Aqua,

Perhaps I am misreading your post, but I get the impression that you think that U.S. law enforcement officials can search our homes and computers without a warrant.

I believe that is very much the exception rather than the rule. U.S. law enforcement agencies are limited by the first and forth amendments to the constitution which protect the U.S. citizen’s freedom of speech and their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Judge Taylor ruled the intercept program unconstitutional as it allowed monitoring of U.S. citizens' phone calls abroad without a warrant.

I am not suggesting that wiretaps and searches cannot take place, only that a court must issue a warrant before they can legally occur. The FBI has the authority to place wiretaps. Prior to doing so, they must obtain a warrant from a Federal judge after showing probable cause that a crime has been committed. The FBI can also get wiretap warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), with fewer restrictions, but only if gathering foreign intelligence is the "significant purpose" for the warrant.

The Patriot Act made it easier for the FBI to get a warrant, and now allows nearly any search to be made in secret.

So yes, we have lost some our traditional civil liberties, but in the absence of a warrant, a wiretap / search / intercept of a U.S. citizen’s communication remains unconstitutional. Regrettable but true. I try to keep in mind the context within which these losses occurred, and that we here in the States still retain far more civil liberties than in many other countries. Small solace, I’ll admit, but the enemy has demonstrated an ability to take advantage of all available opportunities.

__________________
Eudaimonia