Really hilarious, right, that Boston "overreacted" to battery-powered advertising light boards out of fear that terrorists were exploiting America's yen for practical jokes? People in nine other cities where the gadgets were planted ignored them, didn't they?
But what did we expect of Boston, where two of the four hijacked 9/11 airliners originated? President Bush and new anti-terrorism programs keep Americans paralyzed with terrorism alerts and warnings of devi-ous al-Qaeda tactics. Suspicious packages found in public places are routinely blown up by police. Whole airline terminals are shut down because a single pas-senger bypasses screening.
Boston did right. Out-of-place objects with batteries can't be passively accepted as safe. People in Oklahoma City ignored a yellow Ryder rental truck parked out-side the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
Companies behind the Boston marketing stunt—Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network and Interference Inc.—agreed the Boston gimmick wasn't funny: They're paying $2 million to apologize and cover costs of Boston sending its police and fire units into action.
It's no coincidence the broadcasting industry made this nitwit entry to the "The Great American Freak Show." Weirdness is the m.o. for audience ratings.
The two dimwits hired to hang the gadgets in Bos-ton are classics among today's fringe of oddballs hop-ing for a break on the tube: After being charged with felonies, they would only talk to reporters about off-beat braided hairstyles.
They aren't much different than the troupe of "American Idol" wannabes—a succession of mentally challenged, stupefying, talentless dregs trotted out to titillate the declining, neurotic tastes and intelligence of TV audiences.
Radio's own freak show turned deadly: Two mo-ronic Sacramento disc jockeys staged a contest to see who could drink the most water at one sitting. A mother of three died, literally, by drowning. The im-presarios of this insanity were fired. But they'll resur-face at another station with new outrages, new names, if they aren't imprisoned for manslaughter.
The mania for the peculiar is epidemic.
The Rosie and Donald Trump hair-pulling domi-nated national "news" for days. The drinking, partying of morally shortchanged Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan spellbinds millions of the simple-minded that constitute mainstream television's prime audience.
Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" street interviews also have documented growth of the brain-dead population that easily flunks grade school questions along the lines of "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?".
Finally, Washington's "Empress of the House," Rep. Nancy Pelosi, does her bit for the oddball follies: She demands a military jet to haul her, her family and staff around the country, confirming that not all clowns are in the circus.
