TSA Threepeat and Opt Out No. 4

Business was slow today for the early flight so there was little competition for the TSA Sun Tan Booth so they tagged me again. (Its the lull between the Holidays and Mardi Gras) And I again Opted Out. They don't skip a beat any more when I opt out. The agent manning the magnetometer, the same one who had frisked me last week, said hello and I reminded him that I had told him that I would be back. So, I was frisked again and in 60 seconds I was on my way.

I have to report that I have had no incidents of "inappropriate" frisking. Maybe the guys in NOLa are doing it wrong.

Opt Out No. 3 and Baggage Rants

Monday morning, 5:00 AM, no coffee yet and tagged yet again for a session in the TSA sun tan booth. Nope. Not me. And they call for a "male assist". (Does anyone know why they call a pat down an "assist"? They aren't in any way helping or "assisting" me. In fact, they are infringing my constitutional rights. If someone can tell me, I would like to know the etymology of the phrase.)

Anyway, I'm used to the routine and tell the agent that I'll see him again next week.

And here's another conundrum......Why do people who are either too short or too weak to put their carry on luggage in the overhead bin insist on bringing it into the cabin? Do they naturally assume that some kind traveller will put their bag up for them? Why impose yourself on other people that way? Sure, you save $25 in baggage fees but you aren't sharing that savings with the person who just hefted your bag into the overhead. Acknowledge your limitations and check the d**n bag.

And a final rant......a carry on bag that is stuffed with more s**t than a Christmas goose and won't fit in the overhead bin is, by definition, NOT a carry on bag.

Movie Critique - Get Low

I like Robert Duvall. I like any movie he has been in. He has been acting since 1956 and you can find him anywhere. But his latest movie, Get Low, is one of his best. He plays a hermit that decides to have a "funeral party" that he can attend while he is still alive. As the plot unrolls, you find that he is a much more complex person than you first thought and he had a deep reason for his self imposed exile. His funeral party is the way he has chosen to seek redemption for his past.

Some reviews claim that this movie is a comedy. It is definitely NOT a comedy but a drama with some humerous moments.

If you're a Bill Murray fan, he does a fine job of portraying the greedy funeral director who hopes to make big bucks off of the party. The key roles are rounded out with Lucas Black who always seems to be cast as the county bumpkin and Sissy Spacek playing an old love interest to Duvall's character.

According the IMDB, the movie cost $7,500,000 to make and has grossed a little under $10 mil - not a box office hit. It has been nominated for a couple of low level awards but not any big ones. In short, this is a movie that has missed box office acclaim but is well worth seeing. Check your cable company to see if it's playing or get the DVD when it comes out.

History

On Nov 7, 1938, a Polish Jew, Hershel Grynszpan, shot German diplomat and Nazi Party SA member Ernst vom Rath at the German embassy in Paris. Vom Rath died from his wounds two days later, which also happened to be the 15th anniversary of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, a high holy day in the Nazi Party calendar.

Goebbels, with Hitler’s approval, made an inflammatory anti-Jewish speech at the Munich beer hall that night which resulted in mob violence and Krystalnacht, which is often cited as the beginning of the Holocaust.

Any conclusion you draw between this bit of history and the rants of the far left over the Tucson shootings are your own.

Opt Out No. 2

They tagged me again this AM for the virtual strip search. And again I opted out. When the agent came to do the pat down, he asked me what had alarmed in the screener. I told him that nothing had alarmed, I had opted out. He asked me why. I told him I felt it was a violation of my right to protection from unreasonable search. He shrugged and tried to tell me that you really couldn't see anything anyway. I explained that I wasn't concerned about them "seeing things", but that I saw it as a violation of my constitutional rights.

This agent was nice guy. He even admitted that some agent's badge goes to their heads. I thanked him for his courtesy and told him I might see him next Monday onmy weekly commute to Houston.

He was a good conversationalist. I'm sure he realized very quickly that I was a weekly commuter to Houston and not likely to try to hijack the plane. The TSA would do better using guys like him to do verbal screenings the way they do in Israel.

And today I read that Rep James Clyburn (D-SC) feels that congress critters deserve special treatment at the airport.

“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”

It smacks of just more elitism from our congress critters. The PE says give 'em all an enhanced pat down and see how they like it.

Anticipation

A couple of Christmas gifts:

I will hold one until the other happens and then I will enjoy both.

Royal Lochnagar is a small distillery with about 10 employees. It has been in existence since 1845 and is next to Balmoral Castle.

Tasting notes will have to wait until 2013.

High Praise

Oldest grandson, J, gave me this sweatshirt for Christmas. I consider it the highest praise that one could receive.