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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (61885)	8/10/2007 12:14:59 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

TIPS FOR TERROR NEW YORK POST Editotial August 9, 2007 -- The New York Times yesterday presented on its Web site a piece that its author declared to be a "public service" - offering specific ideas on how terrorists with limited resources could "maximize terror" in America. So what did Steven D. Levitt, a University of Chicago economics professor, come up with as "the best terrorist plan I have heard"? "Arm 20 terrorists with rifles and cars, and arrange to have them begin shooting randomly at pre-set times all across the country," suggested Levitt - a notion that he credited to his father. How droll - though we suspect Levitt wouldn't be laughing if "20 terrorists with rifles and cars" took up his idea and Dear Old Dad wound up with a bullet between his eyes. The article was an early appearance on the Times site of Freakonomics, a Web log based on the wildly successful book of the same name co-written by Levitt and Stephen Dubner, a former editor of the Times' Sunday Magazine. In an article in The New York Observer reporting the paper's agreement with Freakonomics, Dubner promised: "They know I'm not going to issue some sort of fatwa on the blog." Not for lack of trying, it seems. But not only did Levitt offer his ideas on how to wreak havoc on America with his own version of 9/11, he also asked readers to contribute their ideas, which he figured would be "far better." And by late yesterday, the article had attracted nearly 600 responses, filled with suggestions ranging from from biological attacks, to blowing up bridges, to shutting down natural gas lines. A few - only a few, sad to say - seemed to get it. "Thanks for the tip," said one poster. "I'll pass your idea on to the rest of the members of my cell, you twit." "Twit" seems about right - though "arrogant jerk" would fit, too. Now, real terrorists probably don't troll the Times for inspiration - though you never can tell. But, at the same time, America doesn't lack for well-armed terrorist wannabes - to say nothing of plain old nut-cases looking to get their names in the Paper of Record. Levitt probably is a smart guy - certainly "Freakonomics" is a smart book - but you couldn't tell it from yesterday's blogging. That the Times indulged his pretentious nonsense is unconscionable nypost.com