Not just listening, watching...

After last week's revelation about the breadth of the NSA domestic surveillance program, it would seem a large enough number of people would be against such a wholesale assault on our rights by the Executive branch. Interestingly, the NSA program wasn't the end of the government surveillance. We know to some extent that the government has been listening. Its clear too, at least from the last link that they are listening to discover the media's confidential sources, and apparently doing so without warrants. At least it seems like the tide of public opinion has changed concerning the NSA program. I think the most interesting development in these kinds of stories is the revelation that the government can watch us from above as well. While the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency original came into existence in order to assist in gathering foreign intelligence, it has taken a similar evolutionary path to the NSA, and now spends a significant amount of time watching domestic events. The article indicates the beneficial aspect of this "program" because it was very useful after Hurricane Katrina and Rita. However, these kinds of programs should be limited in their use. When the government looks over someone's shoulder from space is just as harsh a violation of the Fourth Amendment as collecting their telecommunications data. Someone, preferably Congress, needs to step in and begin to regulate this kind of abusive executive activity. The more iterations on a theme we receive tend to indicate the President's unwillingness to abide by the strictures of the Constitution. The American people shouldn't stand for it.