Speaking of the police...

Be cautious. Be suspicious. Be skeptical whenever: The authorities - be they the local gendarmes, the FBI, Interpol, whatever - take a PR hit, like The Department of Homeland Security took a hit this week with that TB story, then you see:

BRAEKING NEWS!!! AUTHORITIES FOIL TERROR PLOT TO DESTROY NYC'S JFK AIRPORT.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I used to see this kind of stuff all the time when I was a newspaper reporter. The police chief's name was Harold Skelton. I referred to the local force as Harold Skelton and the Blue Coats. I didn't do that when I was down at the station, mind you. I was unpopular enough with the cops.

Anyway. Every now and then my editors would get a call from the chief. He was alerting them ( Not me. That would have been a feather in my cap. Credit was not something the police wished to give me ) to the fact that there was going to be:

A BIG DRUG BUST!

These big drug busts could have been perpetrated at any time. But they usually came in the wake of some bad news involving the department. Or no news lately about the department's success in dealing with an arson spree that left the city with more vacant lots than Beirut.

So pardon me if I'm a tad skeptical about this alleged plot to " Destroy JFK Airport. " The cable news guys ( Yes, you caught me watching again ) are telling America that the plot was " in the planning stages. " And that the terrorists were " home grown " and not a part of a large, organized outfit ( Like Al Qaeda ).

Lucky us.


Stay tuned if you want. I'll be watching the Sox beat the Yankees this afternoon.