Who is listening-in on your phone calls? Probably nobody. Right now, there is huge interest in phone tapping in the United States because the Bush Administration (through the National Security Agency) was caught listening in without appropriate court orders. What I have noticed is that, for all the talking and writing on this subject, there seems to be very little real information being presented. So this column is my attempt to share what I've learned about the topic. It might surprise you.

Gold star

[ Whatever. Cringley has never impressed me overmuch, and he hasn't changed my mind with this. He equivocates on the legality issue by arguing that these warrantless taps would have been disapproved by the FISA process, so Bush did it anyway.

That sounds a little bit like arguing that a glaucoma sufferer knew they weren't gonna get approved for medical marijuana, so they bought some on the street, and when caught, said "But it's medical!" The substantial error in my analogy is that the Administration isn't suffering from some crippling ailment, other than it's egomaniacal passion for centralized power.

I'm as fond of life as the next guy and I don't want it vaporized by a terrorist, but I'm completely unwilling to accept that this permanent war we've gotten ourselves into gives the Executive free reign to do whatever occurs to him. -k]

Cringley on phone tapping