Cat on a hot tin airliner

I just knew this would turn out badly. For those of you who don't follow 1970's singer-songwriters, Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, was flying to the Washington, DC from London this past week, when the plane he was on was diverted to Bangor, Maine, so that he could be removed from the aircraft. He was removed and driven to Boston, then to Washington, where he was put on the next flight out. I've kept quiet about this one, because he has said some boneheaded things in the past about the fatwa on Salman Rushdie. I've had a feeling, though, that this was a colossal cockup on the part of the Homeland Security people and it would come back to bite us in the behind. Guess what? It's a spelling error.

Yahoo! News - Cat Stevens deportation linked to spelling error:

NEW YORK (AFP) - An incident this week in which former pop star Cat Stevens was deported from the United States to London as a 'no-fly' terrorist risk was caused by a spelling error.

Stevens, 57, gave up his successful pop career in the late 1970s, taking the name Yusuf Islam and converting to Islam.

He had been travelling from London to Washington on Tuesday when his flight was diverted to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained on 'national security grounds' and summarily put on a plane to London, according to US security officials.

Asa Hutchinson, the US Department of Homeland Security's under secretary for border and transportation security, refused to specify the allegations against Islam.

Time magazine, in its on-line edition, quoted aviation sources with access to the 'no-fly' list as saying there is no entry on the list under the name 'Yusuf Islam,' but that there is a 'Youssouf Islam' on the list. They said the incorrect name was added to the list this summer.

What's worse for me is that when this happened, I just knew it was a screwup. We can't trust this bunch to do anything right. Sure, I'm a Democrat, and so part of this is partisan belief. But, good god, they've shot there credibility all to hell. It's like Republicans know that government is the problem, and are bound and determine to make everyone realize that government cannot do anything right. Unfortunately, it only works this badly when they're in charge.