This Is Temporary

Temporary measures are hard to repeal when keeping them requires nothing beyond inertia. Bureaucrats face no downsides when keeping useless rules, but face career-ending risks by removing restrictions. This system isn’t sustainable.

From Dave Weigel on Twitter:

This August marks the 15th anniversary of TSA banning liquid from carry-on luggage, and I forgot that DHS, at the time, said it would be temporary. In the way that all life on earth is temporary, I guess

For context, the TSA has a 95% failure rate at detecting banned items.

Sweden, Texas and Florida fared much better than many places with far stricter Covid restrictions. Now talk is swirling of masks and closures every flu season.

Rolling back security theater is far more difficult than enacting it.