A new record for stupidity in the "Global War on Terror"

All right, I am biased. The most egregious empty-symbolism measures to "protect" Americans often involve aviation -- because airplanes attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, because airplanes scare many people, and because the inconvenienced community of aviation enthusiasts is so small. Because tens of millions of people take commercial airline flights, some sanity eventually returns to TSA airline-screening rules. For example: allowing tiny tubes of toothpaste or hand cream back onto flights. The measures that affect small-plane travel tend to get stuck at their lunatic extreme, since so few people are exposed to them and see how nutty they actually are. When I was flying in the United States, I was one of that small number; that's why I'm biased.

I had thought that the rules for "defense" of Washington DC airspace against small planes set the standard in foolishness. But we have a new winner.

The state of Ohio has changed the registration form airplane owners must fill out each year. Starting this month, to renew their registration they must fill out a "Declaration Regarding Material Assistance/Non Assistance to a Terrorist Organization," or DMA. This involves, among other steps, looking through this encyclopedic list of terrorist organizations -- al Qa'ida, Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, Communist Party of Nepal -- and certifying that the airplane owner does not belong to them or support them. (One of many intriguing items on the terrorist list is "The Pentagon Gang." Hmmmm. Maybe a student of the works of Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, and so on was in charge of composing the list?)

Let's think about this for one second. You are planning to use an airplane for an attack and... this affadavit stops you??? The "has your baggage been under your control at all times?" question was finally laughed out existence because of its obvious pointlessness. ("Yes, it has -- except for that hour when my co-conspirator was placing the bomb in the bag.") This affidavit would be guffawed away if the owners of cars, or busses, or trucks, or vans had to sign - which they don't, even though these are the vehicles of choice for delivering bombs everywhere from Oklahoma City to Baghdad. (On the other hand, many job candidates in Ohio do have to sign.)

The national small-plane owners' lobby, AOPA, has protested the rules. (I don't like the AOPA's NRA-style absolutist stand against small-plane owners every paying any fee for any government service, but because they stand up against insanity like this I'm happy to keep paying my dues.) This Ohio pilot has also weighed in. And of course the real villains here are the bonehead Ohio legislators who passed the DMA rules in the first place, as part of the state's "Homeland Security Act" last year. The bill passed the Ohio Senate 32-0! I think I will not include this in episode in the speech about the glories of democracy that I give to my Chinese friends.