Well, Mr. Bolton.
I've certainly respected your positions on other matters.
But I suggest you read up on your Thomas Jefferson.
Any court decision that preserves liberty (even at the expense of the NSA's idea of "security") is OK with me.
I'll go further.
Do you recall Judge Robert Bork's testimony before Congress years ago, that got him into so much trouble?
When under questioning, he made the statement that he didn't believe the Constitution provided any inherent "right to privacy"?
Well, actually, I believe Judge Bork was right. There's nothing in the Constitution that specifically enumerates a citizen's "right to privacy". But still, he was castigated for even mentioning it.
So... to put the hamstrings on types like you (and on the N[ew]S[tasi of]A[merica]), perhaps it's high time that the citizens of this country take action to add a "right to privacy" to the Constitution.
It should go like this:
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Citizens protected by this Constitution possess an inalienable right to privacy in their persons, business, and homes, and while they are in public.
It shall be a violation of this Constitution for the United States or for the several States to violate or invade the individual privacy of citizens by use of physical, mechanical, or electronic means or by the use of devices on land, on water, below the ground, or from the air.
This protection shall extend to all lawful communications and acts by an individual citizen or between two or more citizens, including content that is spoken, written, or electronically transmitted. It shall extend to citizens regardless of their location, whether in private or in public.
The only exceptions will be as governed by the Fourth Amendment of this Constitution.
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Four short paragraphs that anyone can understand.
Even you, Mr. Bolton.
Maybe strictly enumerated language like above, enshrined into our Constitution, would indeed put us on a "road to doom", as you predict.
But I'm willing to take my chances...