A four-story building on Madison Avenue in Manhattan has collapsed after a very loud explosion was heard that reverberated around the neighborhood. CNN’s Larry King, who was staying in a hotel nearby, is quoted as saying he has never heard such a sound. With amazing rapidity, the White House has ruled out terrorism. Maybe they’re right, and maybe they already have irrefutable information that rules terrorism out as a cause, but the announcement seems more than a little over-eager to me. It seems to indicate that our top priority is not offending the enemy.
