Well, the big news over the past couple of weeks was the arrival and departure of Dick Cheney into the county seat of our little county. The secrecy behind it all has made our local media more than a little suspicious.

When Cheney arrived in the community, it was speculated that he was going bird hunting with billionaire T. Boone Pickens, who has a ranch nearby. But the White House went to great lengths to obstruct anyone who was trying to gather information, including insisting that "they could not confirm the vice president's location" (fair enough, until you consider that the presence of armored SUV's, a couple dozen Secret Security agents and the arrival of a Gulfstream jet on an airport that normally only hosts the arrival and departure of several private craft is pretty much a dead giveaway). Attempts by the media to speak with the vice president during his stay were rebuffed by White House Staff who were flummoxed by the reporter's mention in his attempt to gain access of another famous Texan, LBJ (sad that our high school students don't know history....sadder still that our White House staffers are stumped, especially when the historical figure once RESIDED at theri place of employment...but again I digress). The only thing that is known about the veep's visit is that the County Sherriff and a local judge were taken to Pickens' ranch to meet with Cheney.

I'm not entirely comfortable with this administration's attempts to shroud everything in secrecy. We live in a democracy, where the government is ostensibly the political arm of the populace themselves. While it may be prudent to be less than forthcoming about the movements of our political figures for homeland security reasons, such prudence should be balanced with the knowledge that these individuals are our SERVANTS, and have a certain degree of responsibility to us as citizens. Clandestine meetings such as Cheney's panhandle visit only strengthen the suspicions of those who are watchful of the government to begin with, and seemingly underscore this administration's contempt for the average American.

Of course, it's possible that Cheney was only bird hunting. But wouldn't "he's bird hunting with a friend and doesn't want to be bothered, so kiss off!" be a much more honest answer?