The T is Safe

On Monday the Globe reported that "Antiterror cameras capturing crime on T" and Boston is safe. On Wednesday the Globe reported that " T's searches turn up only false alarms" and Boston is safe. Wednesday afternoon pretty much every media outlet reported on the breaking story that "Holy f*ing sh*t lite-brite is going to blow up our city."

Mac Daniel's article on Monday touted the cameras installed in T stations as crime solving machines that allowed MBTA police to apprehend criminals taking advantage of T passengers. A feat unaccomplished in the big-brother free zone of pre-9/11. It's apparent from the story that if you're looking to commit crimes and get away scott-free you should cover those identifying neck tattoos. This morning's article seemed to suggest that the T was wasting lots of money on random bag searches because they'd only resulted in false positives for explosives. So we're wasting money because we haven't found any bombs? If we find bombs than we're safe? What about LED signs? Let's get back to that question later. The piece this morning did indicate that there may be some ACLU action against the T because of the disproportionate number of minorities that were searched in the random bag searches by MBTA police – suggesting that the searches may not have, in fact, been random.

While the T was closely monitoring their cameras, making us safe, and randomly searching passengers, making us safe, they were letting through the biggest threat of all to their stations and byways: LEDs. The massive media sensation about the closing of the Charles River (because it's high traffic, right?), BU Bridge, Longfellow Bridge, 93, and Sullivan Station (need we go on?) today was caused by a two week old guerrilla marketing campaign which installed LED Mooninites around the city. Something that random bag searches wouldn't have thwarted. Just watch the video (below) of their installation. When LEDs glow, the terrorists have won.

Thanks to Flickr user eshu for the base pic of the Symphony stop that we photoshoped the ever-dangerous Mooninite onto.