So I flew down to Birmingham yesterday for a visit and to play a gig (Marty’s on Friday at midnight–be there!). And the planes that make the direct flights from New York-LaGuardia to Birmingham are tiny. These are the ones where they often make people move from the front to the back to redistribute weight during take-off. And on these planes, there is very little room for carry-ons–much less room even than on larger passenger planes where everyone is increasingly bringing everything they own on board to avoid bag checking fees, causing fistfights in the aisles on almost every flight I take. Anyway…
I had to check my guitar anyway, so I went ahead and also checked my small suitcase. And just to make things even easier on myself, I packed my work laptop inside the suitcase instead of bringing it on board with me. I know… For some reason, everybody thinks I’m crazy for checking a laptop, but just shut up about that and focus. Focus. Okay, are you with me?
So I get to Birmingham, and I take the laptop out of my suitcase to do some work, and this is what I find.
If you can’t read the note, it says:
Youtube
“Fall of the Republic”
“End Game”
“Obama Deception”
Google
“Money Masters”
So what this tells me is that some TSA employee at LaGuardia, or perhaps a Delta baggage handler, wants me to watch these youtube videos for some reason. And I did watch a little bit of each one, but it’s not the sort of thing that generally interests me. They are perpetuating right-wing conspiracy theories about Obama and banks. It seems to be the same old illuminati stuff that people have trotted out every few years since the 18th century, but dressed up in the most recent issues.
So what do I make of this? I suppose it’s disturbing that someone at TSA is taking advantage of their job to furtively distribute anti-government propaganda (and I wouldn’t think it any less disturbing if it was pro-government propaganda). But I’m more amused by it than disturbed, though I guess whoever did this out to get called out for it. It does seem really creepy when I think about it.
UPDATE
When I originally posted, I had not yet opened my guitar case. When I did take out my guitar later in the day, I found ANOTHER NOTE. Basically the same as the first note, but with an additional message on the back saying, “Just check it out!”
And to the people that have a problem with me calling these videos “right-wing,” — really, that is beside the point. I could make arguments to defend that characterization, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. What is happening here is that a government employee is taking advantage of his/her job to furtively distribute anti-government propaganda, and that’s an interesting story to me. And even if you are one of those people that believes or agrees with the videos this person is promoting, that has no bearing on the fact that these messages came to me in a very strange and inappropriate manner. The content of the videos is really not important. I still find this whole thing more amusing than alarming, although the second note makes it all a bit creepier.
M. David Hornbuckle 
He should have picked better videos.
Like the new Lady Gaga video? 😉
they are the RIGHT videos!! we must do something NOW!! wake up America. WE MUST IMPEACH OBAMA
Gotta love the crazy religious right…
I’m not anywhere near the right-wing and I love all of those videos.
those videos are not right wing. obviously you didnt watch all the videos in their entirety…you are an idiot.
Don’t worry about it, go back to sleep, keep buying your beer and pizza and keep watching football and mainstream news. Hush….hush…..
Who the fuck cares what the videos were promoting or if he watched them all? People that go through your shit in the airport are propagandizing you instead of doing their job.
I’d be taking it to the press.
That’s because you’re headed into Birmingham. All that left wing Yankee stuff won’t fly here. Make sure you visit the Civil Right Museum to see how it used to be handled.
Y’all come back (without the laptop next time; we don’t need none of them high technological devices here.
These aren’t right wing conspiracies. The people who believe this stuff would say the right and left wings are involved.
My cat’s breath smells like cat food.
too bad you couldn’t send back a note with “youtube: nope.avi”
Talk about making a mountain out of …
Grow up — STFU — get on with life — deal with it — don’t be such a f**king idiot — if you haven’t got more important things to concern your self with ..
OMFG – a government employee who goes beyond their job description — call the media — call the cops — call the NSA.
Just STFU! PLEASE JUST STFU!! F**KING MORON!!
Did I mention that you’re a F**KING MORON?
Those are “Right Wing” videos like George W Bush was “fiscally conservative”.
Be sure to not contaminate those items. Chances are if its a worker – the fingerprints can easily be lead back to them since all TSA employees have that requirement of them.
If that had happened to me – someone would have lost their job instantly.
Money Masters is good, though very long. I watched it in its entirety while nursing a hangover. I either can’t recall, or didn’t like, the others.
Um, excuse me, Mr Hornbuckle…
The private banking cartel that issues currency and credit in America (the most public face of that private cartel is the Federal Reserve) are the de facto rulers in America. Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc….all just do as they’re told.
Rather than dismiss what others tell you because of your own unfamiliarity with the subject matter, do a little digging on your own.
“Bankers own the earth; take it away from them but leave them with the power to create credit; and, with a flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again… If you want to be slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let the bankers control money and control credit.”
– Sir Josiah Stamp, Director, Bank of England, 1940.
LMAO, I love these conspiracy theory people. Hearts totally in the right place, but doesn’t anyone see the humor in a government employee going into someone’s personal property… to promote videos about the government overstepping personal liberties?
I used to believe a lot of that stuff, but realistically, I don’t think people in general are organized enough to pull off any of these plots. I find it really hard to believe that anyone is so skilled as to pull off all the alleged stunts, people are way more incompetent than we give credit.
Earl said: “LMAO, I love these conspiracy theory people. ”
I say: “LMAO, I love these coincidence theory people. “
This sort of conspiracy driven hate against Obama and everything he does overshadows any good that may come out of this Teaparty movement.
twitter.com/oh_HOLMES