Probably a futile attempt, but an attempt. The 'current situation' is a pain in the ass. Probably the biggest pain the ass is the absolute fucking ignorance displayed by our politicians, commentators, and the public.

Myth 1

Every action being taken in this 'conflict' is based on deeply held ideological and frankly partisan beliefs. There is nothing being done 'for the good of the country.'

Does anyone honestly believe that retroactively eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax is going to create jobs? Does anyone honestly believe that the FBI and CIA can be trusted?

Bah!

Does this mean that we should allow the FBI and CIA to use previously prohibited tactics? Personally, I would say 'hell no! They have been restricted for a reason!,' but the key questions are not being addressed. We have created a system of laws in which the powers of the government, and of our law enforcement agencies have been intentionally limited. This system has come about in response to incidents of abuse by the agencies charged with protecting We The People.

The question of whether these 'incidents' of abuse amount to a 'pattern' of abuse is interesting, but irrelevant to the point that there is inarguably abuse, and that this abuse can be somewhat minimized when the agencies are forced to obey the rules.

So the current rush to remove the carefully crafted restrictions on the actions of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies needs to be balanced by a consideration of the reasons for these restrictions.

Myth 2

Here are some statistics showing the odds...