Terrorism sells. Totally.

Someone in government has decided that the best way to have Americans swallow the whopper otherwise known Total Information Awareness is to rename it Terrorism Information Awareness. Oh like that little deft marketing play will really fool everyone into believing they are not going to be using it to increase survelance of the general American populace. Does anyone else see the irony in that this is exactly the kind of tactic used by the government in Orwell's "1984"? In 1984 the "Ministry of Truth" is actually the ministry devoted to spreading government propoganda, the "Ministry of Peace" is the ministry devoted to war, and the "Ministry of Love" is the ministry devoted to law and order. So I'm really surprised that they didn't decide to rename TIA to "Truthful Love and Peace". Nah, the American public would never buy that...

The problem is they probably would because the poor dumb/paranoid/frightened (delete as appropriate) American public has a tendancy to buy anything sugar coated with the message of reducing terrorism. They bought the invasion of Afghanistan. They bought the invasion of Iraq. They bought the reduction of civil liberties. They bought the mass neglect of the economy. They bought Bush's tax cut (because cutting taxes stimulates more spending i.e. shopping and shopping is the first and most important message for us that came from the government after 9/11). Basically they bought the entire store full of "anti-terrorist" measures and will continue to do so until Bush and Co. get bored of chasing after terrorists at the end of the rainbow and the next big thing to be afraid of is identified and whatever it is, we'll buy it because buying stuff makes us feel good and feeling good is after all, the only thing that counts.

So I'm sad to report that unfortunately this little groundhog is seeing a shadow today and hence is forecasting six more years of the Bush winter of our discontent and six more years of this crazy bullshit shopping spree.

Lets hope I'm wrong.