Say Hello to the Police State

I am hoping that Patrick Leahy's Senate bill allowing a plethora of federal agencies to have warrantless access to Americans' email is defeated, but given recent history, I am doubtful.  This would just be the latest violation of our civil liberties to be written into law by elected representatives with only the interests of the state and making the jobs of law enforcement easier.  Rather than forcing them to go through the process of collecting enough evidence to support a warrant, they'll have open access to our email accounts and Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter messages.

Do Americans understand that there are federal laws in place that enable the government to track your cell phone and the GPS in your car without a warrant?  Fortunately, the Supreme Court ruled that warrantless GPS car tracking is unconstitutional.  We can expect the email access case to be, like that of warrantless cell phone tracking, challenged in the courts, and they may or may not be judged constitutional.  How chilling that these laws are passed with almost no objection or coverage by the mainstream press.  Are we that willing to give up our most basic privacy for the sake of "safety", or is it disinterest?  Either way, it is a disturbing step down the path opposed to anything our founding fathers envisioned for a free people