A Lesson in Courage or How to Lose Your Next Bid for Re-Election

Following the death of a student in the Boston mini-rioting following the Red Sox game 7 win over the Yankees, the mayor of Boston is considering taking some extreme measures for the World Series (the last time Boston was in the World Series was 1986):

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he was considering prohibiting liquor sales and asking bar and restaurant operators to ban live television coverage during games to curb the rowdiness. "Since people won't accept responsibility, I, as mayor, will take it into my own hands," Menino said Thursday.

Menino planned to meet with bar and nightclub owners Friday. He said he was considering invoking a state law, never before used in Boston, that would allow him to ban the sale or distribution of alcohol "in cases of riot or great public excitement."

The last time the Red Sox won the World Series was 1918, before the invention of television. It was also a year before Prohibition was imposed in 1919. It is cool to be retro, but in a city as cursed as Boston has been, these ham-handed measures appear to be overkill.