The Cartoon Nanny State
In the wake of last month's bomb scare in Boston triggered by a marketing campaign by the Cartoon Network, Georgia State Rep. David Ralston is proposing a new law that would require a minimum one-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of staging a bomb hoax. Ralston says that HB 653 is directly inspired by the incident in Boston.
There's just one problem with this bill. The incident in Boston wasn't a bomb hoax.
The Cartoon Network placed multiple devices with LED lights in cities throughout the U.S. to promote the Aqua Teen show. Here is a picture of one of the devices.
I'm no bomb expert, but that doesn't look like a bomb to me.
Unspoken in this story from the very beginning is the fact that the Boston Police Dept. really goofed by thinking these were bombs. Of course, they didn't have the guts to admit they messed up, so it was easier to pin on evil corporate America.
However, the real story here is the Republican party's continued march down the road to Nanny State, USA. So much for Republicans being the party of freedom.
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Party of Freedom
Will, the Republicans haven't been the party of freedom for quite some time now. I have naive hopes that this will change at some point, but I doubt it will. In this era of color-coded threats and fear mongering, the march towards the nanny state is practically embraced by society in the name of safety. Though it is over-quoted to the point of becoming cliche, the idea that those who would trade their liberty for safety deserve neither rings very true today. How absurd that a stunt like this, however ill-advised it may have been, would be used as justification for such a law.
That R by my name on my voter ID card is causing me more and more embarrasment every day. Might be time to switch to an I.
Adventures in Libertarian Policing
Somewhere in Boston…
Officer Bobbie: “Hey Eddie, what’s that?”
Officer Eddie: “What’s what?”
Officer Bobbie: “That thing over there…see the flashing lights and the wires?”
Officer Eddie: “Oh, that…want a doughnut hole? They’re chocolate with the little white sprikle things.”
Officer Bobbie: “Uh, not now, I’m pulling over”
Officer Eddie: “Eh, Bobbie, for cry’n out loud…”
…
Officer Bobbie: “Does that look like a sign to you?”
Officer Eddie: “Bobbie, if it makes you feel better I’ll call it in, and no, but it does look like a wicked cool Lite-Brite”
Officer Bobbie: “Ok, smart ass, when you’ve finished with recess why don’t you call it in. And, what’s a Lite-Brite doing on the Longfellow Bridge?”
Officer Bobbie: “Ya think that belongs to the MBTA?”
Officer Eddie: “Do you think they would actually know if it did? Probably a prank. I’m going back for another doughnut hole, want one? Last chance?”
Officer Bobbie: “I can’t quite see how big it is.”
Officer Eddie: “Bobbie, if it will shut you up so that I can get back to my coffee, I’ll call it in.”
Officer Bobbie: “Oooh, coffee…yeah, you’re right, probably just a prank…crazy kids and their Lite-Brites. Forget it, let’s go grab a fresh cup.”
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