The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

En Route to Des Moines

Posted on | August 3, 2011 | 12 Comments

REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT, Washington, D.C.
We had passed through the security checkpoint and were waiting for our belongings to come through the X-ray scanner. And waiting.

And waiting.

Our carry-ons and other personal items weren’t coming through. There was a flurry of activity involving the TSA agent in charge of security at Terminal A, who summoned a supervisor. To one of the ladies waiting with me, I remarked: “Another reason to hate terrorists.”

That’s what I always say in such moments, because I hate the extra hassles of security screenings, and I remember who’s to blame. And now I was enduring just another routine hassle of traveling in the post-9/11 era — or so I thought, until another of the ladies waiting said, “See the guy in the red tie? He’s one of the biggest imams in the area.”

Really? “Yeah,” she said. “He’s on the news all the time.”

And so our bags were stalled in the X-ray queue while the TSA assembled a team to escort the imam through extra security procedures. Finally, the X-ray conveyer started rolling again. I grabbed my laptop, shoved it in my backpack, and put my coat, shoes and hat on again. Just as I was about to get moving, the security agents escorted the imam past me. I looked at him and smiled. He smiled back sheepishly and said in clear but accented English: “Special treatment.”

Not the sort of special treatment one envies. He was obviously deemed a security risk and, you might say, “profiled.” Unfortunate perhaps, but certainly not my fault.

So I went to the cocktail lounge and had a reuben sandwich, chips and a Bloody Mary. Just hope that imam isn’t going to Iowa.


The National Desk, at the bar of the airport lounge, 11:30 a.m.





Category: Fear and Loathing in Iowa

Comments

12 Responses to “En Route to Des Moines”

  1. Mike
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 4:31 pm

    Nothing like a good Reuben sandwich, sans thousand island, I like mine with spicy mustard. Good luck on your trip.

  2. Adjoran
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 5:03 pm

    While remembering who is to blame for the delays, ask yourself how many terrorist attacks TSA screening has prevented.  Hint:  you can count them on your fingers while holding your Bloody Mary in one hand and the Reuben sandwich in the other.  Same thing for the number of “imams” who have perpetrated terror attacks – they tend to inspire others to do the messy work while they make solemn statements about how peaceful their religion is.

    But, dammit, we’ve built a system that can 100% prevent terror attacks by 6 year old kids or 90 year old invalid grandmothers.

  3. Dell Hill
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 5:24 pm

     Hey…Don’t be so sure about those six year olds, they can be serious trouble.  And granny has been known to hide weapons of mass destruction in her Depends.  Stopping these damned terrorists is hard.

  4. smitty
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 5:49 pm

    Where is the obituary for that septic disaster by which your previous laptop was alluded to, with traumatized shudders, by all who passed closer than two feet to it?

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  6. Donald Douglas
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 7:07 pm

    Go McCain!!

  7. Mark A
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 8:50 pm

    A Puff Piece about the TSA??  Big Brother have you a little paranoid?  Either that, or you had more than one bloody-mary.

  8. Vermontaigne
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 11:49 pm

    Just don’t let Dan Riehl find out what kind of sandwich you ate.

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