Write Your Congressperson (I Did)

The ill-named Protect America Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives with 227 yeas to 183 nays. You've probably heard of this bill, though named something more appropriate like The Warantless Wiretapping Act.

This preposterous law allows President Bush to legally continue doing what he was illegally doing previously: spy on his country's own citizens without the hassle of getting a court order, and without the bother of judicial oversight. It's clear that checks and balances just don't work for this administration.

More importantly, perhaps, is the incredulous idea that 41 democrats voted for this preposterous law. These are the same democrats who hold a majority in the House; the same democrats who gained that majority because the populous had it up to here with President Bush. To thank us for voting their party in, they hand Bush a silver platter, adorned not just with the victory of more control over the citizens of the United States, but also vindicating his previous illegal actions, essentially clearing him of any wrongdoing.

I wish I could channel my lividity into something more concrete. Instead, all I manged was a letter to my congressman:

I'm writing to express my extreme disapproval of your vote in role call 836 for the "Protect America Act." Frankly, this bill does nothing to "protect America." It does, however, require your constituents to hand in yet more civil liberties. It also hands more authority to the power-hungry executive branch, which gives you, yourself (and thereby the people you represent), less license over their own decisions.

I understand that you voted with your party, but you would have been in better company with Representatives Johnson and Jones, the two republicans who voted against this abominable bill.

Sincerely,

Josh Prud'homme
A politically conscious, voting member of Indiana's fourth district.

You can write your congressperson here, and see how he or she voted here.