In the early 90s, I lived near the New Mexico State Fairgrounds. My roommates and I would go to a McDonald's right across the street from where the horses and cattle were housed. They had nights where you could buy cheeseburgers for twenty-five cents apiece. You get six of those puppies and you were full, even if it made you feel a little weird in the stomach.

One night at this McDonald's, I noticed a guy who had scammed one of my roommates out of five bucks with three card monty over by the college a few days earlier. He had migrated to the State Fair because of the crowds of gullible idiots who were more than willing to throw dollars down. Three card monty is a sleight of hand game. On its face, you have at least a one in three chance of winning--but you actually think you can pick the card if you watch him move them around. The scam is that he will slip the correct card out with a dummy card. You never win more than he needs to get you to bet big. In other words, you never win.

It's a scam, and it happens on a larger scale to all of us these days. Our government has gotten really good at this--even when they don't plan it in the first place.

The Dubai Port Deal is the latest in government three card monty.

As I said a few weeks ago, I agree with the Prez. This deal does nothing to sacrifice our nation's "security." Even a government-run business is a business. Why would they want to send us bombs when they really just want to make money off of us? And even if terrorists sought to use this method of sending us bombs, wouldn't it be in the self-interest of the company to stop them? How bad would it look if one of the ports run by the Dubai company was the entry point of a bomb? Bad. Really bad.

But the deal was a great opportunity for Republicans in Congress to hold their hands on their hearts and sincerely disagree with the Prez. To break with a leader who has a rather low standing right now in his own country. In the upcoming elections they can say, "No, we don't vote for EVERYTHING the Prez wants," and they will be correct. They aren't spineless, you see, they vote their conscience once in a blue moon.

The Prez promised to veto any legislation saying the port deal couldn't go through, but he didn't even have to blink on that one, either. The Dubai company withdrew itself, making the whole deal a non-issue. Did anyone really think the first veto by this Prez would be over this? He doesn't even know where the veto pen is or what it looks like. Hell, it'd take a day of searching just to find out their intelligence on the location of the veto pen was faulty.

And while everyone got up in arms (and rather racist about the whole deal, if you ask me), they slipped something through the cracks.

Late last year, as the Prez tried to throw some of his weight around, the Patriot Act renewal was put on hold. The Prez predicted the downfall of our country if it wasn't renewed post haste, but the Senate wanted more time to look at the act again. So a couple more months were allotted and the Prez mostly shut up about it--except to keep saying he needed it to protect the company...I mean country.

As a matter of fact, most of government shut up about it. But last week, as everyone was bitching about this port deal, the Patriot Act was renewed with few changes. A little judicial oversight (after a 45-day leeway period) on some wiretaps, no more wide library searches (because no one goes to the library anymore anyway), but it's the same Big Brother bullshit they passed in the wee hours after 9/11 (never forget) and never read.

And now we've got it renewed again with little debate. Because everyone was belly-aching about this idiotic port deal (those twenty-five cent burgers don't go down easy).

The Prez was ecstatic, talking about how the Patriot Act was the main fighting tool against the bad guys (whoever they decide the bad guys are this week). But isn't the Prez pretty much above the law? Doesn't he get to do what he wants and then explain it later as essential to national security? Can't he just cite the constitution vaguely and, with a wave of his hand, get away with it? He doesn't have to follow any of these laws--he hasn't for the last four plus years anyway. He's broken laws that have been around since the 70s, and then says it's because this is a new war (and couldn't have possibly foreseen in the dark ages when Jimmy Carter was President).

Doesn't anyone else remember Reagan talking about the War on Terrorism? This shit ain't new. This is the same shit we've been fed since Nixon. Since McCarthy. (Since Washington ordered wire taps in the Revolutionary War--doesn't anyone think this is a slightly anachronistic precedent for spying on Americans?)

But it doesn't matter anyway. Because we aren't ever going to really talk about what rights we've all given up in this great war against--who is it again? Is it Dubai? Is it Iraq? Saudi Arabia? Terrorists from the non-country of wherever? And does it matter?

We got smoke blown up our ass again. Republicans trying to keep their jobs in a few months can distance themselves (slightly) from this cabal of an administration. They can claim to be their own person, while they lean on the big stick of terrorism.

And we all let it happen because, dammit, I know which card it is. I've been watching him move them around, and I know it's the one on the far right. Five bucks on the far right one.

Damn, now I'm down twenty-five. Double or nothing?

Matt Worley wants you to know the card is not one of the three on the table, it's in the palm of his hand.