Has the Whole World Gone Mad?

I could have had a field day with the news today if I hadn't been so wrapped up in work. I had some errands to run today as well. I stopped at the liquor store and noticed a sign on the door which read: "No face masks allowed in the store."

When I went to the bank I jokingly asked the manager if she'd had anyone with a face mask entering the bank today. Not terribly funny I'll admit, but I wanted to tell her about the sign at the liquor store. She said "if someone was wearing a mask we would not let them in and the police would be all over it." Apparently there was a bank robbery yesterday.

Anyhow, I should get to the point. This is insane.

A Maine attorney who released information in 2000 about President George W. Bush's drunken driving conviction was arrested on Tuesday after he dressed up as al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and waved a fake gun at traffic.

[...]

Lt. Todd Bernard said the police department received calls about a man wearing Middle Eastern garb and a bin Laden mask and carrying fake dynamite standing along an interstate highway. When police arrived, they saw Connolly holding a gun.

It would be easy enough to assume this was a Halloween costume. Unfortunately not. The man claimed he was protesting planned change in local tax rules. Strange. Is it Halloween fever? Is it pre-election anxiety? I have some of that I'd be willing to share.