Washington, city of white light and glowing stone.  ¶ 20:16

  This is amazing to me. The computer lookout system failed... and passenger processing at Los Angeles International Airport stopped dead in its tracks.

I don't remember what we used to do in the olden days when the computers crashed, but one thing is for sure: I'm really glad I don't have a job in DHS Public Affairs.  ¶ 19:05

  "Buddhist Vigilante Squads" -- those aren't words you hear every day.

I didn't read the article, but I'm guessing Richard Gere is looking to make a come-back as an action hero.  ¶ 21:39

  Purple Motes, a website written by another actual bureaucrat, has been hosting a Carnival of the Bureaucrats for quite some time now. I seem to have missed the original memo.  ¶ 21:31

  U.S. laws may soon create big headaches for U.S. travelers. We will not rest until the country is safe from tourism! And it seems to be working.

I'm not going to comment on this law specifically, but as a citizen I am concerned about the number of things being done in the name of "security". It's not just government, although I really don't like the whole airport routine. The last time I was on a plane they made an announcement at the beginning of the flight about how people should use the bathrooms in their own cabin because of the airline's security policy. What was that all about? Why can't they just tell people that if they want to use the first class toilet, they need a first class ticket?

There is always going to be risk to life, but sometimes I wonder whether our lawmakers are going to have us all encased in Lucite to prevent us from coming to any harm.  ¶ 20:54

  Good news in the paper about my retirement plan. It's solvent, and it's growing. Still, the average balance of $160,000 doesn't seem like a whole lot when you're looking at spreading that out over twenty or thirty years.

At least if Social Security is still around, it will be enough to supplement the TSP and let me splurge and buy the gourmet cat food every now and again.  ¶ 07:00