The following nightmare has been brought to you by Neon Gods:
"My nightmare is that Cheney and Bush will not give up their office when their term is up in January 2009. In fact George Bush signed a little noticed Presidential Directive on May 10 that allows him to take control of the government in the event of a "catastrophic emergency." A catastrophic emergency is defined as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions." This definition is vaguely worded. What is an extraordinary level of "mass casualties, damage or disruption"? Notice the word "or" in the definition, it could be any one of the three. Who gets to decide whether a disaster meets this requirement? I assume it's the President. And what happens if he decides an event meets this requirement? According to the Directive, "The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government."
In other words if the country suffers a catastrophe in late 2008, the President could invoke this Directive and take control of the government. Or he could avoid having to rely on chance and "manufacture" a catastrophe.
Granted, this is a stretch, and sounds very much like a paranoid conspiracy theory, but George Bush is no ordinary man. He appears to believe he is God's emissary on Earth, charged by God to rid the world of evil. I honestly believe George Bush and Dick Cheney are capable of finding a way to remain in power until they feel they have achieved their goal (which can never be achieved)."
