CNN will just not let this die

It's true that there are nut cases out there who could be prompted to
use a laser on an airliner because they read about it in a newspaper,

There you go.

but taking on the newspaper instead of the criminal isn't the
solution; that is unless you want to have no free press, and allow
someone pointing a laser in a cockpit to blame their action on
something other than their own desire to point it and fire it!

The issue is the people doing these acts aren't exactly mentally mature, and
hearing about people doing this on the news gives them an idea that they
WOULDN'T have had otherwise. The media can certainly control and be
RESPONSIBLE for what they print.

How would you feel if you walked into your kid's room and saw him on the
floor with his arm blown off from building an explosive from plans he saw in
a newspaper? Which party do you believe had the onus of responsibility?

Of course this all started with the government's brilliant issuing of a
bulletin it could happen. Nice self fulfilling prophecy there.
"Terrorist groups overseas have expressed interest in using these devices
against human sight," the bulletin said. "The U.S. intelligence community
has no specific or credible evidence that terrorists intend to use lasers to
target pilots in the homeland."

The day we lose the concept of personal responsibility in the United
States, is the day the trial lawyers win the entire shooting match.

Send the laser people to hell. Just don't make it even easier for them to
become one.

"Sam O'Nella" wrote in message
...
The issue is the people doing these acts aren't exactly mentally mature,
and hearing about people doing this on the news gives them an idea that
they WOULDN'T have had otherwise. The media can certainly control and be
RESPONSIBLE for what they print.

Using that logic, we'd never hear about any bad news. Not that *I*
personally would necessarily mind that, but it does seem to be the primary
bread and butter for journalism to report bad news.

Like it or not, the media reports on any number of things that could be
copied by immature and/or stupid people. That's their job. It doesn't make
it their fault when someone else decides to do the same thing.

The airplane/laser story has shown up occasionally, and of course with the
recent arrest, a little more often. But around here, the "bad news"
reported is mostly car chases, armed robberies, and assault cases. All of
which are just as likely, or perhaps more so, to be emulated by someone
exposed to the news. I don't see you guys complaining about the news media
reporting *those* stories. Why not? They are much more common, much easier
to imitate, and much more likely to result in bodily harm to someone.

How would you feel if you walked into your kid's room and saw him on the
floor with his arm blown off from building an explosive from plans he saw
in a newspaper? Which party do you believe had the onus of
responsibility?

The party who had primary responsibility would be the hypothetical "you".
The parent who failed to properly educate his child on avoiding losing an
arm to explosives, and who apparently had no clue that their child was
gathering the necessary materials to build an explosive device. A close
second in line would be the kid who was so deficient mentally that, in spite
of having the technical wherewithal to actually build a bomb, didn't have
enough of a clue to take the necessary precautions that would help him avoid
bodily harm (the primary precaution being to just NOT DO THAT). Way down at
the bottom of the list would be the source of the plans for the explosives.

That said, it's not like the news media is printing plans for how to build a
laser, or instructions on how to target and track an airplane with a laser,
or even names and phone numbers of sources for lasers that could be used in
these attacks. Your analogy is pretty far off base, even if it did prove
the point you're trying to make (which it doesn't, not even close).

Pete

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message

Using that logic, we'd never hear about any bad news. Not that *I*
personally would necessarily mind that, but it does seem to be the primary
bread and butter for journalism to report bad news.

Yep. It's a consumer-driven market, and we live in a world full of
wreck-gawkers.

A publication that offers nothing but good things to say isn't taken
seriously, and finds itself with just as many critics and cynics as those
who report nothing but dirty laundry.

-gatt
(former magazine editor.)

Of course this all started with the government's brilliant issuing of
a
bulletin it could happen. Nice self fulfilling prophecy there.

Of course, it's equally likely that an FBI agent heard a report of a
(kid's) laser shining at a plane, and came up with his own warning of
terrorists doing it. And the whole thing took on a life of its own
when other dumb citizens did it.

It's understandable for people with a new laser / light to simply be
stupid and aim it at planes, cars, neighbors, trees, etc. Heck, if you
had a new spotlight, wouldn't you shine it around a little just to see
what you could see? In the past, this would've just been what it is,
stupid. But with the coincidental FBI warning, it suddenly has becaome
a Patriot Act offense... which is legal overkill.

The only good thing about the press talking about it is that now
perhaps some good people will NOT aim at a plane, because they now
realize what kind of trouble it could get them into.

Cheers, Kev

Sam O'Nella wrote:

The issue is the people doing these acts aren't exactly mentally mature, and
hearing about people doing this on the news gives them an idea that they
WOULDN'T have had otherwise. The media can certainly control and be
RESPONSIBLE for what they print.

Then I think it's great that the media are publicizing the fact that, if you
lase pilots, you might get arrested and subjected to a great deal of trouble and
expense.

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
Sam O'Nella wrote:

The issue is the people doing these acts aren't exactly mentally mature,
and
hearing about people doing this on the news gives them an idea that they
WOULDN'T have had otherwise. The media can certainly control and be
RESPONSIBLE for what they print.

Then I think it's great that the media are publicizing the fact that, if
you
lase pilots, you might get arrested and subjected to a great deal of
trouble and
expense.

Even though you haven't harmed anyone. They might note that. Wait until
someone gets arrested while using a laser pointer to explain basic astronomy
to kids. Won't that be news!

moo