Another Plot Diverted

News broke yesterday of a plot to use liquid explosives to blow up planes bound for the United States. Thankfully, due to the diligence of US and British intelligence and (ultimately) the grace & protection of God, this diabolical scheme was thwarted and resulted in the arrest of 24 people connected to this conspiracy in Great Britain. There is word today that there are signs of this group's connection to al-Qaida.

Surprise, surprise.

Travel warnings were issued, the color codes raised (the US code went from "yellow" to "orange" for all domestic and international flights) and immediate bans on all carry-on liquids were put in place. The list of banned items included:

all carry-on beverages
shampoo
suntan lotions & oils
creams
toothpastes
hair gels
contact lens solution
wine
all items of similar consistency to the above mentioned items.

You CAN still bring on baby formula and essential medication (like insulin) as long as it's name matches the name on the passenger's ticket.

Every news channel and nightly news program was reporting yesterday's events and many were taking every chance they could to sensationalize the whole thing. What astounded me was how some people who were being made to disgard their newly banned items (ie: bottled waters, sodas, makeup, etc) were actuall GRIPING about it.

One woman stood over the large waste bucket, almost crying because she had to dump out her purse full of makeup products. She bellowed as loud as she could, to anyone who happened to look her way

"It's not like they make bombs out of mascara."

(Sighs)

You know, the airlines and the government are TRYING to help keep people safe and how some people can find the time to gripe even during the most heightened, stressed out events is beyond me. Some security guard should have gone over, got right in her face and told her how terrorists are much smarter than McGuyver and could probably make a detonation device out of gum wrappers.

And, that she'd do well to be quiet and quit adding to the chaos.

What a selfish, self-centered, me-first society we live in. God forbid our officials do what they can to keep us safe because I just spent $150 on my high fallootin' snooty tunes brand of makeup.

Truth be known, I'd fly with a shirt & shorts if it meant I was getting where I needed to go safley. And while we're talking about the truth here...

I don't think her high fashion makeup was doing much to improve the sneer lines around her mouth. The term "persimmon" comes to mind.

I've always found it odd that you can buy a drink at the commisary and walk on the plane with it, without anyone checking it out. Perhaps they do in bigger airports but the family & I got on a plane here at XNA, each of us carrying a bottle of Ozark water and no one even looked at us twice. To me, banning all liquids and foods that haven't passed through some sort of airline check off only increases the odds of me getting where I need to go much sooner and smoother.

BTW, does it strike anyone as odd that "bottles of wine" were added to the list of banned items??? I know when we got married we had a complimentary glass of champagne on board (my mom-in-law was a former American Airlines stewardess and got us bumped up to first class to Cancun...ahhh, the good life) but it was from bottles the airlines already had on board. I sure hope that especially in this day & age, people aren't staggering onto flights with a bottle of Dom Perignon in their hand.

Hey, you've already spent $300 on the plane ticket. Put aside another $25, stop by Wal-Mart when you get wherever you need to be, buy a bunch of travel sized toiletries and move on.

There are far bigger things in this world to get all bent out of shape over than whether or not you can bring you Revlon eye liner on board with you.

And yet...the war continues. Keep our soldiers and intelligence agencies in your prayers for guidance, leadership, knowledge and protection from terrorist plots.