It’s been easy for me to have given the benefit of doubt to US TSA folks in their efforts to keep US flying passengers safe. They have in some ways an impossible job. And, being spoiled with private aviation, I am unlikely to be subjected to the full monty of the TSA any time soon.

But stories like this one and this one and this one make one wonder just what the end game is here. How much are people expected to put up with, before throwing their hands up, and giving up on commercial air travel? (Only an aggressive few may ever sue.)

Then it struck me. Perhaps people giving up on commercial air travel is a not-unfavourable outcome, as far as the current US federal government is concerned. After all, it would cut down on flying, which would cut down on flights, which would cut down on fuel consumption. Wouldn’t that be a simply splendid counter-manoeuvre to the failure of efforts to curteil that horrible CO2 gas?