"[...] But what I worry about is homeland defense--the notion that somebody who wishes us ill will find other ways to get at our vulnerabilities. And we are vulnerable in so many ways domestically here at home, [...] The bad guys are right here at home looking for ways to bring down our economy, to do damage to our society, and maybe kill millions of Americans. We need to start thinking about that problem--how we deal with it; how we have to shape our expectations that we have for key institutions; what roles they're going to play in our society, if we're going to be equipped to cope with that kind of threat."

-- Vice Presidential candidate Richard Cheney, interviewed on Frontline during the campaign last year.

So the VP is both prescient and a bit cagey. When he says that the bad guys are those that "wish us harm" and might "do damage to society," - exactly how does he distinguish those bad guys from those whose freedoms are granted by their creator and protected by the constitution he has sworn to defend? Does the Federal Government exist to protect a particular society? And does wishing for change (i.e. not being conservative) make you a bad guy? Maybe so... and maybe recent events have made it a lot easier to get rid of you and your bad influence.