Deny the Fire it's Oxygen

A brief explaination from the NYT about why the JFK plot was posted on A30 instead of A1:

Here's the basic thinking on the J.F.K. story: In the years since 9/11, there have been quite a few interrupted terrorist plots. It now seems possible to exercise some judgment about their gravity. Not all plots are the same. In this case, law enforcement officials said that J.F.K. was never in immediate danger. The plotters had yet to lay out plans. They had no financing. Nor did they have any explosives. It is with all that in mind, that the editors in charge this weekend did not put this story on the front page.

(bolds are mine)While the chattering heads of the Right will be quick to leap on the idea that it's just the liberal bias of the Times trying to minimalize the administration's heroic efforts in the GWOT(tm), I actually think this makes a lot of sense. By denying front page coverage to every group of crazies who watch "24", the times is removing some of the incentives (e.g. fame, power) for this kind of behavior. This is basic security 101. Imagine if the press had done the same with the so-called "liquid" bombers in the UK a while back. I'd no longer have to scour my bags at the airport to throw out perfectly good bottled juice, toothpaste or water simply because a group of nuts put together a plot that was never a threat.

I see this decision by the Times as a common sense reaction and a sign that the public is finally tired of over-reacting to the least little threat. Good for them.