Spying on innocent Americans unlawful

[struggle4progress]

Do wiretaps dim rights?

By Nasombi Lambright
[e-mail]

... Do you feel hoodwinked by your government? I do ...

Through court documents finally made public, we've learned of over 30,000 national security letters used to demand library, university, financial, internet and other personal records without court approval. Section 505 of the Patriot Act, one of those sections that was set to expire, dramatically expanded the powers of the executive branch to conduct this type of spying.

One example of the ridiculousness of the Patriot Act involves a scuba diving shop in California. The FBI contacted the owners of the store and requested that they provide the FBI with a list of every customer purchasing scuba diving lessons and equipment for the past four years ...

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060122/OPINION03/601220311/1046/OPINION

Somewhat mushy mainstream commentary ...