I had a little incident with Homeland Security the other day. Global Traveler does business all around the world, and because of this we have incoming payments from all corners of the world. Most recently, we received a payment from the Middle East which was held up by our bank, as they had a few questions. “Of course I can answer your questions,” I said. They wanted to know what the payment was for, what our business was, what was the business of the sender and what the following numbers meant in the transfer. The numbers were 09-11-01. It did not hit me at first and I just simply explained:

09 = the month of the invoice, 11 = the year of the invoice, 01 = the first invoice of the month

“OK, fine,” she said. “I will see if this is enough information.”

It was not until I hung up that I realized their concern. The invoice number is the same as the 9/11 terrorist attacks. To make matters worse, the payment was coming from the Middle East!

Well, it was nice to know that we have people watching everything! Of course, Global Traveler is an open book, and we are pleased that those protecting us are so diligent!

Unlike the people who complain about the TSA, I say pat, touch, X-ray and do everything necessary to make our travel safe. People that are against such actions have a personal agenda. I particularly find Kate Hanni, the poster person for the Passenger Bill of Rights, ridiculous.

She is, supposedly, an “expert” on terrorism and radiation. I watched her on MSNBC as an “expert” on travel. Of course, MSNBC’s idea of a debate is to agree with everything their handpicked guests have to say. Ms. Hanni has on her board a veterinarian who measures radiation when he travels through the new scanners. A veterinarian?

Ms. Hanni claims that travel is down due to the “intrusive pat downs” (these are for people who refuse the scanners) and “the radiation from the scanners.” My understanding is that there is significantly more radiation to the body from flying itself. Planes at 30,000–35,000 feet are far more susceptible to radiation than being on the ground . . . and more than the scanners, of course.

But this is the environment we fly in, and people like Ms. Hanni make travel more cumbersome and difficult.

— Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO