Judah wrote:
IMHO the Ryder Truck story ain't it. If you don't believe me, next time you
get pulled over for running a traffic light, call your governor and ask him
to dismiss your case. After all, there is no light at the busy intersection
a few blocks down! That's effectively the same case you are making with the
Ryder Truck, and I think if you took a step back from your emotional
connection to the situation, you would see it is a fairly foolish approach
to making a case for removing the TFRs.

The "Ryder" analogy pertains to relative risk, destructive capacity, and
accessability. A truck is significantly more dangerous in all three of
those areas than a GA aircraft. In fact, the average SUV or minivan is
significantly more dangerous in all three of these areas. So, why haven't
we banned all vehicles from operating within 30 miles of any populated
area?

The "other side of the debate" is the fact that 500 lbs of explosives in a
Cessna is scary to the general public. The TSA seems to believe that their
restrictions make the public feel safer (apparently, regardless of the
ACTUAL effectiveness of the restrictions). I am not intimately familiar
with the methods that the TSA is using to protect the general public from
Ryder Trucks carrying thousands of pounds of explosives, but it would seem
to me that it is only marginally relevent to the argument, and definitely
not a strong argument on its own.

Who, exactly, are they trying to protect? If they're trying to protect
the average citizen in DC, then why aren't they protecting the average
citizen of New York, Chicago, LA, or Iowa City? If the only motive is to
protect individual elected officials, then I contend that a Cessna with
500 lbs of explosives is a very BAD weapon. The pilot would have to know
exactly where the official(s) was, and would have to get relatively close
to them (in aeronautical terms). In addition, our Constitution provides
for the replacement of elected officials in an orderly fashion. It would
be a very unfortunate terrorist attack, but it would do absolutely nothing
to unseat or disrupt our government. Finally, how much of our personal
liberties are we willing to give up for absolute security? By the nature
of living in a free society, we accept some level of risk.

-- Jay

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