tempted to put one of those Spanish upside down exclamation points in front of it for good measure.

Anyhow, I was perusing the opinion again today, and noticed this passage:

The [Protect America Act] was a stopgap measure. By its terms, it sunset on February 16, 2008. Following a lengthy interregnum, the lapsed provisions were repealed on July 10, 2008, through the instrumentality of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, Pub.L. No. 110-261, § 403, 122 Stat. 2436, 2473 (2008). But because the certifications and directives involved in the instant case were issued during the short shelf life of the PAA, they remained in effect. See FISA Amendments Act of 2008 § 404(a)(1). We therefore assess the validity of the actions at issue here through the prism of the PAA.

Wecheck on their actions. But Congress removed that threat in 2008. Now the information companies have literally nothing to lose by cooperating with the government because they cannot be sued for doing so. On the other hand, the government can obviously drive up legal costs and threaten them with civil contempt if they don't cooperate. So it's no surprise that the government has now what it assured the FISA court it didn't have in 2008: a database of incidentally collected information from non-targeted United States persons.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

69 years ago today, Allied Forces invaded France to free it, and Europe, from Nazi occupation. Among the thousands of American, British, and Canadian soldiers who participated in the Normandy landings was an lieutenant in the Army Rangers named Gerald