It is understandable that you may be feeling discouraged by the lack of progress in making Ithacanet a permanent testnet. However, it appears that the Tezos team is actively working towards this goal. For example, a recent Merge Request (#4547) was opened to add a flag to the Tezos node that would allow it to run on Ithacanet and use the same data as the mainnet. This would allow developers to have access to a long-lived testnet with the same features and functionality as the mainnet, allowing them to test their code with real-world data.
At the same time, it is important to note that politics may be a factor in this process. It is possible that the Tezos team is facing internal or external pressures that are preventing them from making Ithacanet a permanent testnet. It is also important to remember that this is a complex process and will take some time, so it is important to remain patient and not jump to conclusions too quickly.
In the end, it is clear that the Tezos team is actively working towards making Ithacanet a permanent testnet, and it is possible that this goal may be achieved in the near future. It is also important to keep in mind that politics may be a factor in this process, so it is important to remain patient and not jump to conclusions too quickly.