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The Supreme Court upheld the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which brings us one step closer to the complete and total corporate domination of everyday life in the United States.

This was an unfortunate loss for Larry Lessig, whose opinions on the matter strike me as extraordinarily reasonable. Unfortunately, America has no place for reason these days. Let corporate interests prevail—to hell with the public domain!

This is just one of many things that should, but doesn’t, provoke massive protests in the U.S. these days (the regular erosion of fundamental liberties being another). What’s wrong with my compatriots? Lack of awareness?

An article at Wired reports that nearly two dozen municipalities around the country are taking steps to counter the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act, a piece of legislation that I feel should never have even been presented to Congress, much less passed.

Very glad to see that communities are making attempts to alert citizens to the fact that freedom itself is coming under attack--not by Al Qaeda, but by the Bush administration!

Will citizens remember come 2004? I hope so.

I wonder this a lot these days. It seems to me that all decisions about matters of U.S. policy are now being determined exclusively by political interests. Sound, principled leadership is conspicuous only in its absence. 

Examples of this behavior can be found in the administration’s limp economic policy, its milking of the “war on terror” for political gain, and, most recently, with the coy manner in which it has dodged the Lott Issue. Clinton says that the Republican agenda is inimical to everything America stands for. Although some of that can be dismissed as partisan opportunism, I don’t think he is too far off the mark. 

I feel very strongly that the nature of U.S. politics these days are more about appealing to a very narrow range of special interests than it is about doing what is best for our country. Because of this, narrow-minded groups that can mobilize voters during elections are poised to benefit from the greatest kickback of all: complete control of America, forever. These groups rarely represent mainstream American thinking, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at current U.S. policy.

It is for this reason that I sincerely hope that everyone who is entitled to vote in the 2004 elections actually does so. It’s time to take control of our government back from these special interests, but we can only do it if we all do it.

As the Bush team steamrolls its way towards a war in Iraq, we find this message from Henry Kissinger: 

“It is not in the American national interest to establish preemption as a universal principle available to every nation.”

Mr. Kissenger also writes:

“American military intervention in Iraq would be supported only grudgingly, if at all, by most European allies.”

I can tell you that it’s not only the European allies that would be unlikely to support action in Iraq--Asia doesn’t seem to be too fond of the idea, either.

Speaking of Asia, here’s what Mr. Kissenger had to say about that particular region:

“The most interesting and potentially fateful reaction might well be that of India, which would be tempted to apply the new principle of preemption to Pakistan.”

So, not only is this war likely to alienate our allies, destabilize the Middle East, and give Islamic fundamentalists even more reason to hate the U.S., but it will also give other nuke-toting states a precedent for aggression in the guise of preemption. Great. Tell me, just how far are we willing to let Bush go to ensure Republican victories in November? (Which is, in my opinion, the real reason Bush wants this war so much: To drape the flag around his party, thereby ensuring Republican dominance in government.)

I’m afraid I am forced to agree, once again, with Mr. Kissenger:

“America’s special responsibility, as the most powerful nation in the world, is to work toward an international system that rests on more than military power—indeed, that strives to translate power into cooperation.”

No cooperation, no war. It should be that simple. Why isn’t it?

I’ve never been good at keeping a one, but an online journal is just what I need to keep all of my thoughts from running away before I can write them down.

I can see that it will take some discipline to keep a regular journal (something I’ve never really enjoyed doing), but I hope to be able to post a thought or two each day. 

Here’s today’s:

It’s good to see that Americans have come to their senses and started questioning the Bush administration’s handling of the so-called “war” on terror. Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand how serious this issue is (and how potentially explosive it can be), but I am glad that I am no longer alone in thinking that the Bush team has been riding this issue for political advantage for far too long now.