In Memoriam: The Fourth Amendment

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.

It was a good run, 4th Amendment!

But that whole "Probable Cause" part has outlived its BushCo usefulness, hasn't it?

In fact, General Michael Hayden, Director of the NSA domestic spying cabal when it began in 2001, said this yesterday:

I didn't craft the authorization. I am responding to a lawful order. All right? The attorney general has averred to the lawfulness of the order.

Just to be very clear -- and believe me, if there's any amendment to the Constitution that employees of the National Security Agency are familiar with, it's the Fourth. And it is a reasonableness standard in the Fourth Amendment. And so what you've raised to me -- and I'm not a lawyer, and don't want to become one -- what you've raised to me is, in terms of quoting the Fourth Amendment, is an issue of the Constitution. The constitutional standard is "reasonable." And we believe -- I am convinced that we are lawful because what it is we're doing is reasonable.

Let's back up to the reporter's question that inspired the general's reichwing answer...

QUESTION: Jonathan Landay with Knight Ridder. I'd like to stay on the same issue, and that had to do with the standard by which you use to target your wiretaps. I'm no lawyer, but my understanding is that the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to be able to do a search that does not violate an American's right against unlawful searches and seizures. Do you use --

GEN. HAYDEN: No, actually -- the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure.

QUESTION: But the --

GEN. HAYDEN: That's what it says.

It also demands "Probable Cause," which means you get a warrant, BushBot!

You don't skate around the frozen Probable Cause pond, thumbing your nose at the judges who are there to issue the warrants based on constitutionally-sound precedence, without inflicting irreparable harm to the US Constitution, the citizens of the United States, and the to entire world.

And if you don't think this will ever affect you and yours, I have 2 famous Republican words for you...

Trickle Down.

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

File this under: Big Brother is definitely here, Cousins. The question is: Do you care?