Right before the election four years ago I had a theory that the US Capitol Building was going to be bombed, the election suspended, and martial law enacted.

All planned and executed by the Republicans.

A modern day Reichstag fire, if you will.

It never happened, so I assumed that luckily Bush and Cheney and Rove hadn't read their European history books.

Or so I thought.

Maybe they just didn't have all of the pawns in place.

Take Executive Directive 51, which was signed by Bush in May of 2007.

Since it's classified and not highly publicized, rumor and speculation abound over its true wording. The gist is that it specifies how to continue the Constitutional government of the United States after a catastrophic disaster.

Without Congress' involvement.

(cough) Reichstag! (cough)

And guess who has the power to declare this emergency?

Of course, the president.

So now the conspiratorial side internet is buzzing, what with the economic bailout recovery and all, well, that's a disaster.

Could Bush suspend the election, declare martial law and get rid of Congress?

That's what the internet tubes are saying.

Scary.

But then again, I also read that October 14 will be "First Contact" with aliens as a 2000 mile long mothership from the Galactic Federation of Light will be arriving to earth.

Yes, on Tuesday.

So the internet could be wrong ...