The sheople need to be made nervous again, apparently

Did Tom "Duct Tape" Ridge just blab himself out of a Presidential Medal of Freedom? Oh well, he's probably still in line for that seven-figure consultancy with Carlyle:

Departing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said on Friday he believed another attack on the United States was inevitable, and warned that America should not focus just on al Qaeda, but also on similar groups that could carry out attacks.

"I have accepted the inevitability of another attack or attacks," Ridge said in an interview on the eve of his departure from the department launched two years ago to guard against another attack like that of Sept. 11, 2001.

"It could be al Qaeda or it could be al Qaeda-like organizations," said Ridge, who departs on Feb. 1. "I do think, when we talk about global terrorism, (it is) better ... that America doesn't focus just on al Qaeda."

"There are a lot of al Qaeda-like organizations and there are quite a few (Osama) bin Laden wannabes out there -- you've got one of them operating in Iraq right now," he said, referring to al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

First of all, I thought we were only to be attacked if John Kerry was elected.

Secondly, I would like to know what steps Ridge has taken to protect his own family in the face of this inevitability, especially since he has been privy to the most sensitive national security intelligence. Does the Ridge household have sufficient plastic sheeting for the windows, doors, and fireplace? How about a five-tier, color-coded terror alert warning system electronic light bar in the kitchen? Is there breathing apparati readily available -- meaning upstairs and down -- for all family members? A helipad out back for rapid evac?

This isn't quite as dumb as Tommy Thompson giving our enemies suggestions on what to attack next, but it is in keeping wih the Bush administration's desire to keep the sheople scared.

Do you think it's working?

No on Gonzales

Let's be clear: His tortured legalese resulting in the atrocities at Abu Ghraib ought to be reason enough for the Senate to reject the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General.

But now comes word that he pulled strings for then-Governor Bush at a voir dire so that Bush could avoid disclosing his own DUI conviction -- and has subsequently prevaricated about it, under oath, before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

I am reminded of attorney Tom Hagen's line in the opening scene of "The Godfather", where he explained to the movie mogul: "I have a very special practice. I represent one client."

Throughout his career as consigliere to Dubya, the task of Al Gonzales -- indeed his mission -- has been to find, or absent that, invent the justification for whatever it is that needed doing. Questionable or not, shady or not, legal or not. You can almost hear Bush saying "Git it done, Al," spoken with his trademark smirk, through the years.

Can't have the Guvna answer no questions about drinkin' and drivin'? Call in a chit wit' the judge. Got a death row inmate that needs killin'? Gloss over the fact that the condemned man's lawyer fell asleep during his trial. Need to make some camel jockeys -- errr, terrists -- spill their guts? Hell, that Geneva Convention's not only sixty years old, it's for pussies.

Conservatives get apoplectic when the Bush administration is called thugs, gangsters, or God forbid, a multinational corporation. When they do, we should simply open a page from any one of the law books in Alberto Gonzales' library. They all say the same thing.

"Git it done, Al."

To vote to confirm this man as attorney general goes against seemingly every concept of freedom, liberty, and democracy mouthed by the President last Thursday and espoused in the Constitution. Not that that sort of thing matters much.

The Senate should reject this nominee.

Sorry, been sick

And more than a little beesy.

Will now get right back to reporting.