FISC court lives

This article (washingtonpost.com) raises an issue that I wrote a paper about in law school - the FISC court. It's a somewhat scary idea that the government can use its full cloak and dagger espionage toolbox against everyday citizens within the US in the name of terrorism / counterterrorism. So much for due process and any semblance of a right to privacy. What's more, is the joke that poses as judicial oversight of these wiretap / warrant hearings, that the public can never know about and only the government's lawyers can be present. I am all for giving law enforcement lots of tools to protect us / do their jobs, but this court and the Echelon surveillance network are the sort of things that have truly taken Counterterrorism through the looking glass.