Reporting All But The Key Facts

They've arrested a guy at Orlando Airport before he could get on a plane with bomb-making materials, and that's great. It's just the reporting that's lacking. Here's the account from a local TV station:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Jamaican man behavior specialists spotted acting suspiciously was detained and arrested after components used to make pipe bombs, unknown liquids and bomb-making literature were found in his luggage at Orlando International Airport. ...

The passenger, who the FBI identified as Kevin Brown, 32, was immediately taken into custody and a portion of the Terminal A in front of Virgin Atlantic was closed to passengers.

During a search of Brown's luggage, airport authorities found two galvanized pipes, end caps, two small containers containing BBs, batteries, two containers with an unknown liquid and bombing making literature, FBI officials said.

It goes on, but that's the gist of it. What's missing? Two things.

First, a description of the literature would be more than nice. Was it "Blowing Up Airplanes for Dummies" -- as implied but not clarified by the reference to "bomb-making literature" in the lead, or was it more sinister -- a some psycho rant he was working on ... or jihadist literature? Inquiring minds want to know.

One might -- might, mind you, given the quality of reporting nowadays -- assume the reporter would ask. If he or she did, then either the cops weren't talking or the editor cut it. Either is all right if the motivation is to protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation, but if the motivation is to protect Muslim sensitivities, then heads should roll.

Figuratively, of course. This is America, not Saudi Arabia or Iran.

Second, where exactly was that luggage when it was searched? If it was in checked-in baggage, it's much less significant than if it was in his carry-on baggage. The latter means his intent might have been to blow up that plane, and that TSA security was severely lacking.

The account tells us nothing, evidence of a level of reporting one could expect from an 8th grader. The accompanying flash slide show, however, shows a photo of the man seated on a curb outside the airport with a bomb squad person next to him apparently checking the contents of a bag. The caption reads:

When the person's bag was checked, it was found to have prohibitive [sic] materials inside, officials said. There was no word what was inside the bag.

Yet the lead says "components used to make pipe bombs, unknown liquids and bomb-making literature" were found in the bag. So was it in the carry-on? This story is so confusing!

I would be remiss if I didn't pass on the humor of the story. Remember, this guy was captured after "behavior specialists" spotted him "acting suspiciously." Way to go, TSA, having behavior specialists at the ready to defend the homeland. Except, a few paragraphs down the story says:

Passengers waiting to board flights at Orlando International Airport Tuesday said they noticed Brown acting suspiciously before agents moved in.

"He looked rather crazy," a passenger said. "He was rocking left and right and up and down. He looked a little wacko."

That could be a nervous man, a Muslim in prayer, or a person with a mental illness -- but it's hardly behavior that requires a behavior specialist to observe and act on.

Zero Tolerance Nuts Nab Flour Terrorists

Never trust a government too stupid to stop itself and too rigid to bend. Never expect wisdom from perpetrators of zero tolerance. Case in point:

Charges have been dropped against two siblings who inadvertently caused a bioterrorism scare when they sprinkled flour in a parking lot to mark a trail for their offbeat running club.

New Haven ophthalmologist Daniel Salchow, 36, and his sister, Dorothee, 31, who was visiting from Hamburg, Germany, had been charged with first-degree breach of peace, a felony....

The siblings set off the scare while organizing a run for a local chapter of the Hash House Harriers, a worldwide group that bills itself as a "drinking club with a running problem."

"Hares" are given the task of marking a trail to direct runners, throwing in some dead ends and forks as challenges. In August, the Salchows decided to route runners through an IKEA furniture store parking lot.

Police fielded a call that someone was sprinkling powder on the ground. The store was evacuated and remained closed the rest of the night. The incident prompted a massive response from police in New Haven and surrounding towns. (source)

Sure, it was a classic war on terror over-reaction, but ultimmately the courts let them walk, so where is the zero tolerance, you ask? Glad you did:

The charges were dropped Thursday after Daniel Salchow agreed he and his sister would donate $4,000 to local charities. Prosecutors could reopen the case if the Salchows do the same thing again in the next 13 months.

The two never set out to scare anyone, had a perfect excuse and did no harm -- yet they had to pay a penalty and risk reopening of a lame no-count non-case against them.

As tip-off agent extraordinaire Jim put it, Oh Lord!

National Security Just Too Tough For DMV

Department of Motor Vehicle bureaucrats -- those who by their very existence define the limits of bureaucratic incompetence -- from Western states told Department of Homeland Security officials yesterday that they just can't get their act together to help with new secure drivers licences.

Yeah, it would be nice to be able to really know who's who and maybe keep the next round of 9/11 hijackers from assuming false identities, but the paperwork involved is just too much for the DMV.

"In the absence of federal funding, Homeland Security needs to extend the (implementation) period, which will minimize the impact on the public as well as reduce the tremendous fiscal burden on the states," said Ginny Lewis, director of the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles. (source)

All Homeland Security is asking the DMVs to do is to check a birth certificate or similar ID before issuing a drivers license. But it's just too much to ask of these overburdened and overworked servants of the public.

Meanwhile, the hearing yesterday was interrupted by these crazies, who seem to have figured out that an un-jiggerable national ID system might make it harder for illegals to misrepresent who they are. Can't have that. Might get in the way of scamming citizens and defrauding the government.

The ACLU joined these ID-iots and went on about infringement of privacy rights ... as if we care whether al Qaeda agents are duly protected or not.

Their view is all part and parcel of the Lib tendency to view terrorism as a legal problem and illegal immigration as no problem at all. We can excuse them because they were born without enough brain cells.

Unexcused are the DMV whiners. Shut up and serve the people!

Pelosi: Security Comes Second; Money Comes First

Friday is "news I'd rather not deal with" day, the day that's reserved for nasty stuff, on the supposition less people read Saturday papers and Friday night blogs. Following this time-honored tradition, Pelosi will try later today to sneak out a real zinger:

Rep. William Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat who's facing an ongoing federal corruption probe, is being granted a spot on the Homeland Security Committee, according to Democratic aides.

The appointment will be announced Friday, according to one aide who requested anonymity because the decision isn't yet official. (WaPo)

Here's the really juicy stuff:

Jefferson was removed from his seat on the Ways and Means Committee, one of the most important panels in Congress, by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi(Calif.) last summer in an attempt to show how seriously Democrats viewed the allegations of corruption.

Honestly, I can see why you wouldn't want a guy who stashes cash in his freezer on Ways and Means -- but do you want a bribe-taker on Homeland Security? (Note: Add "alleged" as you see fit.) Pelosi is signalling that security is not as important as controlling the money, and that Dem condemnation of corruption is merely symbolic.

Pelosi's "leadership" continues to flounder and fail, as Dem leadership must. The Gordian knot of intertwined and competing interests that is cobbled together into the Democratic Party is simply not manageable, even for someone of Pelosi's considerable political skills.

hat-tip: Gun Toting Liberal via RCP Reader Articles