Yesterday I ran a poll to gauge just how much the TSA "protections" (in quotes) was worth to people. In it I tried to get a sense of how much of a ticket refund would be required for you to fly "naked" of the TSA protections. For the exercise I included both passenger screening and baggage checking. But I allowed pilot door locks and pilot training to never turn over the controls. The options ran from over a $100 refund to a zero dollar refund and I even threw in a negative refund meaning that you would be willing to pay more to get rid of the TSA airport process.

Unfortunately the diary concept was a bit confusing for people. So after the flip I will recast it and try again.

Suppose there were two airline classes. No not seating comfort but TSA "protected" and TSA "unprotected." Suppose the money that is spent on TSA protection were instead refunded to the flyer. So just how much would you want back in order to make it worth it to you to fly, well "naked" of the effort that the TSA makes.

So imagine that there is an entire terminal for those willing to pay more for protection. The extra they pay would cover the passenger screening process, the no-fly list and the baggage screening process. Now maybe you'd want to keep the baggage screening, but sorry it's all or none. Ok you can keep the lock on the pilot's door and maybe the flight crew might or not have training and mace or some such. But that's it.

Now I've included the option for actually paying more for such hassle less travel but please don't check that just to be cute.

So how much would you have to save to travel naked?

Blogs listed in the permanent blogroll list are showing up in the random blogroll list of ten randomly selected blogs. Just today James Wolcott and BlueJersey both appeared in the Random BLogroll list.

So not only are the little and local progressive blogs getting short shrift by being left off of the permanent blogroll, but also the big blogs are getting an extra boost by appearing sometimes in both the permanent blogroll list and the rotating random blogroll list of ten blogs.

DailyKos is a community of progressive readers and writers. Some with their own blogs and some who participate in local community blogs.

After the jump I'll talk some more about community.

249 - Deadliest Back to Back Months
331 - 2nd Deadliest Three Months
415 - Deadliest Four Months

Iraq Coalition Casualty Count

You have to admit that if the blogosphere were serious about ending the war, then I wouldn't have had to read Filibuster to End the War Now! first on the radical leftist CounterPunch.. I do quite a bit of reading in the left blogosphere, DailyKos, MyDD, Agonist. So why aren't I seeing calls to pressure our Senators to end the war by filibustering the appropriations bill that will pay for it?

Why haven't I seen someone else do the math like John Walsh does in the CounterPunch article?

Right now there are 18 sitting Senators who voted against the war in 2002. And there are 13 more who voted for the war and now say they regret it. That comes to 31 nominally antiwar Senators.(2) In addition there are 4 new Senators, Barak Obama among them, who claim to be against the war. That brings the count to 35 of the necessary 41, leaving only 6 more needed. And the Democrats now have 51 seats, with at least one or two Republican antiwar Senators to boot. So it would take only 41 out of 51 who claim to be against the war to actually end the war.

Even if ...

Reports are coming in of a third helicopter being downed in the last two weeks during conflict in Iraq.

CNN:  

Iraqi police say U.S. helicopter downed by insurgents; no word from U.S. military
NAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. helicopter was shot down near Najaf on Sunday, as fighting between insurgents and ground forces raged in the Shiite holy city, an Iraqi police official -- citing eyewitnesses -- told CNN.

There has been no confirmation from the U.S. military that any helicopters were shot down.

The big question is whether higher tech missiles are coming into play in the conflict in Iraq. It was the introduction of stinger missiles that led to the Soviet Union's loss of Afghanistan.

I'm sorry if this has been blogged already. I'm mad and I want to blog it.

Read it for yourself here.

Jeff Wegerson

by bored now

i attended the democratic committee of cook county slating meeting today, where todd stroger was overwhelmingly elected to replace his father on the fall ballot (by weighted vote).  it was a strange and perplexing experience.

there was never any question (in my mind, at least) what would be the outcome.  there was no horse-trading, lobbying or even spirited discussion before the meeting.  everything was eerily calm as the democratic committeemen and women came in to take their seats.

the room was absolutely packed -- so packed that people were standing out in the hall until the hotel opened up the room behind us to let more people in.  so packed that forrest claypool, who had a staff person or volunteer saving him a spot, was refused entry by security (before the back room was opened up).  so packed that burt natarus asked that the proceedings move to a large space.

Cross-posted from SoapBlox/Chicago

9. And if the election for Congress were held today, would you want to see the Republicans or Democrats win control of Congress?

_Republicans, 32 percent (34)

_Democrats, 52 percent (51)

_Neither (VOLUNTEERED), 12 percent (13)

_Not sure, 4 percent (2)

I'd say we'll miss you you but I bet we see you again. Maybe not as Armando, but as just some anonymous blogger here at dKos. Just another handle amongst a multitude of other handles. No longer with a low-id number to out you, now with just your words. It will be interesting to see how long before even the new handle (which maybe you have already written under for a while) becomes famous in its own right. Will you get outed twice? Who knows?

Doris Lessing, the famous author, later in life wrote and attempted to publish under a different name. It's just not the same. So much of what one writes, when one is famous, carries the weight and foundation of what was written before.

Your other option is to give your password to some freinds and have several of you write under the name Armando. Then there would be doubt and deniability.

Alas, it's the end of an era and the end of an innocence. Fair you and us all well, Armando.

One of Britain's leading symphony orchestras has been forced to scrap an American tour, partly because of the "mind-blowing palaver" and cost of securing visas for 100 players and staff.

The Manchester-based Hallé had been due to visit the US next year for two concerts, including one at the Lincoln centre in New York, the country's principal classical music venue. But managers said yesterday they had cancelled the tour when they realised that the cost of arranging the visas, estimated at £45,000, would render the trip uneconomic.

Other agents said rock musicians, also fed up with the process and expense, were refusing to visit the US to work. Katie Ray, of Traffic Control Group Ltd, which secures visas and work permits mainly for rock bands, said some artists were now choosing not to tour in the US.

Simple changes that would alleviate many of the complaints about the reclist are too hard to code easily enough for the quick tests needed to vet them.

For example, if the list is to be kept limited to the current x entries, then I would like the ones I've read to disappear and be replaced by fresh ones.

Or how about a button that says "Clear this list and show me the next."

This is exactly the sort of crime for which leaders of countries should be held accountable. The worse the crime the higher up the chain of command responsibility should rise. Repeated torture should go right to the top. And not just leaders of "respectable democratic" countries should be held accountable, but all countries, everywhere, at all times.

I am only asking about grown up experiences. Yes, being beaten in the school yard by bullies is very very serious, but it is also problematic in terms of your being able to assess the experience due to your youth.

I have had two such incidences.

(continued after the jump)

All the progress in restoring oil and gas production from the gulf after Katrina was lost to Rita. Indeed oil production is now worse than after Katrina. More worrisome is the fact that production is not returning like it did after Katrina. Almost immediately after Katrina production began to return and after about a week it was about half restored. Repairs then hit a plateau.

Then Rita hit and still after nearly a week there has been practically no progress in restarting production. This is not looking good. If you go to the market price graph you will see a new spike in gas prices yesterday and today. Gas is now 100% higher than in June.

 Shut-In Oil and Gas  Market Gas Prices
     Click image to enlarge.