NEVER say 'never....'

But having closely followed events in the US especially these last three years, am baffled. And then again not. I think a lot of people aren't able to see the elephant in the room, and I do not mean the Republican mascot. And last year, there was energy and hope and optimism, and a willingness among the grass-roots to dig in and make a difference, and they thought they did. I remember how energising 1968 was, and what we hoped to acheive. And I thought the past years, 'if only WE had had such tools back then.' We only had ourselves and long talks in the middle of the night and were as creative as we could possibly be.

So I hoped, and things looked bright. I am sometimes an optimist, pessimistic, but hope for the best....

Today, with the cave-in yet again on the side of the Democrats, regarding the FISA bill, isn't it obvious? Do you see the elephant in the room yet? They all got bought, corrupted like I have never seen before, by corportations, and lobbyists.

And as for spying on their own---well, I know some good stories that affected me personally. Like being told everything I did the first time I spent a year studying here when I got back and this ASSHOLE pulled out one of those computer sheets, the old ones with the perforated sides, and told me solemnly what I DID abroad? (Nothing damaging, it was harmless, but meant to intimidate.) And that was under Nixon.

Another involved my very best, most favourite cousin, who can have a sharp wit and an acid remark that just shoots right out of the barrel. Snark city. It was in the Waldheim era, and I was excited about something or other, can not remember what. Something nice, at any rate. And she came out with a remark about HIM, and whaddya know? The phone connection started whirring and clicking and got so weird, we were silent for a moment, and then she said, 'Oh. Guess I shouldn't have said that, huh?' It was just snark. And I said, 'No, I guess you shouldn't have.'

The technology wasn't perfected then. There were no Internets. But it was obvious SOMEONE was listening in and recording and it wasn't Lily Tomlin on Laugh-in as Ernestine. (And THAT dates me, if Nixon didn't...)

There was a LOT more.

I left for a LOT of reasons.

And a good two thirds of them were not personal.

What surprises me is that so many younger people never got to learn their history there. And then they get surprised about surveillence? It is nothing NEW. What is new, is that all these developments have gone world-wide. And you can't tell any more when the telephone starts acting weird. Ten Democrats in the Senate did the right thing today. The rest deserve to be voted out and replaced.

Ten.

Now, there I've gone and done it.

Am disappointed, but not surprised.

See the real elephant in the room now?

And will now officially STFU. And remain pessimistically optimistic. Keep working, even though the outlook is bleak.

end of statement, and getting off the soap-box. Take care...

Update: Gladly it turns out I was being overly pessimistic for the time being. The bill got pulled until January. A YouTube clip on Eschaton by Dodd explains his office alone got over five hundred thousand calls, e-mails and messages within the past few days. (Maybe Reid saw his postition going bye-bye?) Whatever, it gives the opponents of the FISA bill a chance to consolidate more opposition to retroactive amnesty. Keep up the pressure! Good work!!!