ITMFA

As is often the case, this starts from Monkeyboy's Links. You really should just go there.

But here's a summary of the things that have been seeping into my brain (from mkb and elsewhere) and getting me all hot and bothered:

• I keep hearing about all the controversy over the Dubai "take-over" of U.S. shipping ports, but as much as I think the current administration sucks ass, this really seems like a non-issue. Thank you Robert Reich for making the case, not that anybody is listening. Democrats are trying to pound the administration for it, but it seems like pointless political posturing that would make them look foolish if they weren't also being flanked by Republicans who are doing the same thing. (Presumably it's because they'd all get slammed for being "soft on terror," presumably by the same Republicans who've been making the big whoop-de-doo over the whole thing, so I guess I have to accept that it's just a big defensive play all-around.) But really, can wejust hammer them on the real issues... like say, the illegal wiretapping business? Oh, right...

• "Senate panel blocks eavesdropping probe" I guess that's why we're stuck with this other bullshit.

• And then there's the renewal of the Patriot act. There's an article at the Chicago Tribute on Russ Feingold's lone opposition; it requires registration there, but there appears to be another copy at the Mercury News.

• The guy who, as chief counsel to the President, wrote up the rationalizations for allowing torture and who is now the head of the Justice Department recently spoke at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and defended the U.S. detention policy.

• Despotism & Democracy: How do we rate on the scales of Respect, Power, Economic Distribution and Education?

• ITMFA Of course, if we can't even get the wiretapping investigated...