Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport was shut down for three hours early Sunday morning, leaving evacuated travelers shivering outside in the cold, all because soon to be jobless hockey referee Peter Friesema of Colorado made an awkward, stupid joke:

"But my friend's bag has a bomb in it," the agent remembers him saying, according to a charging document. He recounted it to authorities slightly differently, more to the effect of "what if my friend's bag has a bomb in it?"

And so poor Mr. Friesema found himself in shackles, standing before a judge, potentially facing felony terrorism charge. And even though the FBI has determined the threat was not credible, the judge found Friesema to be a flight risk, and ordered him not to leave Alaska, likely costing him his job.

Yeah, sure, it was a stupid thing to say, particularly in this era when the flight crew or security personnel can have you arrested simply for looking at them funny, but JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, DOESN'T ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMON SENSE ANYMORE?! Give the the guy a stern talking to, or possibly a citation if you have to, but shutting down the airport and sending him to jail for saying something that, stupid as it may have been, clearly wasn't intended as a threat?

Somewhere in Hell, Osama bin Laden is having a good laugh right about now.