Oh, Dick: Mr. Mussolini Is On Line One

Ahem. Another day and further evidence that Dick Cheney not only did a pretty good imitation of being a fascist as vice president, he was a fascist.

The latest poop, of course, has to do with his strangle hold on any and all information about a super-secret CIA assassination squad first revealed by New Yorker investigative guru Seymour Hersh back in March and a domestic spying operation euphemistically called the President's Surveillance Program.

Both had the earmarks of Cheney at his best:
Further establishing himself as a fourth branch of government in order to circumvent normal -- which is to say constitutionally mandated -- channels.

As usual, things don't quite add up for either program, both overreactions to the 9/11 attacks. The biggest question is why a hit squad targeting Osama bin Laden had to be so super secret.

The answer, I suspect, is that there was a lot more to it that met the eye, possibly including targeting American citizens, which is why CIA chief Leon Panetta canceled it in a New York minute upon learning of its existence.