UPDATE: A local TV station reports the FBI is now questioning a couple of flight attendants.

You watch the news, you know what’s going on.

The country is uneasy. There’s anxiety out there. And fear. Fear over loss of jobs, of savings, of security. And fear of the unknown.

And someone can touch off those fears, wielding nothing more than a pen and paper.

I’m talking about that someone – presumably a passenger? – who left a note in one of the bathrooms of a Boston-bound American Airlines jet yesterday, claiming there was a bomb on board.

The plane was already 45 minutes into its journey when it was found.

The pilot, understandably, turned around and went back to Miami. The 168 passengers were taken off the plane which was then searched. Nothing was found. Keep reading, I’ve got lots more to say about idiots on airplanes…

Those poor passengers — they had to cool their heels for awhile – their flight couldn’t be rescheduled until today.

I’m sure it was scary – but after those fears passed, there was the incredible inconvenience and the utter waste of time and money. Did the passengers miss important meetings or special family events? I don’t know, but I do know this was beyond stupid.

You have to wonder about someone who’d leave a “bomb note” aboard a plane – is this the work of someone who is mentally ill? Could it have possibly been someone’s idea of a practical joke? In this day and age, it’s no joke – it’s monstrous – and it’s a crime.

Whoever is responsible should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law – and/or given medical help if necessary. Plus, I would ban this person from flying for life. Yes, a lifetime ban from ALL airlines. And I would seek the same for anyone who knew anything about the note, and did nothing.

Maybe we should add trains and buses to the ban, as well.

Am I being overly simplistic? You tell me. However, we seem to be reading about more and more idiots displaying increasingly bad behavior on airplanes – though, mercifully, it still involves a tiny percentage of passengers. Look, travel is a right, sure – in the U.S., people are free to go wherever they want. But, not if someone’s actions take away the rights of others.

And I believe when it comes to something of this magnitude, you should only get one strike before you’re out – for good.