Washington may not know what to do about the economy, deficits
or the debt ceiling, but it has no hesitation about giving a
blank check on government surveillance, even if it includes
access to your e-mail.  The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act was a terrible and constitutionally suspect idea when it
originally passed in 2008, and it's appalling that Congress
decided it was worth another five years.  The 2008 measure was a
cynical way to retroactively legalize the secret warrantless
surveillance measures that President George W. Bush had
authorized for the National Security Agency. The law allows
intelligence agencies to monitor Internet activity and phone
calls from foreign terror suspects without a warrant, even if
those communications are to or from U.S. citizens. Though
intelligence agencies have to minimize the collection of U.S.
citizens' communications - and get a warrant if a U.S. citizen
is considered to be the target of the surveillance - the law is
rife with loopholes.  Agencies can conduct wh