Fun with Dick

Remember, none of their bullshit works if you're not scared.

Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday vigorously defended the Bush administration's use of secret domestic spying and efforts to expand presidential powers, saying "it's not an accident that we haven't been hit in four years."

It's also not an accident that the administration has won exactly zero convictions against the people it accuses of participating in terror activities.

"I believe in a strong, robust executive authority and I think that the world we live in demands it.

Executive authority unrestrained by the Constitution, apparently. Is it surprising that Dick Cheney essentially supports the idea of unchecked power for himself?

Cheney spoke from his plane's private cabin as he was making a trip aimed at boosting the United States' image abroad and its relationships with its war-on-terror partners. But after visiting Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, he was cutting his travels short, skipping planned stops in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to return to Washington to be on hand for session-ending Senate activity that could require his tie-breaking votes.

As if the session-ending votes came as a surprise. Maybe the trip was cut short because sending Dick Cheney on a trip to boost the United States' image abroad makes about as much sense as hiring a vampire to encourage people to donate blood.

Why do they lie about every little thing?

Cheney said he believes the American people support President Bush's terror-fighting strategy. "If there's a backlash pending," because of reports of National Security Agency surveillance of calls originating within the United States, he said, "I think the backlash is going to be against those who are suggesting somehow that we shouldn't take these steps to defend the country."

Wanna bet? Congress, the attorney general's office and Supreme Court may look the other way, but history will note who was on the right side of this issue, and who wasn't.