Deadlines Today

Not much blogging to be had for moi.

I did notice that there were some deals made today. The NYC transit workers are going back on the job, which will be welcome news for my Manhattanite sister.

And the Patriot Act is going to be renewed for another six months. This is exactly what Russ Feingold and the bipartisan supporters of his filibuster wanted: more time to negotiate and work out a settlement that balanced civil liberties. The emergence of Snoopgate makes this all the more vital (although, if it's the policy of the government that they can override existing statutes in the name of fighting terrorism, does there really need to be a Patriot Act at ALL! Might as well get rid of all of these laws, everything would flow so much easier).

At some point, Russ and his gang are going to have to put their foot down. If you're just going to kick the can down the road by extending forever, it puts no pressure on the other side. This is the right thing to do for now, however.