By now it is no longer a secret that the NSA has been conducting a massive data gathering effort on US citizens. Let me say right up front: doing this in secret and reviewed only in closed door hearings and subject only to a secret court is fundamentally incompatible with democracy. The potential for abuse, especially when combined with other excessive powers given to government by the Patriot Act, is simply unacceptable. On the other side I completely see why having this data could in fact b...
