Airport Gropes

“layers in the security system”

On Point from the O-Club Thing From Snowy Mountain Thought for the day on the TSA kerfluffle: What people were willing to tolerate when it was perceived of being a _layer_ in a security system they are less willing to tolerate when it is sold as _the_ layer in a security system. Pappy they are less willing to tolerate when it is sold as _the_ layer in a security system 1. It's the visible layer in the security system. Nobody sees the intel work, the drones, the prisoners at Gitmo, or the law-enforcement grind (like chasing money-trails). Few pay, or want to pay, attention to the wars or side-fights (like Mali) that have kept the jihadis off balance. 2. They are less willing to tolerate because it's been nine years since they were really shocked and terrified. The bodies are buried, the names are forgotten, the ash and debris carted away. There hasn't been a successful attack since then due to luck and/or lots of effort. 3. Now they're just terrified, for other reasons. There's no one concrete thing they can strike out at. Congress is too far away. The banks are too big. There's no one thing they could focus their ire on. Until now.