I read an interesting piece about possible terrorism threats to Seattle 'Terrorism cover-up in Seattle Center' . It included this bit "A man identified as a terrorist by the Joint Terrorism Task Force spent a couple of hours on top of the Space Needle last winter taking digital photos and drawing sketches of the Seattle waterfront, according to a credible source who spoke on strict condition of anonymity.

The source also said the man was timing the ferries as they pulled into and out of port on the same day when the mayor and Italian officials were visiting the Space Needle as part of a sister-city event between Seattle and Perugia, Italy."

The writer couldn't get any direct confirmation from government sources (big surprise) but his investigation lead him to believe there might be something to this.

I read another interesting piece on whether Washington State was a swing state in the Presidential election or not. 'Washington: It does mean a thing, though it ain't got that swing.' which mentions this: "On the list of swingers, Washington state doesn't rank high: It's probably No. 19 or so. The Democrats hold six of the state's nine congressional seats and all but two of the statewide offices.* the state hasn't elected a Republican governor since 1980. But the huge amounts of money raised by both campaigns have expanded the presidential race into places that otherwise might be ignored, which is why Washington is theoretically in play. Still, many people in the state think it will be locked up for Kerry before long. In 1988, George H.W. Bush contested Washington until October, when he gave up and focused his resources elsewhere. In 1996, Bob Dole did the same thing. The general sentiment is that President Bush will adhere to precedent.

For once, though, Washington might get lots of the candidates' attention until Election Day. Not because the presidential race is particularly competitive here--it's not--but because Bush and Kerry want to influence the other races on the state's ballot...

...Bush will play here to raise money from wealthy Seattle-area voters (for himself and for the state Republican Party) and to solidify the state's conservative base, and who knows, maybe he can pull an upset in the process."

This started me thinking; maybe Bush knows something about the future of the State of Washington that its voters don't know? Nothing could swing a state faster than a terrorist attack.

Has George Bush been shown an intelligence briefing titled "Al Qaeda determined to attack Seattle before election" and is he giving it the same response he gave the earlier briefing titled "Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States" ('Bush's 'al-Qaeda memo' released' ) ?

Almost certainly a paranoid fantasy on my part, but if it DOES happen, remember you heard it here first.

Big Time Patriot