Hero!

This morning it seemed the Senate Republicans would get away with some cosmetic changes to the Patriot Act. By afternoon it appeared Frist would have to go back to telediagnosis of brain death. A group of six Senators of both parties including our own Ken Salazar rebelled. While the Administration attempted to defend its lies by accusing those who supported them based on their lies of supporting them, the Pentagon defended burning people to the bone with white phosphorous and the Shrub attempted to look tough and presidential, six heroes rebelled against the attempt to establish a KGB within the United States.

The right-wingers wanted to extend all provisions of the Patriot Act for seven years, meaning the thirty thousand or so fishing expeditions the FBI has historically made per year can continue or even escalate. By the way, they never trash that data. If you've read Mein Kampf or Das Kapital or Dirty Bombs for Dummies or Catcher in the Rye, it will be on file in Washington forever, ready to jump out of the file whenever They think it "Necessary". If you've ever gotten an e-mail from an arabic-sounding sender, they can get everything from your ISP and keep it forever, including, one may think, how many porn sites you've visited and how much you've donated on-line to the Democratic National Committee. That Google search on "al-qaida" could mean that one day the men in black show up to question you about your terrorist ties. The Paranoia Department claims the extraordinary search and seizure powers granted under the Patriot Act are necessary and if you demand proof, they're obligated to give none. They're under no control. They're happy in a black world where your house is readily violable and your privacy doesn't exist.

The six heroes want simple American civil rights. They want you to be free of fear that some FBI functionary can obtain all your records just because he or she wants to without you being tied to any suspicion or investigation of terrorism. The six also want you notified if the FBI conducts a "sneak and peek" search of your property. Judicial oversight of the FBI and a right to privacy would seem to be basic American values but who would have thought we'd ever be debating whether it is acceptable to torture prisoners?

We already know Allard the Torturer's position on this: Sneak and peek and obtain records to your heart's content. And bring out the black leather and waterboards for anyone you catch after you've rendered them to some less principled country (but we're discussing torture as a valid interrogation means, how can we claim principles?).

Kudoes, too, to the Republican rebels in the House who voted down the benefit cuts for the poor and middle class - we don't need to be cutting taxes for the rich and food stamps for the poor. And to the Democrats who unanimously confirmed our values of offering aid and support to those who need it, praise. In the past, these people would be named statesmen. In today's Washington environment, the only word that works is hero.