appears determined to celebrate the brand and the packaging even though the ingredients have become hopelessly adulterated. I've been feeling discouraged over the whole NSA business, and might not have written the piece without it; did consider holding off for a day on the post but finally had to "get it out of my system."

One of these days BDS may take notice of these harmless meditations, and because our affairs have become so entangled with the security state apparatus, they will likely not be pleased in that event. I suppose I'll burn that bridge when I come to it. It certainly is disheartening to see, on the evidence of their public pronouncements on the Book of Face, that so many of my shaggy old college comrades have degenerated into the reflexive flag waving and cheap patriotism I, and they, properly associated with old fartitude back in the day. "Defending freedom," my ass. I labor under no illusion that my impotent blogging is the moral equivalent of signing up with die Weiße Rose, but at least I'm on public record as dissenting. I'm still complicit, of course, but if these entries are taken into account, maybe The Hague will shave a few years off my term in the re-education camp.

cordially,