First Signs of Stupidity

I posted yesterday about the futility of our security measures.  Right on cue, the city of Indianapolis and the Indian Pacers are doing the following: (H/T Reason.com)

The Indiana Pacers, after consulting with the Department of Homeland Security, will remove all trash cans outside of Bankers Life Fieldhouse for all events, said Greg Schenkel, vice president of public relations for the Pacers.

This will reduce the chance of terrorism at a Pacers game by exactly zero.  Meanwhile, you have to believe that those trashcans served a purpose.  Will a build up of trash obscure a small package of poison powder that would have been noticed and contained if a trashcan had been present?  Gestures of futility just inconvenience ourselves and do nothing to fight terrorism.  

Bruce Schneier has a nice article about fighting terrorism based on movie plots and the last attack.

Terrorists don't care if they blow up subways, buses, stadiums, theaters, restaurants, nightclubs, schools, churches, crowded markets or busy intersections. Reasonable arguments can be made that some targets are more attractive than others: airplanes because a small bomb can result in the death of everyone aboard, monuments because of their national significance, national events because of television coverage, and transportation because most people commute daily. But the United States is a big country; we can't defend everything.