>"this is just another appeal to the hysterical and unhinged who harbor a paranoid fear someone is staring at their dirty laundry."

Sorry you feel that way Big Brother.
I can tell you ONE reason why everyone has their panties in a wad.
Let's take the story of the 400 page report of the Quakers from Palm Beach, Florida who were planning a peaceful demonstration outside highschool recruiting centers.

400 pages is a LOT of personal spying on such a few people. Takes a lot of snooping, listening to phone calls, filtering it, typing it up.
A whole office of people listening to their "dirty laundry" for weeks.....costs money. Now why is Bush so concerned with anti-war demonstrators? We're supposed to LIKE this and "get used to it"? They are NOT "terrorists"....but are they "patriots"?? Remember, this is the Patriot Act! They are spying on all of us, and gathering information.

WHY? People who think this nutball with fascist wet dreams might take on Iran and North Korea and wants to keep his flock tied down for the NEXT murderous rampage? (Pardon me, I digress.........)

The whole thing is, if you love the guy, your country and you live like a saint (and there's plenty here who do), you don't care if someone is spending thousands of taxpayer dollars listening to your neighbour eating lunch and making out with his girlfriend. Sorry Tech1, I know this post was outrageous, that I am one of those "generic Bush-bashers.... a paying leftist who wants to read such pseudo-scandal dog droppings."