I started to write "But I'm happy to report that it hasn't happened yet", but then I remembered that among the known provisions of the "Patriot" Act is a blanket gag order. Anyone compelled to cooperate with a Federal investigation can never talk about it. Whether or not I've actually been contacted by the Feds, my denial has no credibility under Federal law.

That actually doesn't stand up very well. We already have evidence that a huge number of people are willing to risk serious legal action by releasing classified information. I find it very had to believe that if some hapless person was hauled off in the middle of the night by the black helicopters, that there wouldn't be a load of liberal attorneys lining up to make it a test case against the hated Patriot Act. The guy who broke the "gag law" would be front page news for weeks, and everybody knows it.

Simplest answer is that the feared abuse has just not materialized.