Welcome to the US police state

Even in its response to Hurricane Rita, you can already see the government taking on a new level of authority over private citizens' freedom of movement. I can't remember any other natural disaster where Americans were prevented from freely checking their own property, yet the edicts for forced evacuations and refused entry into affected areas are suddenly flowing like water over the levees of New Orleans.

Now Bush wants Congress to authorize the unleashing of his jackbooted storm troopers at a moment's notice.

Bush said Congress would have to consider under what circumstance the Department of Defense should become the lead agency in coordinating and responding to a disaster.

"Clearly, in the case of a terrorist attack, that would be the case. But is there a natural disaster ... of a certain size that would then enable the Defense Department to become the lead agency in coordinating and leading the response effort? That's going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about," Bush said.

McClellan said Bush's goal was to make sure "there's a very clear line of authority" in the event of another major catastrophe, whether it is another storm like Katrina or an avian flu outbreak.

A word to our legislators. Just say no.