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You have seriously confused COURT ORDERS and GOVERNMENT REQUESTS.
There was never a government order. There was an illegal request from the President. Not a court order / warrant from the FISA court, or any other court for that matter. Last I checked, the government didn't get to do whatever the hell it wanted. And we didn't want to encourage folks to do whatever the government wants when it's illegal. If the telecoms wanted to protect themselves so much, they could have asked for a court order / warrant.
So, the next time the cops ask your landlord whether they can search your apartment without a warrant, I'll be sure to let your landlord know that it's okay -- because if the government asks you to do something, you have to do it. No need to press for a warrant or probable cause or any reason why the cops think they can search the house. Just whatever they want to do is fine.
"I have no love for the telecom industry but in this case they were acting in good faith, complying with a govermnment order. Shame on the Bush administration for asking them to do so, but the telecoms should not be subject to lawsuits for this."
