Similarly, in 1928, the Government went after a ring of bootleggers by gathering evidence through illegal wiretapping. In Olmstead v. U.S., Justice Holmes says (dissenting), "... for my part I think it a less evil that some criminals should escape than that the government should play an ignoble part."
Now, of course, the issue at hand is the apprehension of hellish terrorists, but the question here is: why not just get a warrant--surely any judge will issue the paper if provided with a valid reason...
So..., what is the story here?
In Olmstead, in his own dissent, Justice Brandies "struggles" with the fact that, "That places the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer was said of James Otis of much less intrusions than these."
Forget petty officer and instead insert cruel tryant; after all, certainly the Government is quite committed to denying every citizen his or her rights because it has a vested interest in baffling with B.S., then propping up its favorite sons on the B.S. platform...
And what better way to do such a dreadfully ugly thing... Consider how Brandies understood that, "Decency, security, and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen. In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law SCRUPULOUSLY. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contageous. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of the criminal law the end justifies the means--to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a criminal--would bring terrible retribution.
I say George W., what kind of man works so hard for such a terrible retribution (you should know!!!!)?????

Cercopes
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In Greek mythology, the Cercopes were mischievous forest creatures who lived in Thermopylae or on Euboea but roamed the world and might turn up anywhere mischief was afoot. They were two brothers, but their names are given variously, Passalus and Acmon, or Olus and Eurybatus, or Sillus and Triballus, depending on the context, but usually known as sons of Theia and Oceanus, thus ancient spirits.

They were proverbial as liars, cheats, and accomplished knaves (Lucian, Alexander the false prophet)

Im against survailence of any citizen without a warrant.
Phone records with the proper controls, are a good way to link terrorist to other people related be fund raisers, campaigners or suicide bombers. For example:
A terrorist is aprehended and cell phone recovered. With the proper control, a database will link him to his connections.
THE MORE WE SWEAT IN COMBAT
THE LESS WE BLEED IN BATTLE.

Yada,Yada,Yada!

So what are we going to do about it?

Nada damn thing!

What are we going to do about it? Switch our phone service away from AT&T, Verizon, and BellSouth. It's easy, it's free-market, and it hits 'em where it hurts, right in the pocketbook. This story broke on May 11. As of May 12, I am no longer a customer of Verizon or AT&T. If they are going to treat my privacy with such contempt, they will never see another penny from me.

Thanks 'ancient mariner' you have reminded all of us of a very simple yet very, very powerful strategy for dealing with the likes of Verizon, AT&T and BellSouth who flaunt our laws and our belief that they are protecting our privacy when in reality they are violating both.

America is a country of laws or we are not and if we are not anarchy will eventually prevail as noted by 'michael wagner' in his fine posting. So with these two very fine postings we are reminded of very powerful and inescapable truths.

Many thanks to you both.

Though America is a country of laws it is obvious that the Bushie/Repub/neocons are not a government of laws.
They repeatedly show themselves to be on a slippery slope to the destruction of our freedoms and rights.
If those who are voted in office to protect and enforce our laws do not do so than what message does that send to every human being in the world, in America and especially to every child who are our future, the future of America.
The Bushies and those who voted for them amply demonstrate, with each new revelation, that they are truly not a government of laws and in fact support lawlessness in America.
I am, a conservative independant voter and as such I do not support the creeping and creepy lawlessness of the Bushies/Repugs and neocons.

America will not be destroyed from without but from within and it has begun.