This article from Dow Jones, celebrating that the telecom industry is completely off the hook as a result of this bill. - Glenn Greenwald

So much for Nancy Pelosi's utterly ridiculous opinion that the telecoms will now be "tainted" by the compromise bill. The only thing that was tainted was the Congress.

Please don't feed the trolls (bucks4mccain).

Seriously, if you don't have anything to hide then you don't have anything to worry about do you?

Good point. Because it's totally impossible that an innocent citizen named, say, "Bucks4McCain" might be, through normal human error, confused with a suspected terrorist named "Bucks4BinLaden."

As we all know, the United States Government is wise and infallible - except, of course, in matters such as taxation and the regulation of tailpipe emissions - and thus there is no danger in vesting it with vast, sweeping powers.

That is, after all, what our forefathers fought and died for.

God Bless America.

WE must take action. We can whine and cry all day. does nothing. Work to make sure this never happens again. I say throw the criminals in jail. Once someone goes to jail for 30 years for bribery and treason, the next day this stops. ONE TIME

Glenn, I have read your posts every day for so long now that I can't remember. This is the first time, however, that I feel the need to contribute via the comments. (Disclaimer: I don't have the time to read all of yesterday's comments re Obama and his personal silence/capitulation on this issue, so I beg the Comments audience to forgive me if I repeat what someone else already said.)

It is safe to say that this issue bothers me more than most political issues. It is also safe to say that the anger we all feel is multifaceted. Furthermore, you're correct in saying that Obama should actually act on his "bring it on" statement earlier this week; he has a responsibility to paint the Republicans and the pandering Dems as the ones who are actually soft on terrorism, and to tell the American people the truth re the this bill and its implications. I'm waiting for that kind of change.

You're wrong, however, about John Barrow and Regina Thomas. It's true that John Barrow hasn't bled as blue as he ought, and that a lot of his actions as of late have amounted to political pandering in order to get reelected. Let's be honest: his constituents aren't as liberal as his reelection might make it seem, and he's likely to lose less political votes on the Left (who in his district are likely to align more with the right than we'd like) and to gain a few votes by pandering to the Right (who are numerous in his district; his election wasn't easy). But even if we say he should have voted the Constitution/party line/his conscience over the will of the voters', that doesn't mean that Regina Thomas is either a strong contender (I don't remember your exact words) or the person who would be best for that job. Knowing her political history and her perception of reality (as well as the voters' perception of her personally), (1) I'm not surprised that Obama would favor Barrow over her, and (2) I think her motive for entering the race is unbelievably suspect. Of course, whether Obama should have involved himself in their race is an entirely different story.

So I take it that means you don't mind if I come by with a camera next time have sex with someone and get a few shots in?

After all, If I were listening to boring conversations all day, the temptation to spice things up might be well nigh inevitable.

It is sad for me to say it, but I do not believe that we can do anything right now, except lodge our complaints, wait, vote, and see what happens. If those here who believe that the Dems are in on this, that they fundamentally agree with Bush that the need to stop terrorists at any price trumps the "blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity", then it becomes a question of emmigration or armed resistance. I hope like hell it doesn't come to that. But the next year will tell us. If Obama wins, and he takes no clear steps to dismantle the Imperial Presidency, close Guantanamo and Bagram, and repeal the Patriot Act, then we will be faced with the choice of flight, resistence, or collaboration. That we could be this close to such desperate times is frightening enough for me to deal with. I'll face the choices I've outlined only when I have to--not today.

Are you people really that paranoid to believe the government has nothing better to do than to listen to your boring conversations? Seriously, if you don't have anything to hide then you don't have anything to worry about do you? Unless you're directly supporting terrorist activities in this country, what do you have to fear?

This talking point has been retired for sheer inanity. Please consult your troll handbook, and update it if necessary.

If you feel you are unable to maintain updated talking points, please report to the nearest control center for reprogramming.

For information on the link between the Bush, Saud and bin Laden families, see House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger, The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group and The Halliburton Agenda: The Politics of Oil and Money by Dan Briody, both of which deal with Cheney as well, and American Dynasty and American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. The truth isn't just out there, it's pretty well known. It's all about oil and world domination.

Thanks, too, NSA, for listening to us kvetch about your unlimited authority to spy with impunity. I'm sure my cable company, Comcast, has supplied you with all of my latest and greatest impotent rants and paltry donation lists to protect that silly document called the constitution. I'll have you know that's money I could have put into my kid's college fund, but whatever. No one cares about the cogs in our great economic wheel. We should just keep shopping and mind our own beeswax.

Even though the Terror President has a 25% approval rating, the Congress is trending blue, and the vast majority of Americans think we're on the wrong track, the Repubs are still dominating Democrats who fear looking weak on foreign policy. Even professional d-bag Scott McClellan is surprised that the press and Democrats didn't put up a fight after 9/11--even that revelation hasn't made an impact on our press or Democrats today.

Oh how you must laugh at the press. They all seem to think the FISA issue is too complicated, that only the bloggers and "wild-eyed liberals" care. Nevermind that folks intuitively understand that if a police officer asks you to supply her with cocaine, you're still guilty of drug trafficking if you pass on some blow. Pretty simple analogy, but still, our journalist experts on "the regular people" agree with you that it's over our heads and not that important anyway.

So thanks for checking in with the extremists here. I know, we're good for a laugh. Keep up the good work!

So congratulations again on pissing off the frige 75%+ citizens who think you are shredding the very foundation of our nation--the constitution.