Idiot Limbaugh II

Survived another term of grading, so it's now back to ranting.

Overall, today has not been a bad day for Americans. The election in Iraq went as smoothly as we could have hoped, the president was forced to accept the "no-torture" amendment proposed by John McCain, and the Senate was not able to overcome a filibuster of the Patriot Act. Maybe some of our civil liberties will be restored.

On the other hand, there is the story in the New York Times about Bush ordering the National Security Agency to secretly monitor citizens' international phone calls and emails. The reaction by the conservatives is typified by Rush Limbaugh. Rather than be offended by the violation of citizens' privacy, he is calling for the Attorney General to investigate who leaked the story to the Times.

Of course, this is a man who calls himself "America's anchorman", not understanding that the primary function of the news media is surveillance of the environment, not opinion dissemination. We should be aware when the government violates our rights.