Gestapo go-ahead: Congressional "leaders" have worked out a deal so that the establishment of a Department of Homeland Security ("Ministry of Love" or "Miniluv" in Newspeak) can proceed, possibly as soon as Friday. Always a tower of principled strength, "Senator Tom Daschle, the majority leader, said he disagreed with the plan but would not block its passage. His staff released a schedule showing how the bill could be approved as soon as Friday." Way to stand up for our freedoms, Tom.

The agreement gives the Bush administration a free hand to jettison Civil Service rules in promoting and firing workers in the new agency and allows the president to exempt unionized workers from collective-bargaining agreements in the name of national security.

Wonderful. Not only are unions flushed further down the toilet, it looks as though the Bushies will have full power to hire and fire agency employees. So some border cop or Coast Guard officer who takes the Constitution a little too seriously can be out of work on a moment's notice, and good luck finding another decent job in this economy. Doubleplusungood! (Reminder: Orwell's "1984" is pretty much required reading for understanding this blog. It is also required reading for understanding what the Bushies are doing. You can probably still buy a copy at a used book store that won't show up on an FBI computer somewhere.)