Holiday travel no cupcake

Are pastries the next casualty of the war on terror?

Proving that common sense is not a trait valued by the Transportation Security Administration, a Massachusetts woman reported that an agent at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport confiscated her cupcake last week. Peabody resident Rebecca Hains said the TSA screener told her the cupcake’s frosting was similar enough to a gel to be considered a potential explosive. She offered to eat the cupcake, then reluctantly handed over the treat.

Cupcakes as explosive devices? If cake frosting can be considered out of compliance with the TSA’s ban on liquids and gels, what’s next? Peanut butter and jelly?

“It’s not really about the cupcake. I can get another cupcake,” said Ms. Hains, a 35-year-old college professor. “It’s about an encroachment on civil liberties. We’re just building up a resistance and tolerance to all these things they’re doing in the name of security, when it’s really theater. It is not keeping us safe.”

Amen.