More "Shut Up!" from those in power

Well, Alberto "Torturemada" Gonzalez is getting - well, not grilled 'cause that implies he's feeling pressure, but asked questions about the NSA spying program only us silly moonbats are worried about, today. Not under oath, as par the course.

Gonzales plans to say the program "provides the United States with the early warning system we so desperately needed on September 10 [2001]."

Strange - I thought we HAD early warning of 9/11, and those who should have paid attention didn't. Or does "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in The USA" and having an FBI informant living with two of the hijackers not count as "early warning"?

Special Guest Star General Hayden showed up on the Sunday chat shows this past weekend to reiterate his "limited program" line:

"When NSA goes after the content of a communication under this authorization from the president, the NSA has already established its reasons for being interested in that specific communication," Hayden told "Fox News Sunday."

"I've said in other places this isn't a drift net over Lackawanna or Freemont or Dearborn, grabbing all communications and then sifting them out."

Well, that's interesting, 'cause there's a story in USA Today today which says not only that the telecomms were involved in the spying but that there are information choke points which would make intercepting everything easier:

A majority of international calls are handled by long-distance carriers AT&T, MCI and Sprint. All three own "gateway" switches capable of routing calls to points around the globe.

and they're more than happy to help!

Technicians work with phone company officials to intercept communications pegged to a particular person or phone number. Telecommunications executives say MCI, AT&T and Sprint grant the access to their systems without warrants or court orders. Instead, they are cooperating on the basis of oral requests from senior government officials.

And, of course, the obligatory "nothing to worry about" line from the General:

If the U.S. end of a communication has nothing to do with terrorism, the identity of the party is suppressed and the content of the communication destroyed, Hayden has said.

Yeah, that's really reassuring. Until, as I keep pointing out, you realize this is the government that associates vegans, Quakers and anti-war protesters with terrorism.