Fully -- Fully, I Say -- Bipartisan

So, the government-lapdog secret "court" whereby the government supposedly protects us from itself -- don't laugh, dammit! -- is now better than ever, and the lawbreaking but government-cooperative telecoms are as safe, warm, and secure as if in their mothers' arms:

After more than a year of wrangling, the Senate handed the White House a major victory on Tuesday by voting to broaden the government’s spy powers and to give legal protection to phone companies that cooperated in President Bush’s program of eavesdropping without warrants.

One by one, the Senate rejected amendments that would have imposed greater civil liberties checks on the government’s surveillance powers. Finally, the Senate voted 68 to 29 to approve legislation that the White House had been pushing for months. Mr. Bush hailed the vote and urged the House to move quickly in following the Senate’s lead.

The outcome in the Senate amounted, in effect, to a broader proxy vote in support of Mr. Bush’s wiretapping program. The wide-ranging debate before the final vote presaged discussion that will play out this year in the presidential and Congressional elections on other issues testing the president’s wartime authority, including secret detentions, torture and Iraq war financing.

None of us has any excuse to pretend to be surprised by this. I hope, though, that we all recognize how fully complicit the Congress and both major-brand political parties are.

And, for my fellow Hoosiers, be assured that both your senators -- that's the "R" one and the "D" one -- voted in favor. Onward to Our Glorious Police State!

Each Cloud Has a (Very Small) Silver Lining

I suppose this is what must pass for "good news" in our formerly glorious, formerly constitutional former republic these days:

Illinois Senator Barack Obama has won the Democratic caucus in Maine, defeating Hillary Clinton. The Maine victory tops a weekend of gains by Mr Obama in the battle for the party's presidential nomination.

On Saturday, Mr Obama won polls in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state and the US Virgin Islands.

The clean sweep of all five weekend contests puts him almost neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton in their deadlocked nomination battle.

Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton has appointed a new campaign manager after this weekend's setbacks.

Since Sen. Obama's candidacy is the closest thing remaining to an antiwar candidacy in the Democratic Party, he qualifies for "lesser-of-two-evils" status, the alternative (and greater) evil being the bellicose Sen. Clinton. And, for now, he seems to have the momentum in a delegate-tied race, causing the aroma of fear and defeat to waft gently upward, once again, from the Clinton campaign.

However, I can call this "good news" only in the palest and most relative terms. Given what Sen. Obama's had to say when speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations, and before the Treason Lobby (AIPAC, that is), it's fairly clear that he is very, very far from a principled opponent to the Imperial project in general. It seems rather certain that his current "position" on the Iraq occupation is simply that: a position, a place from which one moves when the winds shift. Or after he gets elected, when he turns from campaign pandering to the Serious Business of Governing Responsibly. Somehow, it's very difficult for me to imagine Sen. Obama as the surpassing rarity who will even try to say a convincing "no" to the Dark Suits who manage America, Inc.

Some Fun for You!

What's a Thursday without a real classic internet maniac? For some reason, I thought of the Time Cube today. I hadn't looked at it in several years, and it's still there! Go have a look -- it's quite amusing.

Just for the record: I'm definitely evil and educated stupid.

Bartleby, RIP

Not that it matters. When I first started this blog, it seemed that most blogwriters were using clever pseudonyms, and I assumed that was an obligatory aspect of the style. Some still do, some don't -- who cares?

"Bartleby the Scrivener" was and remains my favorite among Melville's works. I did not, however, put much thought into the choice. If I had, it might have occurred to me that "Bartleby" probably wouldn't be chosen as a nom de keyboard by more than a few million online scriveners. So it goes.

Dubya: A Man of Many Concerns

Our Glorious War Leader affects "concern" over oil prices:

US President George W Bush, on the second day of a visit to Saudi Arabia, has raised concerns over oil prices.

Mr Bush made the comment in a meeting with Saudi business leaders and later took the concerns about the effect on the US economy to King Abdullah.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said the kingdom would boost production only if the market justified it.

Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil exporter and a leading member of the oil producers' cartel Opec.

Mr Bush said "high energy prices can affect economic growth because it's painful for our consumers... [and] could cause the US economy to slow down".

He added: "I would hope that as Opec considers different production levels that they understand that if... one of the biggest consumers' economy suffers it means less purchases, less oil and gas sold."

But, Mr. Supreme Decider El Presidente, what about duh-mocracy? What about the equal treatment of wymmyn? I thought, way back when you kicked off the Global War on Turr' and All Other Suboptimal Things, that you announced that regimes failing to meet the standard of liberal secular western wonderfulness that prevails in, say, Dallas-Fort Worth would have to go. Wasn't that why you put the righteous beatdown on them-those Afghan Tally-bans?

But no, you didn't drop the Word about Holy Democracy on the House of Saud, there in the homeland of almost all the 9-11 hijackers. Instead, you appear to have placed hat in hand and, with utmost obsequiousness, suggested to The Royal Potentate of Petroaffluence and Almighty Hand on the Oil Valve that gee, us Uh-mur'kans sure would like some cheaper gas in our tanks. The Princes of the Desert -- to their credit -- appear to have suggested politely that you go defecate in your hat.

So, after that resounding success, you made your way to Egypt. There, it was a different story. Since the Sons of the Pharoahs aren't the big oil fountains that the Saudis are, and since torture services can always be outsourced to "new Europe" or supplied at Guantanamo or Bagram or Camp Victory or Camp Bondsteel or various other places whose names I obviously don't need to know, you felt a little more free to preach your sermon:

Speaking in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Mr Bush said that he hoped Egypt would build on moves towards greater democracy.

Standing with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he stopped short of directly criticising Egypt's government.

The US has in the past raised concerns over Egypt's human rights record and its treatment of the independent press.

Mr Bush said that Egypt had "taken steps towards... democratic reform and my hope is that the Egyptian government will build on these important steps and give the people of this proud nation a greater voice in your future".

Egypt's banned opposition Muslim Brotherhood - which holds a fifth of the seats in parliament - staged a protest in Cairo on Tuesday against Mr Bush's visit, which was only due to last three or four hours.

Ah, yes, The U.S. has such "concerns over Egypt's human rights record" that Egypt is one of the frequent destinations of those secret CIA rendition flights.

My country is short on many things: meaningful education, manufacturing industry, a sustainable economy, peace, real morality, liberty ... many shortages. But not everything. One thing the U.S. seems to have plenty of is concerns.

About other people's business, that is.

Analysis: New Hampshire Primary Results

The same seems to apply. Hey, this is easy! How much does that brain-free little maniac Chris Matthews get paid, again?