“The sombre imbecility of tyranny”

William T. Vollman's novel Europe Central impressed the hell out of me. It well deserved the National Book Award. Its author did not deserve over 700 pages of an FBI file compiled originally on the basis of a suspicion that he was the "Unabomber." Nor indeed, Ted Kaczynski having been identified and arrested by then, ought he have been investigated as the source of the 2001 anthrax attacks on the basis of his spurious identification as a "former suspect." Nor indeed is it proper that he has been detained on border crossings (seven hours seated. No reading permitted. Pee only under supervision) on the strength of his "suspect" status. This is how we live now. America is a police state. Honest, it is. This can happen to anyone.

(the tagline is from Nostromo, by Joseph Conrad)