And how does that make any sense? First off, in case you hadn't read the Declaration of Independence, it says that "all men are created equal." As a result, based on the Constitution alone, we all should be protected from unreasonable and unwarranted search and seizure. Secondly, the point you very much miss is that there are individuals (middle-aged Caucasian Catholic men) who would be just as willing to bring harm to America as any other terrorist. So, that's why we have to look at everybody, and not just certain people.

Now, I would argue, that we are going about profiling about the wrong way. Don't profile by culture or race - that would just piss people off. Instead, train the airport employees to be able to psychologically profile individuals. Almost all people (and, in reality, all people) have nervous tics and the like that can give away clues that they are planning on doing something wrong. Someone who is trained in spotting this can pick these people out. If we had highly trained employees to watch for this (ticket agents, airport security guards, etc), everybody else could go about as normal with absolutely no problem, and those few individuals who are displaying psychological signs could be pulled aside for questioning (NOT search until there is more evidence).

Of course, training requires more money than we've put into TSA already...so...that's not likely to happen...

Yes, because cash gives me back 1.25% on all my purchases, and it's safe to carry around >$1,000 (especially where I live). And, you are protected by case in case the computer breaks and you want to return it. And cash gives you an extended warranty.

Yup. Cash is wonderful. /sarcasm, in case you missed it

Wow. That much?

Wow. If that isn't blatant typecasting if I have ever saw it...

Time for a true story...
The night that Obama was elected into office, I was downtown in a major US city. The moment that it was announced, a woman working a local convenience store turned from the TV she was watching and shouted, "Obama is elected! Everything is going to get better now!" Her coworkers cheered. She then proceeded to go back to her TV and cigarettes and not worrying so much about doing a good job. You see, the problem with your typecasting is that it can work both directions. In my case, I saw someone who was relying on another person to fix their life for them. It made me sad, actually. I ended up not even buying what I wanted to get because I just wanted to get out of there.

The fact of the matter is, there are a lot of smart people and a lot of dumb people living in the US, and a lot of people in between. However, we're all just human, and classifying a group of people as you did does nothing to actually solve the problems of this nation that we live in and only exacerbates the divide between political lines.

Or maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to swilling a Bud while I read 1 Corinthians and yell at the driver's on TV (and hope for a good crash).

While posting interesting things may result in pissing someone off, I have learned that insightful posts - ones that really understand the problems at hand - are what really

HEY! You leave the TSA out of this.

News Flash: They already are.

Just because you don't particularly like what Apple is doing, doesn't mean it's not part (a huge part) of the technical community at large.

Hey now.

Microsoft is evil and would never do something good like this.

Get your facts straight.

Ha. Hahahaha. HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA.

Whew. Haha...heh...oooo boy. That was...:: chuckle ::...a good one. Haha.

I do not typically use Apple products - mostly due to their cost factor. (I do like to tinker with my OS, too. To give you an idea, I use Gentoo. And, no, I don't use it so I can rice it. I actually like to learn what it's doing...) Anyway, a friend of mine showed me his new Macbook Pro this weekend. Wow...I am seriously impressed. What a well-designed product. Of course, to get the specs he wanted, he had to pay $2500...I can't afford that. Either way, I definitely see the appeal of the product from a technical standpoint.

I wouldn't say Wii turned out to be a gimmick - it just meets different needs than a 360, for example. The 360 has better games...there is no doubt about that...but it has better games for a specific audience. You wouldn't find my grandmother playing Call of Duty or anything like that, but sit her down and play Mario Party 8, and she has a blast. Just because Wii doesn't fit *your* particular demographic doesn't mean it's a gimmick. (In fact, quite the opposite - the fact that 360 and PS3 are trying to copy Wii's success shows just how well it really was made.)

Actually, this is not true.

The problem with talking and driving is NOT the hands free aspect. The real problem is with the way the human mind works. When you are talking to someone who is physically in your car, your brain does not need to do work to "see" that person. You don't have to imagine what they are doing or how they are looking because they are sitting right next to you. This is true EVEN IF YOU NEVER LOOK AT THEM. When you are on a call phone, part of your brain responsible for visual aspects (AKA looking at the road) is now occupied. That's why you get the "blind driver effect" in which people who have been talking on their phones don't remember driving from point A to point B (or they blackout on parts). So, bluetooth does not do anything to help you overcome this problem.

The other aspect of talking on a cell phone is that the other person can't see what is going on around you. If someone is in a car with you, they can see that traffic has come to a screeching halt, or that someone has cut you off, or whatever the case may be and they can appropriately shut up or say something - fully understanding that you need to focus. The same doesn't happen on the cell phone.

Now, don't get me wrong - I want the government to be hands off. I especially dislike it when they try to solve problems with technology that are better solved through other means. And, other /. posts have pointed out the various areas where there could be problems with having this type of system in place. But, it is very far from the truth to say that bluetooth is a "better alternative."

As others have pointed out, the real solution is using common sense and actually following it.

No no no. There is profiling from a race standpoint - that won't work. There is also profiling from a "watch how a person acts and understand that they may be doing something wrong" standpoint. The second works very well. There's an article about the Israeli system that describes this in detail - I can't find it right now. It is a very effective system. Unfortunately, you have to have train people to be able to profile correctly. This, of course, would be too expensive.

You mean the one that they deliver to my inbox? (People still use paper bills?)

Your comparisons make my head explode.

Are you really saying that The Beates == Mozart == Radiohead? I like all three artists, but they aren't even in the same ballpark when it comes to the level of musicianship.