Friday, May 7, 2010

The Rockets' Red Glare

I can't say I'm surprised.  The Times Square Bomber bought his explosives in Matamoras, Pike County, PA, USA.

I'm not sure if he knew something, or if it was just a wild guess, but New York Michael Bloomberg said it Sunday morning, long before the suspect was in custody-- that the bomb looked like part of it came from those fireworks that you can buy in Pennsylvania.  The story aired on Newswatch 16 Sunday morning.  If Bloomberg came up with a comment like that, I think it's fair to say New York Police have encountered a similar problem in the past.

I preface this next part by saying the Oklahoma City bomb was constructed with diesel fuel and fertilizer, two legal and readily available commodities.  I'm also not one for knee-jerk reactions and hiding behind alleged zero tolerance policies.

It's time Pennsylvania outlaw fireworks.  Many of the items in those stores can't be purchased by Pennsylvania residents, anyway.  Even the lower grade things we can buy are dangerous.  Ask the people who work in the emergency rooms.  There are always several stories, every summer, about stores going too far, and selling things that are more powerful than the legal limit.

The operator of one of the fireworks stores said the system worked-- all the ID checks left a trail that led to the capture of the man who built the bomb.  That's little consolation if the thing went off and killed dozens, maybe hundreds or thousands.  How would that operator have felt if the bomb ignited?  Would he still be proud of his operation?  Would he care?   Would he rationalize that his hands were blood-free because the proper paperwork was filled out?

There are more than enough professional fireworks displays out there.  Leave it to the experts.

Don't make it easy for the terrorists.

And, a follow up to yesterday's blog...  The ad we all expected Joe Sestak to run has finally appeared.  It hits Specter on his switch from Republican to Democrat.  Sestak had a recent surge in the polls.  He's now down only about five per cent, and it hasn't budged in a week.  We'll see if the new had sends voters to the Sestak camp.