Goodnight, America. I miss you already.

The end is neigh, as they say. Someday, in my old age, I will tell Sylvia and Joseph of the America they never knew. The one where you could speak freely without fear of being labeled a traitor. The one where you could fly on an airplane without being suspected a terrorist. And the one where you didn't have to fear that the government was going to break into your house or tap your phones on a whim.

Yesterday, the Democrats in the Senate followed the Republican minority into the abyss and effectively shredded the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads (bold mine):

"Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Maybe a staffer for one of the following worthless assholes who voted for the despicable FISA bill will Google "Fourth Amendment" and actually read to his or her boss what it used to guarantee (especially galling/surprising turncoats in bold):

Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea

You all disgust me. Not to ramble, but I am reminded of a very prescient Aesop's Fable that the above Senators would do well to take to heart when looking back on their decision to join the Republican "patriot" cause:

The Tortoise and the Birds

A TORTOISE desired to change its place of residence, so he asked an Eagle to carry him to his new home, promising her a rich reward for her trouble. The Eagle agreed, and seizing the Tortoise by the shell with her talons, soared aloft. On their way they met a Crow, who said to the Eagle: “Tortoise is good eating.” “The shell is too hard,” said the Eagle in reply. “The rocks will soon crack the shell,” was the Crow’s answer; and the Eagle, taking the hint, let fall the Tortoise on a sharp rock, and the two birds made a hearty meal off the Tortoise.

Moral: “Never Soar Aloft On An Enemy’s Pinions”