Two Pathetic Things: One potentially Important

I read this article by a man who ended up on the no-fly list. He wrote a book critical of the Bush administration--could it be a matter of political payback? Who knows? Maybe he ended up there because his name is common. No matter how he ended on the list, he ought to be cleared once and for all. He's not out to blow up any planes, he should to be able to get the heck off the list and it's pathetic that he and the other Americans who've proved they're not enemies of the country can't get their names erased. They can't even find out how they got on the list to begin with.

Here's the second and more pathetic fact. As I read it, I wondered how I could get on the no-fly list too. I wanted a good excuse to not even be able to get on airplanes. (Turns out he's on the watch list, which means he has to get to the airport early and expect a fair amount of grief. Oh. I thought he could no longer fly the friendly skies.)