White House's number is up

[struggle4progress]

By EUGENE ROBINSON
Washington Post Writers Group
WASHINGTON - At least now we know that the Bush administration's name for spying on Americans without first seeking court approval -- the "terrorist surveillance program" -- isn't an exercise in Orwellian doublespeak after all. It's a bald-faced lie ...

You'll recall that when it was revealed last year that the NSA was eavesdropping on phone calls and reading e-mails without first going to court for a warrant, the president said his "terrorist surveillance program" targeted international communications in which at least one party was overseas, and then only when at least one party was suspected of some terrorist involvement. Therefore, no one but terrorists had anything to worry about.

Not remotely true, it turns out, unless tens of millions of Americans are members of al Qaeda sleeper cells -- evildoers who cleverly disguise their relentless plotting as sales calls, gossip sessions and votes for Elliott on American Idol ...

"Shame on us, in being so far behind and so willing to rubber-stamp anything this administration does," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. He was referring to the Senate, but he could have been speaking for the entire nation.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/14571737.htm