A lot of my friends have been asking me of my opinion of the bills just passed through Congress on November 13, that severely limit our most basic civil liberties. I’m not sure what they want me to say. Most of the new parts of the bill are just extensions of policies passed by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. It’s pretty safe to say that if they are gonna tap our phones and read our email, they probably started at least 6 years ago. The law never stopped it before. You cannot expect the state to foster progressive vital thought. At best it will tolerate it, see where a profit will be made, and dogmatize it until it resembles everything else. The law never stopped them but it never stopped progress, either. Freedom isn’t something the state gives you anyway; it’s something you give yourself. The more you stand up for your freedom, the more free you are. Yeah, I know; none of that makes me feel any better about the situation either.