It sounds like the movie "Real Genius"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089886/

[Well... yeah... but perfected by me! -Ed.]

As always, I am here to be the enemy of fun. Directed Energy Weapons have been around for some time, and the gummint has been looking at ways to put them way high up in the air, the better to direct half way around the world. One source of info:

http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/dew.htm

Also, they had hand-held DEWs in the Left Behind series. (Where I first heard of them and how I found out they're real)

But that doesn't make you any less brilliant for coming up with it on your own, Frank J.

darnit, Corsair beat me to it.

Popcorn everywhere.

How dare they steal S.M.I.T.E. and then give it a non-awesome name! Perhaps you could get them to laser every dumb hippie and the like instead of payment. It would certainly save us all the time of punching the lot of 'em.

Naw, you probably want money. Money's pretty nice to have.

Don't lase me bro...

Admittedly, I stole that from somebody at HotAir, but I was thinking it before I read it.

Today I am really interested in such a weapon. Today I hate Homo sapiens as a species. I'm not sure God shouldn't pull a Noah (substituting fire-cause he promised it wouldn't be water) and find a new species with which to populate this planet.

Something that respects the worth of the individual, the importance of allowing everyone to chose for themselves and tolerance of others differences. Something anti-Talaban or Fred Phelps might be nice. Once the religious purists get done beating each other up in the Republican party they can get down to the serious business of kneeling at the Hillary throne.

Get those knee pads ready.

(yeah I know, it's not funny. It's sad, depressing and true but not funny)

I've been waiting for the millitary to build something like this for a long time. If they did steal it from the S.M.I.T.E. designs, at least give them some credit. It had to be difficult as hell to rip off plans for a technologically advanced laser weapon from a crude pencil drawling...

Can I buy one of these on-line? I really need one. Okay, I just really, really want one, because it would be lots of fun (for me, but not for my boss or a couple of my neighbors).

If I'm good, will Santa bring me one?

Before we know it the military will be busy lighting up a "wall of fire" around the United States as the ultimate border security measure...we shall then know that military brass are reading IMAO!

Also watch for the Mexicannon! Should be appearing soon in Arizona or Texas. Once all Mexicans are "sent south" it could be converted to a Homocannon and pointed at Canada...

Who's in charge of marketing?
Scenario one;
Bad guy 1: Look, they are pointing their D.E.W. at us.

Bad Guy 2: What does Dew do?

Bad Guy 1: Dude, (snicker) you just totally said Doo Doo! (giggle)

Scenario 2;
Bad Guy 1: We are being targeted by S.M.I.T.E.!

Bad Guy 2: EEEIIIAAHHH! (bursts into flames)

two words: Ion Cannon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DZoslhWykY

As many times as I saw Real Genius, I could never understand why the main characters thought it was a bad thing that they built a space laser that would be used to kill people.

Dude. I thought of this in 1998. I'm afraid you owe me a billion trillion dollars.

I dunno, I still like some IMAOers idea (dunno who or where zactly but it was from here) about using the grocery store conveyor belt sticks lined up across the US border, since no one EVER crosses those. Cheap but effective.