Greg In The Desert

On Thursday afternoon I was at Sky Harbor airport waiting for a flight from Phoenix to Albuquerque on US Airways. About 15 minutes to the flight boarding I notice everyone watching something on the screen and I can see “breaking news” and “US Airways” displayed. I get closer to hear and it’s the story about some pilots complaining about not having enough fuel.

How exactly is this breaking news? It might be news but it’s hardly breaking news. It’s just more evidence to me of sensationalism by the news network especially since it was broadcast on CNN’s Airport Network.

The girl at the US Airways counter had to make an announcement about the situation to calm everyone that there is enough fuel on the plane. Not that I exactly noticed people panicking.

I’m not taking sides here. I just don’t see an immediate danger that requires over hyping this story. Breaking news might be appropriate if planes were actually crashing due to not enough fuel. This was just stupid.

I don’t watch the news networks and I can barely stand to watch the local news anymore. Thank you Internet for giving me choices for news.

I couldn’t agree more with Alton Brown when he says (June 10th, BTW).

“I?m just saying that people with authority should have to play by a set of rules…published rules. If as a nation we?re going to have to tolerate being probed, scanned, profiled and frisked before we can get on an airplane, so be it. But it seems to me that we deserve a little consistency. Otherwise we open ourselves up to a whole new brand of bully…bullies with badges…not to mention really nice omelet pans.”

(TSA = Transportation Security Administration)

In the year before September 11th, 2001 I was working away from home in California. I flew back and forth for 9 months and got quite familiar with the airport system. I was luck that my assignment was over just before those planes crashed into the towers. At the time I thought it a good idea to turn over security to the feds. I mean, they should be doing for the safety of the citizens instead of for the money (not that “for the money” is a bad thing). Having been through security since then I can think that it is nothing more than a joke. They have random searches of peoples shoes? Give me a break.