What Reasons Do We Have To Trust That The State Knows Best?

[applegrove]

Christopher Hitchens
Huffington Post

"Although I am named in this suit in my own behalf, I am motivated to join it by concerns well beyond my own. I have been frankly appalled by the discrepant and contradictory positions taken by the Administration in this matter. First, the entire existence of the NSA's monitoring was a secret, and its very disclosure denounced as a threat to national security.

Then it was argued that Congress had already implicitly granted the power to conduct warrantless surveillance on the territory of the United States, which seemed to make the reason for the original secrecy more rather than less mysterious. (I think we may take it for granted that our deadly enemies understand that their communications may be intercepted.)

It now appears that Congress may have granted this authority, but without quite knowing that it had, and certainly without knowing the extent of it.

This makes it critically important that we establish an understood line, and test the cases in which it may or may not be crossed.

... Snip"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-hitchens/what-reason-do-we-have-to_b_13985.html

[scarletlib]

1. So Hitch is starting to wake up from his post 9-11 alcoholic stupor?

[applegrove]

2. Looks that way.

[bemildred]

3. Hitchens can blow me. He helped get us to this point. nt