Homeland security - pork or protection?

MERCURY, NEV. - It's showtime at the Nevada Test Site. A bassoon voice over a public address system sets the scene: A team of "Al Qaeda terrorists" has just seized a "nuclear processing plant."
Immediately, a "SWAT team" (actually four local cops) scrambles across the craggy desert floor into the "plant" (actually a former rocket-testing structure). They try to neutralize the "terrorists" (actually just one rag-doll dummy). But the "terrorists" retaliate - and a "nuclear fireball" (actually a flour-based explosive) flashes like a mini-supernova across the khaki moonscape.