Canât say Iâm surprised by this as it seems weâre now technologically able to go the full âlife imitates artâ route. That is to say that as much as we enjoy watching Star Trek technology come to life in our own hands, weâre also seeing the rise of monolithic blocks of corporate power that easily rival national power and wealth, ala the eeeeeevil Trade Alliance of Star Wars. State surveillance continues its subtle (and mostly unseen) creep into every facet of our daily lives and our lawmakers either ignore the fine language of bills theyâre told to pass (because apathy, because lazy, because corporate overlords) or theyâre not even allowed a reasonable chance to read and suggest changes to said bills (because fuck-if-I-know).
What really bothers me about the whole thing is that it all reeks of a culture that doesnât even begin to think about the ramifications these types of bills and authority will have on its own children. If I might go full-meta, why the hell would you pollute the stream to get rich when your family lives in the valley where that same stream will be used for drinking, cooking, washing, raising crops, etc. etc.? Itâs like a global cognitive disconnect.
Congress does not have the power to tie its own future hands. Even if it passes this bill, the next time a treaty goes to congress that congress can do anything it can do now.
Just the usual hyperbole in the headline and distortion of facts in the post. TPA isnât some new sort of magical incarnation and this does nothing to actually strip Congress of any powers since they can refuse to grant TPA status and or vote no on the resulting trade treaty.
@doctorow Iâm coming to think of you as a sort of Wise Man of Chelm on politics and technology both. Too bad the results arenât funny like Chelm stories.
âTo gutâ implies that Congress is actually a viable entity currently. Near as I can gather it has become in effect and practice a corporate fundraising/shilling venue with some fairly good PR that manages to apply some democratic veneer to the MDB* farce.
Sadly, Canada is no better. By virtue of a political system designed for the age of horses and telegraphs, we have managed to delegate 100% of government power to a single individual, with a carefully managed and highly focused election process every 4 years.
*MDB= Medium Density Bullshit
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