Idiots Among Us

Why do I torture myself by checking up on Michelle Malkin all the time? It does nothing but lower my IQ while elevating my blood pressure.

Right now she's linking to some genius who wonders:

As an aside, doesn't the 'no assigned seating' thing strike you as a security risk as well? If some guy with a GPS device is sitting in the exit row next to the door and decides to open it over the greater Chicagoland area, wouldn't having a passenger list and seat map slightly aid in the investigation?

For fuck's sake, you cannot open the exit door during flight:

During flight none of these doors can be opened, for the simple reason that cabin pressure won't allow it. Think of an aircraft door as a drain plug, fixed in place by the interior pressure. With very few exceptions, aircraft doors open inward. Some retract upward into the ceiling; others swing outward or downward against the fuselage; but they all open inward first, and not even the most musclebound human will overcome the hundreds of pounds of pressure holding them shut. At a typical cruising altitude, as many as 8 pounds of pressure are pushing against every square inch of interior fuselage. That's 1,152 pounds of weight against each square foot of door. Flying at low altitudes, where cabin-pressure levels are lower, even a differential of 2 pounds per square inch is still more than anyone can displace -- even after six cups of coffee and the frustration that comes with sitting behind a shrieking infant for five hours.

For good measure, cabin doors are held secure by a series of electrical or mechanical latches, or both. So, while I wouldn't recommend it unless you enjoy being pummeled and placed in a chokehold by panicked passengers who don't know better, a person could conceivably sit there all day tugging on a door handle to his or her heart's content. The door is not going to open -- though you might get a red light flashing in the cockpit, causing the captain to spill his Diet Coke.

These bedwetters think Al-Qaeda's master plan involves Herculean feats of strength in planes, running people over in cars, and, I guess, throwing cell phones at people.

They think they are able to outsmart our enemies, and that's why we're fucked.