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Inaugural Address by President John F. Kennedy, given in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 1961. Accessed from http://www.jfklibrary.org/j012061.htm.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--

the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today

that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike,

that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill,

that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

A suicidal man with a shotgun who kept more than a dozen sheriff's deputies at bay for three hours Monday in a remote area south of Los Gatos finally surrendered after being bitten by a snake, the Santa Clara sheriff's office said.

The incident began at about 2 p.m. when the suspect's mother called authorities and said

her son was threatening to kill himself.

Arriving deputies saw the man dash into the woods near the family's home in Chemeketa Park, holding the shotgun, said deputy Terrance Helm.

Deputies and crisis negotiators talked to the man on and off for more than three hours by cell phone but were unable to persuade him to give up.

At about 5:30 p.m., the suspect told deputies

he had been bitten by a snake and was willing to surrender. He was taken into custody, treated at Valley Medical Center and booked for brandishing a firearm. He told deputies

he had buried the shotgun.

Travelling back from Cape Town, and the fascinating IDLELO conference on the African digital commons (more on that later), I had to pass through Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Apart from the glaring lack of wifi, the airport was notable for an odd addition to passenger screening: As we queued for the TSA belt, there was a foot-testing platform outside, where we could see for ourselves

whether our shoes would beep in the screening line.

What purpose does the foot-tester serve, other than to illustrate the paradoxes of so-called security? I imagine passengers complained

that they didn't know whether or not to remove their shoes, so someone decided to give them a helping foot.

But if the foot-tester device is accurate (and it'll cause more frustration than help if it's not), then it serves as an oracle, letting good guys and bad guys alike determine

whether they're likely to be picked up. I stepped on and off several times without being questioned. A would-be shoe bomber could probably use a more sinister variation: If the machine beeps, walk away; try again later with cooler shoes; repeat until the machine stays silent. The tester makes it easier for bad guys to see the detection devices' limit and tailor their implements of destruction just below that cutoff.

I tend to doubt the value of most of the so-called security measures we're subjected to in airports, but I'd rather see them removed than modified in bizarre feel-good ways. As it is, this foot-tester seems to create more risks than it solves. Have I missed something?