The Department of Justice claims that it needs these, and other, search powers to combat terrorism. A provision slipped into an appropriations bill allows the FBI to obtain personal financial information from banks, insurance companies, travel agencies, real estate agents, stockbrokers, the U.S. Postal Service, jewelry stores, casinos and car dealerships without a warrant.

Bruce Schneier with one of those articles that makes you get up and look around outside your house or apartment.

] What we need are corresponding mechanisms to prevent
] abuse. This is the proper question: "Should we allow law
] enforcement to use new technology without any judicial
] oversight, or should we demand that they be overseen and
] accountable?" And the Fourth Amendment already provides
] for this in its requirement of a warrant.

[ Yeah, accountability is the most critical thing here. The judges need to be in charge of this, and if a warrant turns out bad and violates an innocent mans privacy, then the judge gets the smackdown. There's a bigger problem with this, however, which is that judges are already overworked, and finding competent judges is not that easy. Anyone who's had to go to court for anything knows just how backed up and inefficient the whole thing is... that's gonna have to get fixed too, or the accountability Schneier argues for will be hollow, applied to persons we can't afford to lose... -k]