [TSA] employees conducting screenings at the nation’s airports. ...I hope we can pass this legislation and protect Americans from harm and humiliation when they choose to travel."
I predict that in a society infected by political correctness and misguided anti-government sentiment, protests against invasive security measures ultimately will succeed. Even if Paul's or similarly inane legislation fails, TSA reflexively will dial back its screenings and searches -- count on it.
In a perversion of liberty, sensibilities will triumph over security. The risk of traveling by air will increase.
Somewhere -- probably within our own borders -- the terrorists are laughing at us.
I can't pronounce it, either, but I don't need to speak Icelandic to take its lessons.
This sub-Arctic volcano began trembling its warnings in mid-2009, erupting briefly a month ago before quieting until April 14th, when it unleashed a plume of ash that's still disrupting air travel worldwide.
We know all that, of course. What's worth watching are the effects of this natural phenomenon -- or, to be more accurate, our responses to its effects.
There's volcanic activity across the globe and eruptions are inevitable. We're familiar with the behavior of jet streams and surface winds. It's common knowledge that aircraft must avoid flying through volcanic ash, lest engines seize and planes crash.
With only that basic information, then, we can predict that when a volcano erupts -- whether it's in Iceland, Chile, the Philippines or Wyoming -- its effects can spread well beyond the surrounding area and air travel could take a hit. Contingency plans are in order. The question is, where are those plans now?
Judging by the last seven days, it looks like commercial carriers were caught flat-footed. And since volcanoes don't play favorites, I find myself wondering how air forces based in Europe planned for this -- thousands of military aircraft are grounded, too.
I haven't heard that question asked, much less answered.
Eyjafjallajökull will keep erupting as long as it wants to -- nothing can be done about that. While the world watches the scenario play out, however, individuals can go to school on a matter having little to do with volcanology.
There's truly no excuse for airlines treating Eyjafjallajökull like a passing thunderstorm. And if they have no plan for dealing with hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded because a volcano is erupting in Iceland, it's reasonable to predict that they haven't planned for the effects of war, unrest, fuel shortages or much else.That's disturbing, sure, but let's bring the lessons close to home.All disasters ultimately are local, even personal. It's up to each of us to identify the threats, predict disruptions and prepare to survive in their wake.As important as it is to catalog threats, causes matter less than our ability to execute individual plans. We can't rely on government, commercial interests, military or law enforcement to be our salvation -- or, for that matter, our backstop. If we're without water, a reliable food supply, shelter or the ability to travel, we must presume that we'll be on our own.Waiting 'til after the SHTF to spot threats and hatch plans, like the airlines are doing, is a recipe for failure. Prepare now -- no excuses.
Columbus, Ohio (2007)
Somewhere over West Virginia (2006)
My earliest memory is of an airplane ride.I remember flying to Florida with my family aboard a TWA Lockheed Constellation at the age of two-and-a-half. A few years later, I made the first of many trips to the observation deck at Akron-Canton Airport, where I spent hours watching planes take off and land and learning to love the smell of jet exhaust. I used to beg a local farmer to take me up in the Cessna he kept in his barn. I pored over books about air combat and collected pictures of aircraft of all kinds.
I never did fulfill my dream of becoming a pilot. I don't even travel by air that much anymore. But I still love flying machines -- so when our county airport hosts its modest air show every August, I'm there.Under this morning's brilliant sky, my wife and I made the short drive to the air field. We spent the first couple of hours strolling the flight line, ogling and photographing mostly vintage aircraft.
Big-band music played over the public-address system. Silver-haired men in crisp uniforms patiently answered questions about their planes. Older men leaned on canes, staring silently at this plane or that, lost in their memories.
After the presentation of colors and a tribute to our nation's fallen warriors, the show took to the skies. A pair of barnstormers thrilled the crowd with their aerobatics, followed by a wing-walker and, of all things, an evil-looking Mig-17. A KC-135 tanker from the nearby Air National Guard base pinned our ears back with a 300-knot pass low over the field, followed by a stunning demo by an F-16.
Then, as a P-51 roared skyward to join the F-16, my wife and I looked at each other and smiled. We knew what was next: the USAF Heritage Flight.It wasn't the first time we'd watched this moving aerial tribute -- the Mustang and the Falcon, a pair of warbirds separated by two generations, flying wingtip-to-wingtip. As they passed low over our heads, goosebumps became tears of pride. It happens every time.I'm a patriot with a pulse -- no apologies. If you don't understand, I won't be able to explain it to you.Today's show came to a close with a "V for Victory" pass by a B-25 and six T-6s. Spectacular.A lot of years have gone by since my first ride on that Constellation, but deep-down, I'm still just a kid who loves airplanes.
By that time I was on the road, headed for our county airport to shoot a hot-air balloon launch. It'd been quite a while, maybe 15 years, since I'd photographed balloons, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it.
Right now, air-travel security involves long lines and big hassles, scanners that can see our nether parts and, if required, pat-downs during which a gloved, uniformed stranger touches those parts. If we want to keep airplanes from falling out of the sky, that's (part of) what has to be done. It is what it is.
This sub-Arctic volcano began trembling its warnings in mid-2009, erupting briefly a month ago before quieting until April 14th, when it unleashed a plume of ash that's still disrupting air travel worldwide.
With only that basic information, then, we can predict that when a volcano erupts -- whether it's in Iceland, Chile, the Philippines or Wyoming -- its effects can spread well beyond the surrounding area and air travel could take a hit. Contingency plans are in order. The question is, where are those plans now?
My earliest memory is of an airplane ride.
I never did fulfill my dream of becoming a pilot. I don't even travel by air that much anymore. But I still love flying machines -- so when our county airport hosts its modest air show every August, I'm there.
Big-band music played over the public-address system. Silver-haired men in crisp uniforms patiently answered questions about their planes. Older men leaned on canes, staring silently at this plane or that, lost in their memories.
After the presentation of colors and a tribute to our nation's fallen warriors, the show took to the skies. A pair of barnstormers thrilled the crowd with their aerobatics, followed by a wing-walker and, of all things, an evil-looking Mig-17. A KC-135 tanker from the nearby Air National Guard base pinned our ears back with a 300-knot pass low over the field, followed by a stunning demo by an F-16.
Then, as a P-51 roared skyward to join the F-16, my wife and I looked at each other and smiled. We knew what was next: the USAF Heritage Flight.
