ATHF-What the Frak Were They Thinking?

There probably aren't many fans of Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" in my age group (but ya never know...)

It's a truly bizarre cartoon, yet I happen to have become a fan. Now, I may have to hang my head in shame as the show was at the center of the guerrilla marketing campaign that brought the city of Boston to a halt today, as electronic light gizmos depicting the series' "Moonites" character "giving the finger" were suspected as IEDs, and part of a terrorist plot. (Hmmm, LEDs that people thought were IEDs. There must be a Tom Lehrer-esque song in there somewhere.)

ATHF is part of Cartoon Network's late night lineup called "Adult Swim." As of this moment, if you go to their site, you get an apology before getting onto the site's main page.

While the actions of the marketing company involved, and eventually Cartoon Network's owner, Turner Broadcasting are unconscionable, and should be fully investigated and those responsible brought to account, I am going to stick my neck out and ask the question - how could anyone have mistaken these obviously innocuous devices for explosive devices? Have we become so paranoid in our post 9-11 world that we suspect everything? I don't fault the police and authorities-they must investigate any potential danger. And whatever conscientious citizen first reported the "devices" was only acting in a way he/she felt was appropriate. But an entire city ground to a halt because no one could figure out that these devices were a marketing ploy? These devices were not designed nor made to look like explosive devices. There was no intent to make them look like bombs. Any idiot could have seen that.

Millions of dollars for new devices that can check our shoes so we won't have to remove them at the airport security check-in anymore, but no one had the tools to determine quickly just what these things were? And if, as Cartoon Network says, similar devices were planted in major cities all over the country in the past few weeks, how come none of them were ever suspected of being terrorist bombs?

Someone is playing up this incident to serve their own agenda. Perhaps DHS. Or perhaps that bozo at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue sees this as another way to justify his rape of the Bill of Rights by peeking into our phone calls, our mail, etc.

According to CNN, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and others said the statement offering an apology was not enough, and did not rule out criminal charges or a civil suit to recover the estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars it cost the city to respond to the bomb scares. Menino told reporters he received a call from a Turner spokesperson about 9 p.m. but had not yet returned it. "I think the city deserves a call, not from a press person, but from somebody in the corporate structure of Turner," he said.

I think some folks on the Boston Police force and other government agencies (and perhaps local media) owe an explanation for turning an innocuous, if misguided, viral ad campaign into a panic situation. How come no one is asking those questions of the authorities, and all the blame is falling on Adult Swim and Turner?

Mark my words-there's more to this story than meets the eye. Someone is pulling the strings from outside. And all us poor ATHF fans will suffer as a result. It's frakin' cartoon, people. Get a life. Protect us from nukes and terrorists. Not Moonites flipping us off!!