WAS: Pamphleteering for armed airline pilots
Airline executives are very reluctant to allow airline pilots to be armed. Since the airlines were responsible for security prior to the Al Qa'eda attacks and they screwed it up, they're pleased to hand that responsibility over to the Feds, in the form of the Transportation Security Agency. Now that they've gotten rid of it, they don't want it back in any form. An airline pilot arming himself is an airline employee taking responsibility for the security of the craft. So nobody should be surprised that the management teams of the airlines oppose it.

They will drop this opposition only if it costs them, and "costing them" is meant literally, by making them make no money. This happens most directly when they don't sell enough seats. This is happening in some form right now, but only with travelers who know better and have the choice not to fly.

Most business travelers, such as myself, don't have that choice---choosing not to fly equates directly to choosing not to draw a salary. We're trapped, in a way. So how do we cost them while still flying, or trying to?

Every cause these days identifies itself with a loop of ribbon worn on the lapel. The success of these ribbons or the causes behind them is questionable. With today's "airport security" anality, such a ribbon for the cause of arming airline pilots will mark you for special attention. It costs you without costing them. So don't bother with it.

Having had second thoughts on the rest of this post, I chose to pull a CAIR and delete it. Sorry. It's my blog.