Osama bin Laden must die.

But while we're waiting for our armed forces to bring back bin Laden's head on a stick, here are some things to think about:

Visitors to the U.S. should be photographed, fingerprinted, and made to report to local authorities on their whereabouts at least once a month. Anyone in the country that is a citizen is legally protected from such invasion of privacy. Anyone that is not a citizen does not and should not enjoy the same freedom. As we have seen, there are people in this world capable of coming here, living among us a neighbors, working among us, going to our colleges, integrating with our society for years, and then one day climbing on a plane and killing as many people as possible with it by driving it into a skyscraper. Notice I'm not saying we should close all borders and throw out all foreigners. Our open policies on visitors from other countries has allowed us to enjoy the fruits of their talents, knowledge, and cultural differences, something we'd all be the poorer for losing.

To expand a bit on this idea, government research funding should go into developing inexpensive fingerprint and face scanners. These should be mandatory at all airports, train stations, bus terminals, in effect any means of interstate public transportation should be able and be forced to screen all passengers for federal criminals, including but not limited to suspected terrorists. Obviously the borders would be a fine place to implement this first. And I'm sorry, but anyone coming from or going to any country known to harbor terrorists should enjoy especially intensive scrutiny. I apologized in that last statement because that would include our wonderful ally, the United Kingdom. That's right, Jolly Old England is the training ground, albeit unwillingly, for the very terrorists we so long to wipe out.

Former King of Afghanistan Shah should be put in place to lead, not as a king, but as an organizing, central figure in the new government the U.N. puts in place when we're done stomping out the cockroaches that are the Taliban. Make it clear to the Northern Alliance that his political clout and his continuing support from the older Afghanis are critical to getting an acceptable governing body in place.

We should NOT fight during Ramadan. Period. Look, you don't have to be a Muslim to appreciate that millions of people around the world will be completely turned away from our cause if we kill people during their holy month. We can fly in troops, arms, supplies, etc. We can stockpile enough stuff right on their own dirt that, when Ramadan is over, we can roll right over them. But if you kill even a single person during that period, you make them a martar not only to the Taliban, but to Muslims all over the world. They will look at the pictures of that dead person that will certainly circulate worldwide and they will say to themselves, "Bin Laden was right." And we might as well pack it up and go home after that, because all the support we currently enjoy, even half-hearted support from Iran, would dry up. Worse, some of those nations may turn completely against us, at least officially, in the name of religious persecution. And rightly so. We must recognize and respect that the entire country of Afghanistan is not at war with us. Even the Northern Alliance, our uneasy ally during this conflict, has formally requested that we end all aggression prior to Ramadan. I don't think that's realistic, but we can halt our offensive tactics and build for the next offensive move during that time.

So what's next? I hate to scare people, but if I was a terrorist, my next target would not be a public venue. What would scare you the most? A plane with a bomb flown into an NFL stadium halfway into the second quarter? A fuel tanker with a small lump of plastique explosives driven into the Macy's Parade? Anthrax sprinkled from a window overlooking Times Square?

Chump change. I've got something that'll really freak you out.

See, you've got to think like a terrorist. These guys want to freak us out entirely, right? So put bombs next to people's homes. Random people. Random towns. Little towns, big towns. Now no place is safe.

In my humble opinion, that's the next thing that would really have U.S. citizens going nuts. And where did I get my idea? Palestine! Ireland! Africa! You got it, all those countries that have so enjoyed terrorist activities all this time. Some religiously hopped up moron sets down a box or briefcase, or parks a car, or whatever, filled with explosives. BOOM! The dead were innocent, the public is blood splattered and horror stricken, and the Joe American's illusion of safety in his home is utterly destroyed.

What happens next? Americans buy weapons by the ton, sit on their front door steps guarding their homes, and shoot anyone that looks suspicious. More people would be killed by adrenaline gorged NRA supporters than the bombs themselves.

I'll say it again: We need to think one step ahead and be ready for the more likely events that may come up. The price of freedom, as has been stated so many times in the past, is vigilance. Let us not be caught with our pants down.

And now, having given you some graphic food for thought, I send you back to the top of this page where I state that non-citizens should be documented and tracked around this grand country of ours, before some psychopathic freak takes another stab at us.

I just can't get off this soap box. I try to ignore the stupid crap that Bush does, focusing on his efforts to make the world safe for democracy, blah, blah, blah, but I just can't. I can't ignore what he and his cronies have done to our economy, our federal budget, our natural resources, our legal system, etc.

Budget surplus: now an equally immense budget deficit.

Taxes: robbing the poor and giving to the rich. And if that stupid $300 rebate got your skirts flying up, you probably think that O.J. was innocent and the second amendment guarantees your right to bear grenade launchers.

Natural reserves: renamed "oil reserves" and handed over to the oil companies.

Y'know, I still can't believe the American public voted him into office...

Oh wait! That's right! We didn't!! The Supreme Court appointed him...