How to Vote Yourself a Police State (Because Presumably You Can't Count on Your Government to Set One Up For You?)

The theoretically Democratic Congress in the country formerly known as the United States of America just scheduled a vote on what is known as the FISA bill. This is a bill that expands immunity for telecoms companies involved in illegal wiretapping by the US government.

Why should Canadians or anyone outside the Land of the Free (Within Limits) care?

Where's your router? Do any of your phone calls pass through US-owned equipment? Do you call friends, relatives, or businesses in the States? Say bye-bye to your right to have a conversation without Big Brother looking over your shoulder.

You may think I'm being dramatic. That it's ridiculous to imagine that the telecoms industry would, first, collaborate with the Kommisars. Well that's been proven since at least 2006.

"Cool off, Metro," quoth the Avid Fan "It's not as though they can just sift the data from every phone call that comes into or out of the US or its affiliate countries."

Wrong.

It has been announced that the legislation is expected to pass. Among its provisions: American citizens can't sue telcos for allowing the government to spy on them illegally, in full defiance of the Constitution and rule of law.

But don't expect to read much about it in your local news: Any evidence used in dismissing such suits is secret. "Case dismissed, and no, you can't find out why."

In passing this, the Democrats will once again show themselves to be Bush-enabling, lobbyist-sucking sycophants.

I thought they were supposed to be beyond this by now?

They're actually worse than the Repubicans, whose idea it originally was to shred the Constitution, because they're supposed to be the opposition.

It'd be nice to see them actually oppose something.

I used to wonder how anyone could support Bush II and the Republican party, much less John Sydney Bush III.

But perhaps I understand. With friends like these you might as well elect their opponents, who at least aren't pretending it's a "compromise".

Compromise in the spirit of Munich, maybe.