Oh my. Greenwald, you dunce, can't you see that TIME is actually pointing out abuses of the expanded powers and actually making a point that people should be MORE concerned about it?

The article quotes representatives of the ACLU several times, but not once does it quote anyone from the authorities. That in itself should tell you whose side TIME is on, but Greenwald can't be bothered with the plain meaning of words.

Greenwald writes: "Time's defense of the Bush administration -- that "law and order or national security" has motivated even the illegal spying -- is perhaps most indefensible of all."

Yet, TIME isn't defending the Bush administration at all. It is citing a report by the Justice IG, into the FBI's use of National Security Letters:

"The Justice IG report released Thursday, for example, examined some 50,000 National Security Letters issued in 2006 to see whether the FBI misused that specialized kind of warrantless subpoena. The IG found some continuing abuse of the power, but blamed it for the most part on sloppiness and bad management, not nefarious intent."

TIME isn't saying that the Bush administration definitely has not misused the powers, but that of all the documented cases of abuse, there are scant examples of nefarious intent.

TIME also points out something which Greenwald hypocritically doesn't mention: "There are no scandalous examples of the White House using the Patriot Act powers for political purposes or of individual agents using them for personal gain."

Greenwald exclaims, but that's because they haven't investigated the White House! Exactly - so how does Greenwald know the opposite conclusion is true, if he has no evidence? Ah! He has none! All he has is his hate and mistrust of the Bush administration.

Then Greenwald displays how detached from anything resembling logic he really is:

"Thus, Calabresi begins the article by listing a whole series of recent revelations about the Bush administration's ever-increasing Surveillance State powers and abuses and concludes: "to judge from the reaction in the country, nobody cares."

But the only ones who "don't care" are establishment media outlets like Time, not the "ordinary Americans" on whose behalf they always fantasize that they speak. It's the media that has ignored those stories. "

OK, so Calabresi lists out a series of revelations about the administrations surveillance powers and abuses, then says that the same people, like Calabresi, "has ignored those stories".

What? Riddle me this, Greenwald, how did you get where you are today? Was it perhaps due to the fact that the media you are attacking right now as not caring about these issues, took up the same issues you were writing about on your blog? Has not Greenwald been cited by the media on these very stories?

Who was it that broke the stories about the NSA data mining program, warrantless wire-taps, and all the rest? Was it not the same media that Greenwald now claims "ignored those stories"????

The media has written about all these things constantly, in waves, and the public by and large has not really cared at all about it. If the public really cared, then something more would have happened, such as in the case of the Dubai Ports World case. Public outcry in that case forced the government to reverse their decision.

Give me a break Greenwald, you intellectual simpleton. Anyone who isn't facetiously taking TIME out of context can read that they are in fact BEMOANING the public's lack of concern about this issue, not defending the Bush administration.

Glenn continues to parade that he is a blog emperor with no clothes.

Any chance of suing Time magazine (and others) for slander of the US people?

I'll bet that when you get up in the morning you first put your shoes on. Then you put your socks on. Then your pants, followed by your boxers, followed by a layering of shirt with collar topped with a t-shirt. Then, as logic would have it in your world, you hop into the shower. Then off you go, ready for a new day in the world according to Seixon, completely oblivious that everyone who looks at you sees you as being all wet.

Don't encourage him. He's been blissfully silent for a long time. Pretend you just don't see him; he seems the type that is responsive to proper operant conditioning.

Cheers,

I lived in United Stupids of America for 22 years. I finally left convinced the average American is a total moron. So TIME magazine lies? Oh MY GAWD, STOP THE PRESSES!

Of course they lie; they are ALL owned by the same 5 super corporations that own everything else such as newspapers, TV channels, radio etc, etc.

But, but, but, ANN COULTER tells me the US media is all filled with "liberals", who am I to believe now??? Oh I'm So confused!

I HAD to create salon account just to write this...oh well

The mainstream media,including cable, and most online sources now too, have no credibility left. Of course we care that Bush violates our U.S. Constitution, that the telecom industry gets immunity from colluding with Bush's government to break the laws, and all the rest of it.

I have not picked up a Time Magazine since the early 1980's. Now you just found out why.

... 54 percent believe these taps have prevented some acts of terror. [Poll]

What the public doesn't know, because the media won't tell them, is that neither taps nor direct infiltration have prevented any acts of terror. At best, the billion dollar program - and all of the prosecutions - have precluded the contribution of a few hundred dollars to allegedly terrorist organizations [arguably "charitable" in a perverse sense].

Review the few dozen successful prosecutions [among many dozens more that were discarded by judges] and you will find that the "terrorist activity" consisted solely of making contributions (sometimes with FBI money) to a few disreputable Islamic "charities."

Those that incorporated any kind of planning for a "terrorist act" were laughed off by judges as preposterous. Most of the plans were created and promoted by FBI infiltrators, so they could get some kind of allegation, mainly for PR purposes, and at any cost - including the risk that they would be attempted.

Nor does any media report that 90% of the terrorists "captured" and put into Gitmo were handed over by an "Islamo-Fascist Dictatorship" (Pakistan) because they were enemies of the endorsed American puppets. They aren't prosecuted because there is no evidence against them, only the speculation and fears of Pakistani military intelligence.

The entire War Against Terror is a fabrication, at least in its execution and results.