You Know Who'd Make A Great Terrorist? This Guy

The New York Times was slightly bemused by the fact that a large bearded man with a gun was able to walk into Madison Square Garden this week with no security hassle. The Mountaineer, WVU's mascot, cruised into Madison Square Garden with his .45-caliber rifle, no questions asked.

It is a real rifle, though it isn't loaded. At home, he fires the gunpowder, makes a loud noise, and scares the hell out of teams with a lot of players who are from inner-city areas. In Morgantown, people are used to it ... were he to attempt this in New York City, however, he'd likely get some return fire.

There was a slight controversy about it a few years ago when WVU's football team played a road game at Wisconsin. The Badgers have a strict "no firearms" policy in their football stadium (damn hippies), and threatened to not let the Mountaineer bring his gun. Eventually, they relented, and let him in with the gun. He killed 37 people that day.

Anyway, the MSG people swear that they investigated the gun beforehand, and were aware of the issue. Taking advantage of this opening in American security, I expect Al-Qaeda operatives to soon begin wearing coonskin caps, fringed leather get-ups, and promoting Steve Slaton and Pat White for next year's Heisman.

Rifle-Toting Mountaineer Breezes Through Security [New York Times]