BOB GARFIELD: A couple of weeks ago, we aired an interview with Garry Trudeau, creator of the comic strip Doonesbury, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Listener Chris Gautz wrote to say, quote: “I can't think of anyone who has devoted more time discussing wounded veterans. For this alone Mr. Trudeau deserves praise and recognition for his work.” Some of our listeners, however, learned about Doonesbury for the first time on our show, including Erin E., who counted herself intrigued, quote, “I have never known of cartoon characters to age, but I've always wanted them to. This allows a continuing political cartoon to keep up with the issues realistically. More cartoonists should take this approach.” We reported last week on the Internet outrage over new, more invasive security measures at the airport. Listener TammyB wrote to say that her husband, who flies frequently with an implanted defibrillator, often gets patted down but, quote, “He has never been treated with anything other than courtesy and respect by TSA agents. It’s not something he enjoys or would choose to do but it’s over in a couple of minutes. Maybe the realization that without the implanted defibrillator he'd be, he’d be dead makes him more tolerant of such minor intrusions than, say, the fellow with the viral cell phone video who is turning this into a federal case. Please investigate whether this is widespread or whether it was just another case of Internet Amplification.”
BOB GARFIELD: Listener Janet, on the other hand, believes the new techniques are more show than substance, quote, “If I thought these security measures were making us safer, I might not mind so much but they aren’t. They're security theater. Given that, I think it’s reasonable to object to the invasion of privacy, not to mention the inconvenience.” Please keep the feedback coming. To send an email, go to our site, Onthemedia.org, and click on “contact us.” You can also post comments there or you can follow us on Twitter.
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