YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK: Damaged U.S. Passport Chip Strands Passengers: “Damaging the embedded chip in your passport is now grounds for denying you the ability to travel in at least one airport in the U.S. Though the airport can slide the passport through the little number reader as easily as they can wave it in front of an RFID reader, they chose to deny a young child access to the flight, in essence denying the whole family. The child had accidentally sat on his passport, creasing the cover, and the passport appeared worn. The claim has been made that breaking the chip in the passport shows that you disrespect the privilege of owning a passport, and that the airport was justified in denying this child from using the passport.”

That sounds like statist language, doesn’t it: “disrespect the privilege of owning a passport.”

Privilege? Tar and feathers, at least, is a right, not a privilege. What’s the name of the officious idiot behind this? Make it public.

UPDATE: Here’s the officious idiot.