like clockwork

So, the government "asks" Google to turn over a massive number of search records. Google, no doubt with the advice of their attorneys, refuses, essentially saying that it will not participate in a general government fishing expedition. Within hours, republican surrogates start pumping up the volume on their Outrage Boom Boxes about the fact that Google has decided to cooperate with the Chinese government and restrict searches to those to which the Chinese government agrees. Bush-fluffers like Lou Dobbs remind Google that it needs to remember which country "Google is chartered in," a "be a shame if anything happened to that nice company of yours" moment if there ever was one. Google stock prices drop.

Nobody pays attention to the fact that the people who are the most outraged are the upstanding "free market" capitalists. Nobody pays attention to the fact that the Bush administration has catered to the whims of some of the most abusive and repressive regimes in the world in order to hide their little torture dens. Nobody pays attention to the fact that under this administration, China has been able to buy enough U.S. government bonds to be able to exert significant control over the United States. Nobody pays attention to the fact that this administration itself has no regard for truth or free speech, and has subverted the press in countries around the world with no compunctions and with no consequences. Nobody pays attention to the fact that the Bush administration has permitted and made conditions inviting to outsource middle-class jobs for American citizens to China, and that Chinese-made goods are the foundation of major republican contributors like Wal-Mart.


Yeah, Google is the bad guy, no doubt about it.