An airline pilot publishes a video in which he says, “airport security is kind of a farce. It’s only smoke and mirrors so you people believe there is actually something going on here.” A few days later, four federal agents and two sheriff’s deputies show up at his home. He also lost his right to carry a gun in the airport, as a number of […]
John LaPlante
About John LaPlante
Posts by John LaPlante:
The CFL game
Like Frank Beckman and Nolan Finley, I’ve been buying extra incandescent lightbulbs in anticipation of the day that I won’t be able to buy them at retail establishments. Isn’t it remarkable that it’s come to this? A simple, cheap, and tremendously useful product will disappear from retail shelves–not because there’s a shortage of an essential ingredient, or because someone has come up with a vastly superior […]
The daily grope: TSA failure rate is up to 70 percent
Let’s see now. Citizens should let federal employees grope their private parts at the airport or stand, hands-over-head (criminal suspect style) while subjected to semi-nudie scanners because doing so keeps dangerous materials off planes. Right? Well, a man recently took a loaded pistol onto a flight, missed entirely by the TSA. Here’s the kicker: A person briefed on the latest tests tells ABC News the failure […]
Free Wi-Fi, Courtesy of Corporate Self-interest
Remember the saying, “to the person who has a hammer, everything looks like a nail?” Here’s one application of that in the political world: “If there’s a new, promising service or technology on the horizon, government must get involved to promote it.” We we’ve endured taxes, subsidies, and regulations, all in the name of increasing access to electricity, “green” products (think: Toyota Prius and Chevy Volt), […]
The daily grope: Security checkpoints are not the security cure
If you’re going to take a commercial flight for Christmas, you know the drill by now: limit the toiletries in your carry-on bag to sample-size bottles; throw your water or pop in the trash before you enter the security checkpoint line; take your laptop out of your carry-on; take off your shoes; take off your belt; take off your pants. OK, we’re not quite to […]
Throttling Small Business in Minnesota
There’s a reason why you’re hearing those radio commercials for Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Minnesota is not a great place to start or run a small business, but South Dakota is. That’s the word from the Small Business Survival Committee, which has recently released its annual index of the 50 states. Minnesota comes in at #42 in the country. Are you surprised to learn that the […]
If you want to eliminate “subsidies” for fossil fuels, open ANWR
Here’s something I forgot to mention in my post on subsidies for energy companies: If you want to reduce the amount of subsidies to oil companies, let them drill on U.S. lands, such as ANWR, which are off-limits to them now. Come again? About a fifth of the money that the Environmental Law Institute considers to be subsidies to oil companies are credits due them under […]
How about no subsidies?
In the comments section [of The Michigan View], “Hugh McD” challenges Henry Payne’s assertions that alternative energy sources are uneconomical. McD says that fossil fuels received a $72 billion subsidy over a six-year period. The source of McD’s statement is the Environmental Law Institute, admits that “green” energy gets a lot of green, even by the institute’s standards: $29 billion–and that for energy sources that supply […]
Nail Clippers Don’t Kill People
During the second half of November, I compiled a series of stories about new “security” measures the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has put into place at airports. (You can find an archive of the series, dubbed “The Daily Grope,” here.) Most days, the stories focus on a spcific indignity or misuse of power by the TSA. For this column, I’d like to highlight the TSA’s […]
The Daily Grope: Fourth-Amendment underwear
Do critics of the TSA object to airport security? Hardly; we are pointing out inherent flaws in the status quo government security monopoly. John Fund warns if you think the TSA is badly managed now, just wait until its unionized. Deroy Murdoch calls for being more selective in scanning: “Pre-flight screening has moved from safety to comedy. Before it devolves into tragedy, officials should start profiling terrorists.” […]