Brave New World

AlterNet: Patriot Act’s Absurd New Spawn: Just When You Thought it Couldn’t Get Any Worse - Creative legal interpretations may now enable the government to sign off on things that will blow your mind.

Behind a veil of secrecy, Bates and the government appear to have made it OK to investigate Americans for their free speech again.

In addition, the government has revealed the FBI conducts “back door” searches — warrantless searches on U.S. persons’ data collected under FISA Section 702 – even for “assessments” of counterterrorism investigations.