I heard from Elizabeth Dole today (okay, I got a form letter from her, but hey, she really knows how to work that mail-merge function). The letter was in response to the letter I sent her last November.

She tells me that H.R. 2391 was not passed by Congress, which means we cannot be jailed for bringing a camcorder into a movie theater, and we will continue to be able to fast-forward through commercials without fear of criminal repercussions. Dole even has a fairly reasonable-sounding catchphrase for why she was opposed to the legislation: “We must be careful to preserve consumer freedoms as we develop ways to safeguard intellectual property rights.”

Of course, I’d phrase that a little more strongly: so-called “intellectual property” laws are now badly skewed in favor of existing rightsholders. Intellectual freedom is in jeopardy, and we must resist efforts to “strengthen” these laws by further restricting freedom.

So it looks like the Iraqi election went about as well as expected. They expected about 58 percent turnout, and reports of turnout range from 55 to 60 percent. Many predicted that most of the violence would be over by election day (you’re not going to deter voters who’ve already voted), and that also turned out ot be true. Iraq also took a novel approach in preventing car-bombings: banning all cars.

It’s a tremendous relief to for the election to be over. Of course, we have no clue what happened yet, but there are some encouraging signs. I have noticed an Iraqi tendency to appear very combative and resolute despite all odds, then back down completely at the last possible moment. It’s possible that this is what will happen with Iraqi resistance: seeing that they were unable to stop the elections, the resistance may simply vanish.

While this would be good for the Iraqi people, I’m not sure what message it will send to Bush. The invasion has been tough enough that I’m hoping he won’t lightly go this route again. If Bush can claim victory — for real — in Iraq, what other addle-pated initiatives will he sign us up for? Shall we invade Iran, with over three times the area and population of Iraq?

Will “victory” in Iraq — which wasn’t even a theocracy to begin with — show all those Islamic fundamentalists that they can’t mess with the U.S. (especially when it’s still possible that the result of the elections will be yet another theocracy)? I’m happy for Iraq, but we’ve yet to see the impact of this chapter in Iraqi history on America.