† DIY Profiling: In the immediate aftermath of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s being foiled in his attempt to blow Northwest 253 out of the sky on Christmas Day by the passengers and crew on the flight, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano famously said, “the system worked.”

The take-away message for Navy veteran, Washington attorney and frequent flier Ray Hartwell, who has been “patted down, scanned and searched” thousands of times: air travelers realize the “system” depends on all of us being alert, aware and ready to spring into action, if necessary. But are we all on the same page about when and how to act? Having questioned 15 to 20 fellow passengers he is “pretty comfortable that I know the lay of the land” and details what he’s learned in this op-ed for The Washington Times:

[W]e have limited options. We have no ability to deny boarding to someone linked to terrorists … Similarly, we have no control over the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) choice of screening equipment.

Perhaps most important, we cannot force TSA personnel to look at people carefully and actually think about their characteristics and behavior. Yet this option - screening and profiling - is the only one that directly presents an opportunity for effective passenger action. There is much we cannot do, but we can - our very own selves - look at our fellow passengers and pay attention to their demeanor and their actions. …

Most focus first and foremost on men of military service age who appear to be Middle Eastern or Arabic, wearing Muslim attire or are bearded. Others say they don't "profile" on appearance but rather on behavior: "We have to stop Tim McVeigh as well as Richard Reid." All are alert for conduct that "doesn't look right" ("DLR," as one put it). …

Suspicious or provocative behavior in the terminal or after boarding should be reported to airline personnel, TSA and law enforcement authorities. If this is not feasible or if … strong suspicions are ignored, most said, don't board the plane and, if on board already, demand that if Mr. Abdulmutallab and friends are allowed to fly, you must be allowed to get off.

And in flight? … There was unanimity that directions from the flight crew should be followed except in extremis. Flight attendants - and passengers who assist them - should be granted broad immunity from liability for subduing and placing in restraints passengers who are disruptive, willfully disobedient or engaging in threatening behavior.

Although passengers see physical action as a last resort, they're willing to act because they know a failure to do so could have deadly consequences. … Most think the virtual certainty that fellow passengers will join in quickly turns the odds in favor of the good guys.

Let the headless chickens at TSA run around in circles issuing and retract regulations about blankets and bathroom visits. As usual, the American people are more sensible than – and way ahead of – Washington bureaucrats.

† The Pluck Of The Irish: On Wednesday Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen - who has “been laboring to put debt-saddled Ireland back into the black” - will meet with President Barack Hussein Obama in Washington, D.C. “as a global spokesman for fiscal restraint,” reports The Washington Post:

He has been slashing public-sector salaries - including his own - and making cuts in social services to assure foreign investors that Ireland can meet its obligations.

Thus far, the pain is paying off, with Ireland largely avoiding the debt crisis seen in Greece as well as the surge in borrowing costs that hit other financially troubled countries in Europe, including Spain and Portugal. But Cowen's government has paid a hefty price: Its approval ratings are among the lowest in recent Irish history. …

"I don't think any country has a choice. When you have such pressure on public finances, you simply have to confront these issues."

Part of Cowen’s plan to grow his country’s economy is to “lure” U.S. companies with a 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, which puts him on a collision course with the Obama administration’s plans to grow the U.S. economy by trying to keep jobs from migrating overseas, notes The WaPo.

† That Dog Won’t Vote (second item): The Washington Post profiles a fresh, new candidate for public office: Murray Hill, who is “young, bold, media-savvy, a Washington outsider eager to reshape the way things are done in the nation's capital.” What Hill isn’t: Human. The WaPo explains:

Murray Hill is actually Murray Hill Inc., a small, five-year-old Silver Spring public relations company that is seeking office to prove a point (and perhaps get a little attention).

After the Supreme Court declared that corporations have the same rights as individuals when it comes to funding political campaigns, the self-described progressive firm took what it considers the next logical step: declaring for office.

"Until now, corporate interests had to rely on campaign contributions and influence-peddling to achieve their goals in Washington," the candidate, who was unavailable for an interview, said in a statement. "But thanks to an enlightened Supreme Court, now we can eliminate the middle-man and run for office ourselves." …

The firm, whose clients include labor unions and environmentalists, is seeking to enter the Republican primary for the 8th District seat held by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D).

The firm "wanted to run as a Republican because we feel the Republican Party is more receptive to our basic message that corporations are people, too," Klein said, adding that his client has no particular beef with Van Hollen. …

The WaPo notes that Murray Hill may not meet minimum requirements to run for Congress. The Montgomery County Board of Elections rejected the candidate’s voter registration application because Hill is not a U.S. citizen of at least 18 years of age. And the U.S. Constitution requires candidates for Congress to be at least 25 years old, which means that the Maryland State Board of Elections is not likely to issue a Certificate of Candidacy to put Hill’s name on the state’s Primary ballot.

Someone should tell Klein that Republicans also believe fraudulent ballots should not be permitted to dilute the ballots cast by legitimate voters, and it is comforting to know that the officials we entrust with keeping our elections honest are doing their jobs. Maybe Hill can get elected to the board of ACORN – or whatever the voter-fraud promoting group is calling itself these days.

† The Cruiser Of The Future: Not willing to cede the high-tech patrol car business to upstart Carbon’s E7 without a fight, Ford is phasing out the Crown Vic and will replace the venerable cruiser with the Police Interceptor, “designed to be faster, safer and stronger, and … packed with advanced technology,” reports The Los Angeles Times:

The Crown Victoria police car, which debuted in 1983, will not be going away any time soon. Ford will be making them until late next year - about the same time that Police Interceptors will start coming off the production line. …

The Police Interceptor will be built on the same platform as Ford's 2010 Taurus.

But company spokesman Said Deep said that about 90% of the Police Interceptor has been engineered specifically for law enforcement use. …

It will have a V-6 engine that produces 263 horsepower. Ford said it will have 25% better fuel efficiency than the Crown Victoria police car, which has a V-8 engine. …

Switching to a new model is a risk for Ford, which has dominated the law enforcement market since the mid-1990s, when General Motors stopped making its Chevrolet Caprice police car.

The major competitors that remain are Chevy Impala and Dodge Charger police cars.

The Crown Vic has a base price of around $27,000 and it’s not likely that cash-strapped police departments will upgrade to the new cruisers any time soon if there is a significant  cost differential.

† Should Glenn Beck Practice What He Preaches?: Politics aside, this Associated Press story explains why several otherwise practicing Catholics of The Stiletto's acquaintance no longer attend church:

Germany's sex abuse scandal has now reached Pope Benedict XVI: His former archdiocese disclosed that while he was archbishop a suspected pedophile priest was transferred to a job where he later abused children.

The pontiff is also under increasing fire for a 2001 Vatican document he later penned instructing bishops to keep such cases secret.

The revelations have put the spotlight on Benedict's handling of abuse claims both when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977-1982 and then the prefect of the Vatican office that deals with such crimes - a position he held until his 2005 election as pope.

And they may lead to further questions about what the pontiff knew about the scope of abuse in his native Germany, when he knew it and what he did about it during his tenure in Munich and quarter-century term at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. …

An Irish government-authorized investigation into the scandal and cover up harshly criticized the Vatican for its mixed messages and insistence on secrecy in the 2001 directive and previous Vatican documents on the topic.

"An obligation to secrecy/confidentialtiy on the part of participants in a canonical process could undoubtedly constitute an inhibition on reporting child sexual abuse to the civil authorities or others," it concluded.

One U.S. attorney representing several victims says the church’s insistence on secrecy amounts to “an international criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice."

† John Edwards: The King Of Heels Now And Forever:  John Edwards’ paramour and the mother of his youngest child, Rielle Hunter, has hitherto kept a low profile. But now, she tells her side of the story to GQ. (“I feel comfortable talking now, because Johnny went public and made a statement admitting paternity. I didn't feel like I could ever speak until he did that.”)

In the Q&A interview she says she and the two-timing two-time candidate for national office are not engaged and never discussed wedding plans. She also says that: “[w]e love each other very much … and I believe that will be till death do us part”; she did not recognize him when they first met; they slept together the night they met; four days later, after nightly four-hour phone calls she was “[h]ead over heels in love”; she has not been with another man since falling in love with Edwards; because her father died of cancer, she has “such compassion” for Elizabeth Edwards; she is “not a mistress by nature … I fell in love with him … that was the role that was available to me”; Edwards had cheated on Elizabeth with other women over the years; she was already pregnant when Edwards renewed his wedding vows with Elizabeth; she was 43 and had never been pregnant and she “felt with all of my being that I needed to bring this little child into the world … I was blessed”; Quinn calls Edwards Da-da; it was Andrew Young’s idea to claim paternity of Quinn; she has no idea where the money for her, Quinn’s and the Young family’s living expenses came from, and that Young and his wife pocketed some of it; if she could do things differently, she never would have agreed to Young claiming paternity; and she expects Young to be indicted, but not Edwards.

Now that you've speed-read through Hunter's interview, you have time to read this description of the sex tape Edwards and Hunter made, and then to go take a shower.

† Erin Andrews’ Stalker Arrested: After Michael David Barrett, 49, admitted that he stalked the ESPN reporter for 18 months and followed her to at least three hotel rooms in three states in 2008 to spy on and film her, U.S. District Judge Manuel Real sentenced him to 2½ years in federal prison and ordered him to pay Andrews $7,366 in restitution.

† Updates To Previous Posts (sixth item, Is Obama Already A Lame Duck?: Politico reports that “[m]oderate House Democrats facing potentially difficult reelections this fall have a message for President Barack Obama: Don’t call us; we’ll call you”: