So it's like this:

Obama is a secret muslim but he's also the president. And there are shootings every day and Wayne laPierre says that if more people were armed there'd be fewer shootings. And it's virtually impossible to buy a backpack or purse these days without it coming with two or three pockets for concealed carry (try it! You'll be amazed!) and the things are cheaper than power tools. So you succumb to Mitzi's peer pressure and you go for the two-hour training session and you get your concealed carry permit and you put a ".380" whatever that is in that compartment of your purse that you couldn't not buy and while your purse is a little heavier than it should be you have to admit that the heft is kind of reassuring and then when momma had the stroke and you had to put the dog in the kennel and move the duct cleaning and put your mail on hold and that last minute thing with Joe came up and the airport shuttle was late and you barely made it to the gate on time and you remembered to empty out your water bottle but

goddamn it

there's a reason your bag feels reassuringly heavy.

The second image also serves to outline the true bullshit of the TSA. Those are trophies, made out of inert cannon rounds, for the Ravens' former offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Note that the gun used to fire those rounds was neither checked nor carry-on as it looks like this:

(hint - it's not the volkswagen)

I feel for Chris 'cuz I had a spent .50 cal pulled out of the desert by buddies on my keychain for fifteen years. Flew with it multiple times a year. Summer of 2011, flew with it multiple times a month. But then one fine day, I had the wrong screener at LAX, and I had it confiscated. No amount of argument over the fact that it was not only part of a bullet but that it had an eyelet soldered onto the back convinced him.

Because fuck the TSA.

Although I may knuckle down and pay the fuckin' $85 for pre-screening. I was planning on coming back every three weeks from LA this season but I just bought a 1-way for $88 so I might be flying more than I intended.