A Ray of Hope

[libertarianhawk]

Conor Friedersdorf writes in the Atlantic:

Passengers, not screening personnel, stopped the shoe bomber and that guy who lit his underwear on fire. But air travelers are never explicitly told to fight if necessary. Nor are volunteers trained to function as something between a neighborhood watch program and a mile high national guard. We rely on surprisingly costly air marshals when with a little effort, a percentage of the traveling public might be persuaded to undergo training. Certainly they would've done so if asked by the president shortly after the September 11 attacks.

A liberal columnist in a liberal magazine denouncing the TSA (not shocking) and advocating a decentralized alternative giving power to individuals (wow). I've always favored the militia as the best defense against terrorists, in airplanes and elsewhere. Seeing the idea pop up elsewhere gives me hope we may actually manage to get the TSA back under control.

Meanwhile, my kids return from their summer visit to New York this week . . . by train.