I'm starting to think these legislatures are incapable of dealing with any of the problems they need to deal with, so they're running about looking for a can to kick.

just more BS politicians trying to re-wright the Constitution

I think if we brought home all the Iraq and Afghanistan vets and let them trade places with Congress for a year--then let the congressmen they replaced go to Afghanistan and fill their billets for that year--we could start to thin out some of the politics.  We could let the survivors run for re-election afterwards.

I have a dream.

@starkers--fortunately for us those other great democratic institutions like China , North Korea, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Iran still exist.  They're so much better.  Whew, I was really worried a bit there.

I'm concerned too but there is a big divide between a genuine dictatorship and oppressive regime and Western democracies.  Still a chance to change things.

To be frank, I think you have reason to be worried.... what with this latest absurdity, SOPA, the MPIAA and MIAA all seeking power and control over the lives and incomes of US AND world citizens.... the fact that they've bought and paid for corrupt politicians to be their puppets.  Believe me, things are going to get a whole lot worse before they become entirely dictatorial and totally oppressive.

Much of the ranting above exemplifies the classic mistake of conflating a set member with a full set. Idiots abound everywhere, and their presence in the ranks of elected officials is no excuse for wallowing in broad-brush bitching instead of directly engaging your elected representatives about specific policy issues that matter to you.

My rant aside, the news from EFF is that this particular tempest in a teapot probably never passed tropical depression status. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/hawaiian-data-retention-bill-would-force-internet-companies-spy-users’-browsing

(I give EFF money when I'm doing well. From the tone of the rants above, many of you probably should do the same.) 

Ah, but I seem to have fell into an unusual trap for a political scientist--I was concise to a fault. My notion of direct engagement doesn't require that any of my representatives be clearly interested in opinions from people like me.

My current member of the U.S. House has never answered any of my correspondence with anything other than form letters that amount to "We noticed that you wrote, but we don't have time or interest in responding thoughtfully. Here's a canned chunk of stuff that we hope makes you think we're doing a good job for you in Congress." 

When that's your situation, direct engagement means working to unseat the uppity incumbent. One of the things I did in that regard was to aggressively support efforts in Florida to limit gerrymandering. We won the state constitutional amendment fight, but it still isn't quite clear how that win will play out in the actual redistricting process. With luck, I'll be in a new district this year and have a chance of electing a member who might be at least marginally sympathetic to my policy preferences. 

I think it has to do with the type of personality. People that excel in politics are backstabbing, dishonest, disloyal, power hungry assholes. Not a place for for the typical do-gooder to get a foothold in. From what I understand, if someone in politics doesn't play 'the game' they are pushed to the back benches and can't do anything.

I say bring back the good ol' days of hereditary rule...that should solve the problem...

In all honesty though, George Washington (and his Cabinet) are often considered the best of America's presidencies...and the key difference between him and his successors is that Washington didn't really want to be president...

So you've met our former Illinois Governor? He excelled in all that, but not in covering it up.

We still have clean elections in the U.S., so the real people to blame are the citizens who keep returning 'despicable' people to office. 

The truly vexing irony for many political scientists is that long-term opinion research shows a consistent cognitive dissonance between assessments of individual members of Congress and Congress as a whole. Currently, a vast majority hold Congress in extremely low regard, but a majority are also satisfied with the House and Senate members who represents them.

p.s. Even today, there are relatively honest 'do-gooders' in office at all levels, especially in local governments. At the federal level, they are few in number and don't get much press because they are not active in the rhetorical trench warfare that has replaced civility in both houses of Congress. Our media (of all sorts) should probably get the second biggest share of blame because chasing ratings/sales has trumped quality investigative reporting for decades now.

1) Until they check your credit rating.

2) The Secret Service's too.