Quote of the Day: On the NSA Snooping Scandal

Indeed:

President Obama is now caught in a trap of his own making. By downplaying the threat and trying to create an atmosphere of peace and normality in the country, he has delegitimated the measures he believes that our safety requires. Having tried and failed to keep these secrets dark and hidden, he must now try to explain what many Americans will find inexplicable. If the terrorists are really on the run, and we can finally go back to a 9/10 state of mind, why are you assembling and wielding the most powerful and intrusive systems of surveillance ever conceived?

Fill In That Scandal-a-Palooza Wildcard Bracket, People

This scandal bracket was supposed to be a wry joke.  Well, nobody's laughing now as we know that we can definitely fill in that last wild card bracket with the news about the NSA and Verizon.  

People are furious, and they should be.  Don't give us that stupid argument that if we've done nothing wrong, then we've nothing to fear from government agencies snooping around.  Secret blanket surveillance is not OK.  This isn't even targeted.  This isn't about people suspected of wrongdoing.  The NSA's just indiscriminately scooping up everything on everybody.  Anyway, see this and this, which pithily snarks, "from the Verizon: home-to-nearly-100-million-terrorism-suspects! dept."

Oh, by the way, am I the only one starting to get a case of "scandal fatigue"?  Another day, another mess in the news ... Hey, government overreach?  Must be Thursday.

Also, Rand Paul.

UPDATE: But wait, there's more!

DNA, the Fourth Amendment, and the Supreme Court Ruling

"Horrifying," opines Techdirt.  Certainly unsettling, wouldn't you say?  Don't miss Scalia's dissenting opinion.

TSA Doubles Down on Cupcake Confiscation

Remember this bit of idiocy?  Well, the TSA is defending its actions.  You should click on the link if only to see the snarky PhotoShopped accompanying  image.

Leftists and Property Rights

Harvard econ prof Greg Mankiw observes, with photographic evidence from the Occupy Wall Street kerfuffle, that even leftists believe in property rights when it comes to their property.  Heh! 

What Fresh Hell Is This?: On Illegal Police Entry in Indiana

Have you hugged your Fourth Amendment today?  This Indiana debacle would be hilariously stupid if it weren't so distressingly serious.