Dallas in two days. And I seem to be getting used to the rough, undignified handling at the airport. The Greatest Generation did a good job of raising us (and we, our children) to be inhabitants of the modern fascist state. Why, we hardly notice as the fog lifts, revealing the walls of the modern police state becoming more and more apparent. We’re good for this.

And the modern police state is never more clearly seen than at the airport. We’re now required travel papers for the shortest trip to Mexico and Canada. But they’ve been required at the airport for quite a while. You can’t get on a plane without a state-approved picture ID.

We take off our shoes with no protest whatsoever, strip off all jackets and coats and sweaters. How long is it going to be before we accept the necessity of strip and cavity searches as well? Perhaps some unglued or strangely motivated person will figure out a way to insert bombing materials into themselves in a way not detectable otherwise. One guy with C3 in his shoes got everybody’s shoes off.