Joshi at 120 mph

Ruchir Joshi dropped by Fortress Amerika recently. He had fun at O'Hare:
"...[W]hen I reached into my pocket for my passport, he froze like a Rottweiler about to attack: 'Keep your hands on the counter! It’s not a good idea at all, to take your hands out of my sight!” This, with each and every immigration and customs officer, not to mention the airport security, all porcupined with assorted weaponry. What did the man think I was going to do? Pull out my ceramic AK-56, the one that Heathrow Security had failed to spot, the one that I had failed to use on the flight, and open up on him? Of course, I said none of this out loud and I kept my hands on the counter — after all, there was the small matter of gaining ingress to Fortress Amerika to be kept in mind.
Of course, American paranoia is neither a new phenomenon nor one confined only to the Right-wing. It runs through American society like streaks of fat marbling a slab of meat, from star anarchotics like William Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson to mere ‘inhalers’ like Bill Clinton and his Secret Service to the chair of the Memphis city council who, just few days ago, said he would bring in the anti-bomb squad if a delegation of Iraqi civic leaders (invited by Colin Powell’s state department, no less!) entered his city hall."
I love it when the boy gets into full ranting stride.