Sen. Rand Paul: Ideologue-in-Chief | National Catholic Reporter

Sen. Rand Paul: Ideologue-in-Chief | National Catholic Reporter MSW. MGB: President Obama is correct, Paul is playing politics, not for electoral advantage in the presidential race, which he has no hope of winning, but becaues his tribe of anti-surveillace worriers, the many in the Green and Libertarian Parties actually believe their rights are being violated.  To an extent they were, which is why a legilslative remedy was required. Originally, the Cheney cabal in Bush's government insisted it did not need a FISA warrant to collect this information. Obama fixed that but did not change Dragnet approach, which was not authorized either - but was necessary to gather these records because the telecom companies routinely destory them. The court did not believe the language of the law allowed this, but did not cite any Fourth Amendment concerns.  The deadline to fix this has passed but it wil be enacted.



These records are not surveillance, per se, they are the total universe of calls and are appropriately gathered to preserve evidence about to be destoyed.  To look at a single person or call, you actually need another warrant. By the way, warrants are not trials - if the police want to seach your house, no lawyer or public defender has a right to be present when the judge is considering the action.  Indeed, usualy the judge reads the affidavit, has the officer or prosecutor presenting it swear to it and signs it.  The process may have meant something is a largely empty national where everyone in a city knew everyone, but in a mass culture with a war on terror and a drug war, its pro forma.  Legalize certain drugs and medicalize treatment of the rest and tell the Neo-conservatives to go to shove it and force Israel to deal with the rights of Palestinians is a way that bespeaks respect and these data dumps will go away and Rand Paul will have nothing to talk about.