This planet is going down the drain big-time, and 2006 does not really show any hope of change for the better. Where's that plague that takes out all the politicians in one big die-off? We need that NOW, dear geneticists! Or maybe there's a genetic predisposition towards public office and cronyism, with a prenatal test so that these bastards can be aborted before even taking their first lying breath? Ah, sweet fantasies...
An example of why I'm pessimistic: on one hand, voting machines in Wisconsin will now have to be open-source by law, but on the other hand merely annoying somebody online without disclosing your full identity can land you for two years in prison in Bush's kingdom. Sweet. It's good I'm not living there as I'm vocal about them all being fuckwits. That of course includes Mr. Howard and his cronies.