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May 23 -- What do sane people sound like in an insane world? Like this.

__May 21, 2012
My second full-body TSA pat-down
A couple weeks ago I wrote about my first full-body TSA pat-down. This is about my second.

I was at Portland International Airport, which travelers routinely rank as the best in the country. The terminal looks like a fine hotel. A fine hotel crawling with TSA blueshirts, that is.

The ratio of blueshirts to travelers was ridiculously high. There were blueshirts everywhere. It looked like an umpires' convention, minus the white canes and seeing-eye dogs.

I'll fast-forward to when I reached Checkpoint Charlie, the point I had clearly left the American sector and where everyone is either felt up or x-rayed as punishment for committing the horrific crime of flying while American.

At Checkpoint Charlie, I told Mr. Checkpoint Blueshirt that I would not be going through the millimeter wave scanner. Talking into his shoulder, he said quietly, "Male assist."

A young, giant (but very soft) blueshirt answered the call. I told him I did not consent to any searches, that any search would be against my will and under duress, and that what he was about to do would be a violation of my Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Talk about seizures — when I finished, he looked as if he was ready to have one.

Now it was his turn to talk into his shoulder. I couldn't hear what he said, but apparently he called for backup because another young, giant (but very soft) blueshirt appeared within seconds. Mr. Backup Blueshirt never did much except stay real close and watch me carefully.

I wondered whether either of them had an inkling what the Fourth Amendment says.

The first young, giant (but very soft) blueshirt — I'll call him Mr. Molester Blueshirt — asked me whether I had anything in my pockets.

"No," I said. "I just emptied them." But as I was saying that, I was also double-checking, and sure enough, I found a tissue. I proceeded to toss it into a nearby waste basket.

As the tissue was floating toward the waste basket, the two blueshirts didn't exactly panic, but they sure snapped to. "No!" they both exclaimed.

Then, with the tone he would have used had Wile E. Coyote tossed a package marked "TNT" into the garbage, Mr. Molester Blueshirt ordered Mr. Backup Blueshirt: "Take that out and check it!"

Read the rest of this post, plus more articles at the Baldy's Bombast page.

_The Blonde takes off the gloves and pounds out hard-hitting commentary on issues of local, national, and global importance.

___January 16, 2012
Louisiana Republican Party Moves to Diminish Louisiana Conservatives Ability To Influence Selection of Nominee; Caucus set for April 28

In an astounding move the Louisiana Republican party has chosen to set the date for the caucus for April 28, long after Super Tuesday, diluting the ability of Louisiana conservatives to select the Republican nominee. The caucus is traditionally held in January, before Super Tuesday on March 6, thus providing Louisiana conservatives with a national stage and the ability to influence the selection of the nominee.

Roger Villere, state chair of the party, confirmed the April date and tried to correlate it with the state's efforts to have the Republican National Committee allow Louisiana seven delegates instead of six.  When asked how this could possibly be good for Louisiana and conservatives, Villere stated that the primary is March 24, but admitted that by then Super Tuesday would be over.

More as this story develops.

[Baldy's unauthorized intrusion into Blondie's column: Is it a coincidence that "Villere" rhymes with "Hillary?" I think not!]

More articles at the Blondie's Bluster page.