Remember those colorful hometown alert flags? More fear for folk

Personally, I though it all smelled a bit cheesy from the beginning...

According to the TSA bulletin, her checked bags contained two ice packs wrapped in duct tape, and filled with clay -- not the normal blue gel used to keep items cold.

Weiss, who is Jewish, was carrying a report on Muslim Americans because she works to promote interfaith understanding. Weiss said she had the ice to treat a bad back from a childhood injury.

"I was astonished when the San Diego people … had a problem with this," Weiss said, "because I have been traveling with these for 20 years and never had a problem before 9/11 and after 9/11, never had a problem."

She said the ice packs did not have duct tape, but that she had been using them for close to two decades and she used clear tape to repair holes on them. "After 15 years there were a lot of pieces of tape on my ice packs," she said.

You know, the funny thing is I suspect most people don't really understand terrorism. How it works:

Try to think like somebody who wanted to do the most with the least. They don't have to plan Attack One post-9/11 if they can get their opponent to overreact and let their simple deed throw off our gameplan.

If you have faith in the Constitution and the American people, you don't go off half-cocked and bring more troubles upon yourself than the other little guy ever could hope to inflict himself.

Because that, friends, is exactly how the post 9/11 game is being played out.

And my eyesight is still very keen.