The Fourth Amendment, 1791-2007

Remember this quaint little civil right?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Well, it's dead. Yeah, yeah, the new FISA law (sic) sunsets in six months. But any investigations underway will last up to the end of 2008, as recently reported. I see very little chance of this not being made permanent, given the Democrats spinelessness and the upcoming election. Guess those who voted for it didn't read that part. Or maybe they did. Power corrupts, and the opposition in Washington is to the American people, not between Democrats and Republicans. I'm so proud of those courageous Democrats, aren't you?

The ACLU on this here. Rick Perlstein's comments here.

Further, the government can do physical searches without a warrant as well, according to NPR (I heard it on the radio yesterday). And this is only if they follow the law. Which they won't.