...but that would belittle the name of our moon, which is 'The Moon'

I've gotten an email (more are probably coming) from a Bostonian who thinks I was too hard on the city. I kind of expected that reaction; I understand the "you just can't be too careful" feeling that a lot of people have these days. It's the same paranoid instinct that caused people to vote for Bush, because they felt only he would keep us safe from the terrorists. But after thinking it over...no, the Boston police still overreacted to a ridiculous extent. Consider:

• The device had a big lighted display with a cartoon character on it. This is a feature generally not found on bombs outside of bad action movies. Of course, according to the latest CNN report, the attorney general says it was "very sinister" because it had "a battery behind it, and wires." Again, someone's been watching too many action movies.
  
• The devices had a translucent casing, so it should have been pretty obvious there was no amount of explosive material inside.
  
• The same displays had been installed in nine other cities, including L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle. Boston is the only city that reacted by calling out the bomb squad and closing two bridges, maritime traffic on a river, and a university. Other cities generally removed them without a fuss. New York, where people are understandably jittery, closed a street for 45 minutes to remove two of the signs from an overpass -- but there was no terrorism panic there, in spite of forty-one of the devices having been placed in the city.
  

Of course, the Boston city government has no sense of humor about this. They screwed up, so it's time to find someone to scapegoat. The two men who installed the signs have been arrested and charged with creating a panic. They've plead "not guilty." They'll probably walk because the law requires intent, and it's pretty clear they didn't intend to cause a panic. The city plans to file a civil lawsuit against Turner to get them to pay for the police response, though, which may stick.

My advice to Bostonians: Whatever you do, don't take your Lite Brite out in public. The police may mistake it for a bomb.