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The Bangor Daily News encourages comments about stories, but you must follow our terms of service.

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3. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. Here are some guidelines (see more):

It should be noted this is not a comprehensive list.

• Don't insult one another or the subjects of BDN stories. You may be ticked off at what someone did or said, but you can explain that without resorting to name-calling or obscenity. Remember that young people are on this site too.
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That's about it: Stick to writing about the stories; be civil; be kind; enlighten your neighbors. And we'll keep moderating posts to try to ensure everyone meets those standards.

• Anonymous

  How can you sit there and say that? Do you really know how hard these people work? It takes alot to get into this kind of Work!!!  People are Crazy to bring Illegal things into the United States to Harm these workers if something was to Happen! So sad the way this world is today, because people want to get High on Drugs and etc.. the CBP officers do a Darn good Job and Work hard to Protect Our Border!!! Lets Give them some CREDIT instead putting them down!!!!

• Anonymous

  While you’re out drinking tonight these people are working to protect you and your family,you ungrateful slug!Some people don’t deserve to be in America!That is a slap in the face to those who work around the clock to keep everyone safe.What have YOU done for your fellow man today?Whine and complain.

• Anonymous

  Your statements obviously show your total lack of understanding on how things work. Number one, in the article it stated that it resembled a homemade bomb. Furthermore a terrorist would try to make a bomb look as nondescript as possible. You cannot take anything for granted, it is better to be safe than sorry. You, I am sure would not even begin to have the knowledge as to what level of training one would have to go through to obtain such employment let alone have the skills needed for such a position. How soon the ignorant forget the days of 9/11, you would think that the recent commemoration of the 10th anniversary of those dreadful days would at least keep it fresh in some people’s minds, but I guess not.

• Anonymous

  My God Can you just imagine had that been put in a R/C model and allowed to Penetrate US Airspace.    It might have looked like the Spruce Budworm Spray Program of the 70′s & 80′s. My how our perception has changed.

  Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!

• Anonymous

  What a dumb thing to do. This guy doesn’t have much in the brains dept.

• Anonymous

  They can flag me for my opinion but you apparently have no idea the caliber of kids they hire there. I am all for security but my bet is on some overzealous federal employee who wanted to make a name for himself. A local friend of mine at Houlton PD also had a laugh and thought the same thing…cope wanna beeeeee

• Anonymous

  They are Just doing their JOB and Protecting the United States, You have No clue what these Officers go through for their Job!! this guy should of thought about his ACTIONS, before putting People at Risk!!! whoever ur friend is on the Houlton PD and laughed about this isn’t for protecting the United States I guess. I say if you are better at the JOB then the Trained Officers then see if You can do a Better Job, but until then let the U.S. Customs and Border handle their Responsibilities.And you and Your so called Houlton PD can laugh all you want because they are doing what they are trained to do!!!

• Anonymous

  doing what they are trained to do? OOhhh a gram of MJ….way to go!! NOT

• Anonymous

  I will take my retirement after 31 years working my butt off. I would like being a glorified security gaurd. But you go ahead and play cop

• Anonymous

  do u really know what all they have to go through to get into this kind of work? the Guy shouldn’t of had it in the first Place!! he needed to use better Common Sense and quit trying to get into the United States with Illegal stuff, what was he going to do, go hunting or something with the Smoke Bomb and use it when he got lost for being High! People need to Use their Brain on things like this!!!

• Anonymous

  Smokebomb ???

  Just wait till fireworks are legalized.
  Then the sparks will fly.

• Anonymous

  You shouldn’t go and put fireworks in your boot, eh.

• Anonymous

  Hip hip horaay for our Homeland Security team.  You never know what these ding bats are carrying in their trunks.  It could have been a device that could have killed dozens of people.  You just never know!  I recently crossed the border and they opened my trunk, something they have not done in a long time.  I can remember back in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s when it was routine to open everybody’s trunk entering the USA.  Do they have some detection system now that inspects what’s in your trunk so they don’t have to open it?  I doubt it, but I’m happy to hear that someone out there is watching after us.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WDPXH36GMFTLNTUMUCPD5J3HQM Karen

  only thing is hpd does know what their doing as well as state and border as well as costums

• Anonymous

  I know they know what they are doing, but if you would of seen the comment I replied to then you would see why I made the comment!! All the Officers know Excatly what they are Doing No Doubt.. But, for someone to Put these Officers Down for doing their Job is Unreal.. I am sure that none of the Houlton PD laughed over this matter!!!

• Anonymous

  My comment being removed made me think how that may have sounded, my intention was to highlight that you were comparing a small local law enforcement  agency to a federal agency, not really a good comparison. No offense was meant towards HPD. I would question whether the HPD officer found humor in the situation. To insinuate that Customs are glorified security gaurds furthers my belief that you do not have a clue as to their level of training and what their job is about. What’s the matter, did you get pinched at the border for something, it sounds like you have a big axe to grind with Customs. You probably would be one of the first to complain if he was found with the device in say Bangor, that Customs was not doing their job by letting something like that to get past them. Sounds to me that there is no way for them to win in your eyes. As far as finding 1 gram of mj, it sounds like they did a good job detecting and finding such a small amount of an ILLEGAL substance. GOOD JOB US CUSTOMS.

• Anonymous

  Talk about over-kill. The guy sounded pretty harmless to me, instead it got turned into a national security response threat and the guy gets his name run through the mud.

• Anonymous

  I cannot AGREE with you More!! They did a Great Job keeping Everyone Safe! Way to Go U.S. Customs!!

• Anonymous

  “Further investigation determined that the device was a smoke bomb constructed by Hickerson. McCausland said the bomb resembled an improvised explosive device. Hickerson told police that he made the smoke bomb in case he got lost in the woods.”
   
  Did you read the article or just the headline? What would he have had to acted like to seem more than “pretty harmless”, I am sure the 9/11 highjackers seemed pretty harmless at the time as well. How about less criticism of the officials and a little more understanding that they were doing their jobs and anything short of that would not be acceptable. Their jobs are to protect the U.S. against any and all threats regardless of how it may seem to the average person.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Trent-McGlasson/813657341 Trent McGlasson

  I’m sure he had more than a gram of marijuana before he decided to build a homemade IED smoke bomb and go for a drive with it in his trunk.

• Anonymous

  Smoke bomb aside, I just find it amazing how many people head for a border crossing with contraband in their vehicles! Gambling on not getting caught? Just stupid.

• Anonymous

  FALSE ALARM…..they were hoping for another 911 this time they would have made headlines of a terrorist caught.

• Anonymous

  and also to harass truckers lunchboxes with bologna sandwiches as what during the crazed mad beef fantasy. ther is a difference betewwen treating people with a little respect and giving everyone the third degree, especiall if you cross several times a day…. They simply are bored with nothing to, unlike the mexican border. two of my customs friends retiring  asap 40 years one ex miltary police said it right…. some of these guys coming in have absolutely no common sense and should not be in customs. some are very loose cannons. thinking everyone is a criminal and do not understand the realtionship maine has with new brunswick, relative marriges etc.. damage is being done.  in this case it must of took alot of convincing to turn this from a federal terorist act down into a simple fine and turnaround. they may have looked stupid to try and make something like this more serious. but they aree trying hard to intercept the next 911… proble is the terrorist /turbine are already here as we’veseen 

• Anonymous

  As hard as it was to decipher your post, here is my reply. If there is a ban on beef, that would mean no beef products I would assume. I cannot disagree, treating someone with respect should be an expectation (remember that is a two way street, I can tell you would be a real treat for one of the officers to deal with when you cross). Someone who crosses the border “several times a day” I would assume may warrant closer inspection. Cross border marriages could possibly be someone trying to come in illegally. What damage is being done? As far as I can tell from many the Canadian plated cars I see at all the stores here in Maine it looks like they are here to spend. Nobody said it was a “Federal terrorist act” and nobody said they tried to make it anymore than what it was after it was all figured out. I would agree with you that there are terrorists already in this country, but that does not mean that the government can let their guard down (no need of letting the current terrorists friends come and play too).