A Stitch in Haste

Some quick updates:

--The ACLU is suing to stop the practice. Expect blind "everything the ACLU does is evil" partisan Bush apologists to play the "you don't want another 9/11, do you?" card -- the only card they have left to play. The lawsuit is not just by the ACLU, however, but a coalition of journalists, scholars and other advocacy groups.

--The "traitorous" whistleblower at NSA who was the source for the original New York Times expose turns out to be a lifelong Republican who voted for George W. Bush. On the other hand, he's also a lifelong NSA agent who notes that NSA employees, even longtime employees, used to be reminded in sit-down briefings, twice a year, that, when it comes to spying on Americans, "we don't do that." But you don't want another 9/11, do you?

--Most of the leads that the NSA are turning over to the FBI are worthless. But you don't want another 9/11, do you?

--Al SomebodyOrOther is opposed to the program. Whatever. On the other hand, he invented the Internet, so I guess his views on monitoring emails might matter, sorta kinda. The interesting thing here is that the White House has responded to Gore by pointing out that the Clinton Administration authorized warrantless physical searches. Except that wiretaps aren't physical searches -- for better or worse it's an entirely different jurisprudence. But you don't want another 9/11, do you?