"Techies concerned over NSA surveillance will march in D.C., proclaiming ‘Stop Watching Us’"

The NSA controversy has become the defining issue among those that are technologically savvy. A protest against the NSA's spy programs is scheduled for Saturday near the Capitol and is expected to gather thousands of followers. The group in charge of the protest, Stop Watching Us, has stated that their protest welcomes any supporters. Stop Watching Us's motivation for protesting lies in the fact that the government simply has too much information at its disposal. One protestor even stated: “Twenty years ago, if they collected this information, they couldn’t do much with it.”

I personally believe that any protest against the NSA is completely justified at this point. The fact that such spy programs existed in the first place already trampled the Constitution, but at least the government was honest about such privacy invasions during the Bush administration. However, President Obama not only went against his campaign promise of ending such programs, he expanded them, which is a horrible crime towards the American people. The term fascism is thrown around frequently with issues such as this but I am going to take a stance at middle ground. I am not one of those people that insists that the United States is already a fascist country, because we have not gone as far as to execute citizens for dissent. However, the direction the United States is heading towards, whatever it may be, cannot be one that is desirable when every citizen is watched constantly as if they are all criminals.

"Obama, Republicans in debt talks on two fronts"

After trying to negotiate with House Republicans about how to end the government shutdown yesterday, the Obama administration has still not made any progress. The Senate suggested reopening the government and raising the federal debt limit for three months, which were closer to Obama's terms. The White House has said that there is the potential for progress to be made in negotiations which would allow Obama to reopen the federal government and resume fixing the economy. However, this statement has not received much clarification as the House Speaker, John A. Boehner, left the Capitol without speaking to reporters.

Both sides have a different view of the meeting. The Republicans see it as a negotiations. However, Obama has publicly and privately stated that he would not negotiate over the federal debt. Today, Obama is expected to host a meeting with the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell. The House has stated that it would negotiate on November 22 but would not agree to end the shutdown.

It is a wonder how the government has come to this point. One wonders if, at this rate, the government will even reopen in the year of 2013. Our current politicians need to understand that this shutdown has the potential to cripple America's economy. However, they are too involved in disagreement and will not budge. I once saw an internet movie critic named Doug Walker that delivered this statement when reviewing a movie: "I've just realized the problem with this movie. There's no story. It's just explaining... it's just explaining and fighting, and I get enough of that from my own government!" This statement definitely holds true to this situation. At the very least, we all can at least tell our children that we lived through this event in American history and just laughed at the incompetence of our politicians.

"Obama cancels the rest of Asia trip, citing difficulties of travel during shutdown"

Last Thursday, President Obama had to recuse himself from two regional summits to handle the quarrel of the budget in Congress that shut down the federal government. Obama made this decision because the shutdown, which was completely avoidable in his eyes, is setting back the government's ability to create jobs, which would be done advocating American advancement and exporting in Asia. Obama was originally scheduled to visit the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Burma, Malaysia, and the Philippines. At the regional summit, Obama was hoping to negotiate with the Russian president over the crisis in Syria and the fate of Edward Snowden, the one who leaked crucial documents about the American government's extensive wiretappings. Experts have said that Obama's inability to make it to the summit will deal a crucial blow to the Obama Administration, as the Chines will probably be able to slowly break off relations with the United States.

I believe that the effects of the government shutdown are a fascinating display of what happens when there is a lack of cooperation amongst politicians. The shutdown has also cost us the opportunity to negotiate for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement that would include over twelve nations. If America is to truly progress as a country, our politicians must learn the meaning of the word "compromise". If our politicians do not learn to compromise in the future, then all of us will suffer. I personally predict that, given the quarrelsome state of our government, another shut down in the future is incredibly probable.