I feel so much safer

I’m getting on an airplane today.

It’s only my second flight since Sept. 11.

But I’m doing my duty. I’m following the president’s advice. I’m giving the airlines some business. I’m getting back to the business of America, again.

And I feel so much safer doing this today because now the federal government is in charge of airline safety.

After all, the federal government always does such a good job running things.

Efficiency. Security. Economy. These are the watchwords that come to mind when I think of Washington. When I put my life in the hands of the federal government, I sleep easier.

And why not?

Think of all the federal government has done in recent years to keep fliers safe.

Think of Al Gore’s White House Commission on Airline Safety. I told you about that last week. Gore, like any U.S. politician, showed that nothing comes before the safety of airline passengers – with the possible exception of his need for campaign cash.

Then there was the story broken by WorldNetDaily Washington bureau chief Paul Sperry last week. It showed the way the Federal Aviation administration always places a priority on passenger safety and security – with the notable exception of ensuring that all applicants for jobs as airport checkpoint screeners pass the tests under all circumstances.

President Bush also took the sensible positions that airline pilot cabin doors need to be secure and fortified against unwanted entrances and that sky marshals be added permanently to domestic airline flights.

He rejected the preposterous proposal of airline pilots that they be permitted to carry firearms themselves. After all, who are these pilots? How can we trust them with guns? They only know how to do one thing – fly big machines. How do we know they might not shoot passengers indiscriminately? How do we know they might not commit suicide and leave the planes pilotless?

Yes, indeed, the federal government knows best – always. The answer to just about any problem you can imagine is to centralize decision-making authority in Washington. Let the feds do it. They’ve got the track record. They’ve got the know-how. They’ve got the problem-solving ability. Never trust individual initiative. You never know when a law-abiding citizen will snap. But you can always count on Washington.

Just look at the way they’ve handled airline safety up until now. They require those pleasant check-in people to ask you if you packed your own bag. Just think of where we would be if that process were not in place. Just think of how many more hijackers would have had to lie to conscientious airline personnel to board airliners.

And think about that FAA requirement to instruct each of us on how to buckle our seatbelts on every flight. After all, Americans have only been required to buckle their auto seatbelts for 20 years or so. Many of them are still not familiar with the mechanics of it. This is a proven life-saver.

I doubt that any hijacker – no matter how determined – could possibly get on a U.S. airliner now that Washington is running things.

Washington has demonstrated time and time again that it has the intelligence capability and the quick-response ability to head off any disaster. I’m sure, for instance, that the events of Sept. 11 would have been much worse if the federal government was not Johnny-on-the-spot. There may have been 12 or 13 airliners hijacked that day. Who knows what potential destruction was averted. We still have the White House. We still have the Capitol. We still have Yankee Stadium.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to this flight. I’ll probably sleep tight all the way. I won’t even look around the plane for suspicious characters. I know that my life is in good hands.

Just in case, though, I thought it would be prudent to make sure my life insurance policies are current, my will is up to date and I’ll give the kids and the wife big hugs and kisses. And I’ve filed a few columns in advance.

See you next week. I hope.

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Don’t miss Joseph Farah’s exclusive report “Jihad in America” in the November issue of Whistleblower magazine, WorldNetDaily’s monthly offline publication. Order your subscription now.