Homeland Insecurity

Question: What do the following things have in common?

0) We’ve known about flying planes into buildings for years, but do close to zero about it. Until someone does it, then airport security goes nuts.
1) Someone tries to explode a plane with a shoebomb. From then on, all passengers get their shoes inspected. Oh, but it’s optional for children.
2) Someone tries to explode several planes with some liquid explosives. From then on, no passengers can bring liquids on planes. Except infant formula — since we all know that terrorists would never be so jaded as to use an innocent human life for their own purposes.
3) There is no more protection of chemical plants or ports than there was five years ago.
4) Homeland Security funding to the states is based on congressional seniority, or astrology, or something clearly at odds with empirical reality.
5) More nations are going nuclear than ever before
6) Nuclear materials are still pretty much as easy to get as ever. (John Kerry and George Bush both identified this as their greatest worry in the ’04 debates).
7) Only 40% of Americans accept evolution.

Answer: They’re all incredibly stupid. The last one has nothing to do with this security post, I just find it shocking.

Oh, by the way, did you know that we knew about the liquid gel idea back in 1994? Perhaps the security policy is this:
Figure out or discover a technique by which the bad guys can get us
Take no measures of any kind
Hope that when it is attempted, you stop it in time
If you do, take draconian measures that may or may not stop that technique, but definitely piss off hundreds of millions of other people.

There’s no real point to this post. It’s just remarkable how stupid, corrupt, and ineffective all of our security policies are, and that no one really seems to care that much.