Osama smiles and chuckles on videotape like a guy who has just pulled off a very clever practical joke — that murdered 3,300 innocent men, women and children.

        And there it is again, creeping into our cozy living rooms like a damp chill from an unclosed crypt. Fear.

        The “American Taliban,” John Walker Lindh, has warned that a wave of bioterrorism attacks could begin today, at the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, causing “the destruction of the entire country.”

        It's not supposed to be this way. America was just getting back to normal. Flying again. Laughing again. Celebrating our holy month of random cheer and reckless generosity.

        Most of us will do our best to ignore the threats and the evil death-grin of Osama. We've been through alerts. Besides, what can we do besides hope and pray the nightmare doesn't come true?

        But terrorists are harder to ignore than a cockroach in a cup of eggnog. Pretending everything is normal is like dancing on a broken foot. We can't forget the evil we saw come out of that deep blue September sky. We think every day about the cranes that pick away at the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center like seagulls on a landfill.

        And now, another icy hand on the back of our neck reminds us that the safety we took for granted before Sept. 11 is as long gone as our childhood security blanket.

        God forbid that America is attacked by bioterrorism. But the timing of this latest threat and the Osama video may serve a purpose. It comes just as our resolve was beginning to dissolve.

        President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld keep warning us that the war is not over. We're not listening.

        They keep telling us that everyone is a potential target. We've seen it, but we still don't believe it.

        The U.S. Senate is stuck in Stupidville. Majority Leader Tom Daschle is blocking the appointments of federal judges who may soon be needed to put terrorists on trial. His Democrats have blocked an economic stimulus package and an energy bill that are now matters of national security. Republicans stalled an airport security bill.

        And some in both parties have raised ridiculous alarms — amplified by the media — to fan fears about sensible security measures.

        A Senate committee put Attorney General John Ashcroft on the broiler, accusing him of not showing sufficient respect for the civil rights of illegal aliens. Then Newsweek reported that a terrorist attack, probably targeting the U.S. Capitol, was disrupted by the same roundup of aliens that senators and pundits scorned as a violation of the rule of law.

        Should we trust Mr. Ashcroft, a man of such bedrock integrity that he canceled his own Senate campaign when his opponent died, and refused to protest blatant voter fraud that cost him the election?

        Or should we trust his critics, who mutilated the rule of law when they were savaging Ken Starr and making excuses for Bill Clinton? They did not object when Attorney General Janet Reno arrested a 5-year-old boy with automatic weapons. But they throw a fit when Attorney General Ashcroft detains suspected terrorists.

        John “Lennon” Walker Lindh is the album cover for a sleeper cell of far-left American nitwits who hate America nearly as much as Osama does. They are the voices of defeat. Their background chorus is sung by all the “experts” who predicted disaster if we went after the Taliban — who are now predicting calamity if we go after Saddam and support Israel.

        But the damp chill of fear has a way of clearing the mind. It helps us see what is most important — the ones we love dearest. And it reminds us why we're in this war.

        Let's finish it now so our kids don't have to spend every Christmas this way.

        Contact Enquirer Associate Editor Peter Bronson at 768-8301; fax: 768-8610; e-mail: pbronson@enquirer.com. Cincinnati.Com keyword: Bronson.

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