"David Nelson, You Have A Call from Mr. bin Laden ..."

I wrote about this a while back. We have a "no fly" list; people who aren't allowed on airplanes for any reason. We also have a much longer list of people who are allowed to fly only after an absurd amount of hassle. Supposedly, this is "for security reasons", but nobody will say who's on the list or why. There's no way to get off of it. It's an observational fact, however, that some people get hassled beyond any point of sense.

David Nelson, for example. Which "David Nelson"? After all, "David" and "Nelson" are both common names. Why, all of them, of course. If your name is David Nelson, you must be a Bad Guy. What kind of Bad Guy? Can't tell you, but we sure can't let you on an airplane without harassing you.

If your name is David Nelson, I'd seriously recommend checking into some good fake ID. It's completely legal unless you intend to commit fraud or tax evasion with it.

I see this stuff and remember "The Lottery", by Shirley Jackson. We have to have a show. Somebody has to be selected at random and torn apart for no other reason than to show the Power of the State.

Brrrr.