The agency has proposed that passengers be allowed to once again carry scissors 4 inches or less in length and small tools like screwdrivers that are 7 inches or less. Box cutters and small knives will still be banned.

The agency said its rules, which take effect Dec. 22, would allow it to spend more of its time searching for explosives rather than worrying about small items that carry little risk.

The only scary thing about the new plan is that it took four years to figure out how to prioritize the work of airline security personnel.

Thumbs down

To Hormel of Austin for being offended by a CD made to benefit charity that used a SPAM likeness on its label.

This is from a company that has an entire museum that highlights the quirky canned ham product. The CD is called “Phone Scams Volume 7” and contains prank phone calls and other antics from radio station WKQI-FM’s morning show. On the cover was the SPAM can illustration, with the P replaced by a C for SCAM.

The company knows that the sale of the CD goes toward charity, but said it had an obligation to protect its trademark. The radio station had to doctor up the 7,000 labels by hand to avoid a lawsuit.

SPAM has become a pop culture icon. The company shouldn’t be so prickly about some harmless fun that was ultimately for a good cause.

Thumbs up

To a Mankato woman who has donated her Barbie Doll collection to Toys for Tots. A lot of people are making generous donations to the program — including Notre Dame Elementary third-graders Amelia Michels and Alexxys Clow who forfeited birthday party gifts for toy donations.

Terri Santee’s contribution has caught extra attention because she is thinking of others despite having a terribly tragic time herself. Suffering from cancer, she lost her husband in a fatal crash just four days after starting chemotherapy. New to the area, she has battled her illness alone, except for her dog, Bear, who is having surgery Tuesday.

Santee’s generosity is noteworthy in a time when giving can take a back seat to lots of hustle and bustle.