Gangster government, TSA edition

Michael Barone first noted the pattern of what he dubbed “gangster government” practiced by the Obama administration. Barone’s formulation is a powerful metaphor for the excesses that have become characteristic of the administration, but today’s installment, featured on Drudge, is something very like the real thing:

An airline pilot is being disciplined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for posting video on YouTube pointing out what he believes are serious flaws in airport security. . . . The YouTube videos, posted Nov. 28, show what the pilot calls the irony of flight crews being forced to go through TSA screening while ground crew who service the aircraft are able to access secure areas simply by swiping a card. . . . Video shot in the cockpit shows a medieval-looking rescue ax available on the flight deck after the pilots have gone through the metal detectors. “I would say a two-foot crash ax looks a lot more formidable than a box cutter,” the pilot remarked.

I think the pilot might really have cranked Janet Napolitano with this observation: “As you can see, airport security is kind of a farce. It’s only smoke and mirrors so you people believe there is actually something going on here.”
Three days after he posted his critical video clips on YouTube, four federal air marshals and two sheriff’s deputies arrived at the pilot’s house to confiscate his federally-issued firearm. At the same time as the federal marshals took the pilot’s gun, a deputy sheriff asked him to surrender his state-issued permit to carry a concealed weapon. The pilot’s attorney, not unreasonably, said he believed the federal government sent the posse to the pilot’s house in order to send a message.
The Sacramento station with the story has posted the video below. As for the folks running the show in the Obama administration, you have to wonder who these people think they are. It’s a question that applies to several cabinet officers and administrative agencies and goes right to the top of the administration.

Via Instapundit.
UPDATE: Allahpundit offers a more cautious take.

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