Civil liberties? Pish! That's so quaint.

Political rant:
Once again, King George has made a mockery of the Constitution. Apparently, it's been determined by our addle-brained president (and his coterie of "yes" men) that spying on our citizens without judicial oversight is just A-O-Fucking-Kay. This, of course, is not ok. We have a system of judicial safeguards in place for very good reason: so the government doesn't overstep its authority and engage in witch hunts against the American people. The government may very well have information or intelligence that leads them to suspect American citizens of fomenting terrorism or having ties to terror organizations - if they do, they need to follow the law and operate in a manner that befits a nation with democratic principles. Sadly, the ethically-challenged GOP leadership in Congress is so busy whoring themselves to any lobbyist with a dollar to spare, that they're just beginning notice that they've lost their power to reign in the Executive office.

Lawmakers have been caught by surprise by several recent reports, including the existence of secret U.S. prisons abroad, the CIA's detention overseas of innocent foreign nationals, and, last week, the discovery that the military has been engaged in domestic spying. After five years in which the GOP-controlled House and Senate undertook few investigations into the administration's activities, the legislative branch has begun to complain about being in the dark.

Political rave:
Props to Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), and Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) for telling the White House to, in effect, talk to the hand. Also, a minor shout out to PA's own independent-minded Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) for promising to investigate the president's latest flouting of the law. Specter is the only apparent member of the GOP that refuses to drink the administration's Kool-Aid. He's also the only Republican who's got anything mildly resembling a backbone...

Hopefully, I'll be able to start my "Best of '05" music list very soon. If not later today, then definitely tomorrow. In the meantime, here's Metacritic's highest rated discs of the year to tide you over.

Tuneage presently turning - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
by Bright Eyes.