You know something that would show my softer, gentler side. Not that twitchy, angry, frothing at the mouth, borderline paranoid side that tends to be what comes out in most of my posts on SEB. I wanted to post a few links to some things I find amusing (warning : not for children, the emotionally unstable, or cry babies) and since animation is my first true love rant endlessly about the current crop of crap masquerading as children’s entertainment. Unfortunately that will have to wait Since I found more disturbing news about the so called “Patriot” act.

It seems that Congressional Republicans are attempting to make the powers granted to Bush for spying, eaves dropping, and data collection permanent. The Patriot act would normally expire at the end of 2005 but Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is going to tack on an amendment to the Kyl-Schumer measure proposing the Patriot act be made permanent. Now maybe I’m just crazy but I feel a little uncomfortable giving such unrestricted power to a man who got his ass kicked by a pretzel, relies an a sarcastic old mummy who made sure Saddam could get his hands on biological agents, and hires a convicted felon to construct a data gathering monstrosity designed to collect information on each and every one of us. For my part I have already contacted my representatives via e-mail and let them know that I am opposed to making the Patriot permanent.

The Kyl-Schumer legislation is also a frightening bit of legislation allowing secret surveillance on anyone (no longer must Federal Agents be burdened with proving that the subject is affiliated with a terrorist organization). If it wouldn’t make me sound so much like my grandfather I would suggest that we might be moving more toward a Stalinist America with government agents monitoring your every move, citizens encouraged to spy on one another, secret arrests and indefinite incarceration. Nah, not in America.

No Sir.