WARNING - Cave-In Zone

That bridge collapse in Minneapolis and that mine accident in Utah weren't the only disastrous cave-ins that occurred recently.

Here's how the Washington Post's editorial board described what happened in Congress:

"The Democratic-led Congress, more concerned with protecting its political backside than with safeguarding the privacy of American citizens, left town early yesterday after caving in to administration demands that it allow warrantless surveillance of the phone calls and e-mails of American citizens, with scant judicial supervision and no reporting to Congress about how many communications are being intercepted. To call this legislation ill-considered is to give it too much credit: It was scarcely considered at all. Instead, it was strong-armed through both chambers by an administration that seized the opportunity to write its warrantless wiretapping program into law—or, more precisely, to write it out from under any real legal restrictions."

In honor of this outrageous wiping-of-ass with what's left of the Bill Of Rights, I offer the following open letter to every Democrat who's running for office (are you listening, Hilary?):

Dear (insert name of member of Congress here):

I have only 3 words to say to you – lead, or leave.

I have had enough of watching you and your colleagues piss away what few rights and liberties we still have. I have had it up to my keester with your confirming of blatantly anti-democratic Supreme Court justices, virtually pardoning an impeachable president by declaring impeachment “off the table” and making no serious effort to end the Iraq fiasco. Now you've given the green-light to KGB-style surveillance of any decent American citizen of whom the President and his henchmen simply do not approve. We gave you our trust in the last election, and now you've pissed it down a rat hole.

You probably think that your re-election is assured this November because, you think, who would vote for anyone as blatantly anti-liberty as the present-day Republicans? Right you are on that second point, but if you're going to let us down the way you've done thus far, I for one am going to do what voters did in droves during the dark ages of the 1980's – stay home. Yes, that's right. Why should I, or anyone bother pulling a lever (or punching a button on one of those easy-to-hack computerized voting machines) for you guys if you're only going to ratify the excesses, follies and flat-out criminal activities of the most anti-democratic (with a small "d") regime this country has ever had?

Now, I've been a registered voter since 1972. I have made it my business to vote in every general election. I believed that it was my right and my duty as an American. This November might be the first time I abstain of my own free will. Yes, you say, that's no way for the citizen of a democracy to behave. What democracy? If you don't care about voting to protect our liberties, then I don't care about voting to prolong your highly-paid, handsomely-privileged employment.

I mean it. Start standing up for us now, or get the fuck out of Washington.

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I want to make it perfectly clear that this letter is in no way directed at those members of Congress, of either party, who have consistently stood up for the rights and liberties which Americans have fought for over the last 231 years. If you are fortunate enough to have one or more of these people in your Congressional district, support them with everything you've got, including your vote.