Forget about the nail clippers and lethal letter openers that have slipped past airport security. What scares me are the headless nails.

        I'm referring to the swarm of new government workers hired by the Democrats in Congress to federalize airport security. They have created a new bureaucracy that combines the efficiency of the INS with the friendliness of the IRS. They're called “headless nails,” because they are impossible to remove, no matter what.

        “I went through the indignity in front of all those people, to be searched and patted,” said Henry Aron, who had a bad air day in Washington, D.C. “I became agitated, and they said, "We'll have to arrest you.' I'm still shaking.”

        Touching encounter

        While a line of passengers watched, he was pulled out of line for special attention. “I was touched and felt. They reached under my shirt.”

        It's not just another case of air rage. Mr. Aron is almost 80. He walks with a cane and has metal staples in his body from surgery. He explained all that the first time he was checked. But then he was chosen by a computer, he was told, to be poked and patted again like a supermarket melon.

        An 80-year-old great-grandfather and Holocaust survivor was frisked like a perp at a crack house bust, and nobody objected. “There were looks of sympathy, smiles, a wink here and there, but not a soul said a word. It's the same old story: "I don't want to get involved.'

        “I saw a 3-year-old put through the same thing,” he said.

        As I recall, all of the 9-11 terrorists were young men from the Middle East. Not a single hijacker was an elderly Jewish man from Norwood.

        Homeland insecurity

        This is the lunacy we get from federalized security: They'd rather lose another skyscraper than risk “profiling” young men who look like Arabs. So we hassle grannies and toddlers, betting our lives on a number that's not even in the lottery.

        It gets worse. Airport security is months behind schedule, unable to hire enough screeners, even with great federal salaries and benefits.

        So John Mitchel, a former Air Force pilot from the Dayton area, is wondering why his son was rejected. “He's 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. He has a degree from Ohio State in aviation management,” he said. “But they said he didn't have a year of experience.”

        Actually, the requirement is one year of experience OR a high school diploma. Mr. Mitchel's son was overqualified.

        “I wondered what's going on here,” said the former Independent candidate for governor of Ohio. He thinks his son may have been a victim of affirmative action quotas.

        “Screening absolutely should be private, not federal,” he said. “They are just creating another huge federal bureaucracy.”

        Bingo. Democrats insisted on hiring more headless nails — who like to vote for Democrats.

        It's another inspiring example of your tax dollars at work: A year after Sept. 11, airport security is more frightened of quotas and profiling than terrorism.

        ———

        E-mail pbronson@enauirer.com or call 513-768-8301.

Federal judges say pay falls short
Chabot against light rail tax hike
McGuffey museum rededicated
Round-trip race all wet; but spirits were willing
He's there for homeless kids
I-75 upgrade will have to wait
Program helps addicts recover
Solutions for Rybolt Road to be studied
Despite rain, area still needs water
Eligibility in judge's race before board
Four Bridges urged to back buffers
Tristate A.M. Report
Coast Guard volunteers to patrol Herrington Lake
Kentucky's suicide rate is higher than national average
Mother of quads happy to have gay couple raising kids
Poll: N.Ky. backs gambling at tracks
Prisoner escapes from Jefferson County Jail
Bronson: Airport security
Howard: Some good news
You Asked For It