It burns.

Since yesterday I have not been able to stop thinking about the new travel restrictions, and how flamingly idiotic they are.

Here's something for you:

At Dulles International Airport near Washington on Thursday morning, one traveler reported that screeners were also making passengers remove all food items from their carry-on luggage for inspection, and one passenger was told to peel her banana.

A banana? Seriously, I just watched that Monty Python skit in And Now For Something Completely Different last night. They meant it as a joke. Now it's apparently federal security. (Hint: if it grew that way on a tree, it's not a bomb.)

Screeners "are trained to cipher out what's inside the bag," said Darrin Kayser, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman. "If we're not sure, upon putting them through the X- ray machine, we'll have a visual inspection as well."

His advice was "bring as little as possible. It'll make it easier for everyone."

No, no it won't. In September my sister will be flying to London from somewhere in the US. In October, my parents. In December, I will fly from London to the US. I assure you it will not make my life easier if I can't bring a bottle of contact lens solution with me. It will not make my life easier if I can't bring my laptop with me and need to entrust it to the luggage-handling demons. It will not make things easier for me if I'm expected to sit in an airport departures lounge and then on a plane of upwards of six hours without the benefit of my CD player or, god forbid, the highly dangerous item of a book!

Apparently you can still buy liquids beyond the security checkpoint - we won't be forced to choke down airport food without some assistance, at least - but you can't bring it on the plane.

Passengers could still buy drinks once past security, but were not allowed to bring them onto the aircraft. The only liquids allowed were baby formula and prescription medicines.

Because...you might have...put the bomb that you got past security into you McDonalds soda? What? I also like the way we're now forcing mothers to drink infant formula. That's just uber-safe, isn't it.