Hijackers Say "Thanks, Chuck!"

We're no longer surprised to hear Sen. Chuck Schumer sowing the seeds of panic or putting out calls for more government control and surveillance at his weekly "Look at Me!" press conference. But we do have to wonder why he feels so regularly compelled, not only to tell us what terrorists could do, but to explain to the terrorists themselves exactly how to do it.

In the past, he's described in clear and simple language how to go about poisoning the water supply and smuggling biological and chemical weapons into the city. This past Sunday, he used a series of colorful diagrams to explain, step by step, exactly how a suspected terrorist on the government's watch list could sneak onto a plane undetected. All it takes is an internet connection and a stolen credit card, he says, to duck past those last two checkpoints before boarding a 747. He's now demanding that airports crack down once again, checking picture IDs every step of the way.

Okay, so someone points out this security loophole to Schumer. Our question is, if he's really that worried, why doesn't he quietly take his concerns to the Transportation Security Administration instead of going on television and shouting "Hey! Wanna see how you can do this?" He knows damn well that his step-by-step instructions will not only be shown on the evening news; they'll be reproduced in all the papers Monday morning. While it would take months (at least) for the TSA to implement any new security measures, any would-be hijacker, with Chuck's simple instructions in hand, could sit down at the computer Monday morning and arrange to catch a flight later that afternoon if he wanted.

No, there's just something kind of suspicious about it all. It's almost as if Schumer is aching for someone to take him up on one of these challenges he keeps tossing out there, just so he can stand up at his next press conference and say, "See? I told you this would happen!" And then use it to tighten the screws on us even more.

-Jim Knipfel