THE HOMELAND IS SECURE

These tidbits were gleaned from the local newspaper on December 20. They give me faith in the Cheney-Bush Team and their minions, faith that we Americans can rest safely in our beds at night knowing that we are safe from terrorists, our financial well-being is secure, and our environment is protected.

- The Customs and Border Protection folks at Miami International Airport spend significantly more time searching for and busting Americans with illegal cigars and rum from Cuba than they do looking for terrorists.

- The government of China is now the second-largest shareholder of the second-largest financial firm on Wall Street, Morgan Stanley, with a $5 Billion bail-out investment.

- The Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that the strict automobile emission standards implemented by the State of California (and many other states) can not be put into law, under provisions of the federal Clean Air Act. The EPA concluded that state law cannot be more strict than federal law, even though EPA has approved more strict state laws many times in the past. (A big party was certainly held at the auto industry lobby, with drinks probably donated by the White House.)

I feel so safe and secure right now that I think I'll jump in my big rig and go shopping out at the mall on the interstate!