The issue in comment #14..

Do you have a problem with the FBI flying around recording public places??

Michale

How do you define "justified"??

Michale

Stuff like this..

SO???

FBI is flying around taking videos....

If your child is kidnapped I'll bet you would be on your knees praying to the FBI gods that they had a bird in the air at the time...

When you walk outside, you forgo your "right" to privacy...

Michale

The ends justifies the means....

Michale

Authorities can observe, without a warrant, that a postal worker stops at someone's mailbox and puts something into it; so it sort of seems reasonable to let them observe who's emailing whom, as long as they don't look at the contents of sealed envelopes (or the digital equivalent). On the other hand, quasi-military spying on residents of the US is rather creepy and Big-Brother-ish, regardless of the medium.

I think statecraft requires its practitioners to choose their battles. I commend Senator Paul for choosing this one under his circumstances, but I think then-candidate Obama and Hillary Clinton were also right not to choose it under their circumstances. The issue is much more central to his ideological identity than to theirs. And causing a statute to lapse is something, even if it gets reinstated shortly after, whereas taking a stand then would most likely have gotten either Hillary or Obama nothing at all (aside from getting them knocked out of the running for the presidency).

You have my deepest sympathy. We just lost our own deeply beloved chihuahua Jake on Mother's Day. He was the best little boy in the whole world. He loved to give hugs. I am still torn up about it. He was 15, almost 16 years old. Once he developed congestive heart failure, it was just a matter of days from him being diagnosed to his loss. It was shocking how fast he declined despite all we tried to do to save him. The last thing he remembers is going to sleep on Daddy's chest at the Vet. We had him cremated and brought him home. There is not a day that goes by that I still don't think about him or miss him.

John

I little reason to doubt Paul's sincerity on this issue. Your politics are heavily influenced on what you hear at the breakfast table growing up, and I'm sure Rand got an earful from Ron.

The NSA metadata program is pretty much predicated on the assumption that internet traffic is broadcast. Broadcast information is inherently subject to evesdropping. A lot of people, and I'm one of them, would be much happier if E-mails were regarded as mail. To be opened by the addressee, or in rare cases by somebody with a warrant based on probable cause.

CW -

The Downton Tabby (currently on my lap)and Lord Chumly (currently on my feet) stand in solidarity with you and your beloved cat. I had to let go of an 18 YO cat a few months ago.

I finished reading The Burglary. Very impressive. I left a few comments at the end of the "If You Care About Government Surveillance, Watch 1971 Tonight On PBS" column.

Oversight is to Hoover as Oversight is to NSA. Inadequate and perilous.

Hear, hear...

Well said...

I like to see Weigantians giving credit where credit is due, even if it's across the aisle..

It warms the cockles of my heart..

"Hu..uh..huh...huh... he said "cockles".. huh hu uh..."
-Beavis & Butthead

:D

Michale

Hear, hear...

A Weigantian is quoted as saying, "We support Obama on some issues, we don't support him on others.."

Such a statement certainly applies to Rand Paul... I bet that makes the lot of Weigantian's skin crawl. :D

I vehemently disagree with Paul on the issue of domestic surveillance.. I have no problem with the NSA vacuuming up my phone call's meta data because I have nothing to hide..

My personal privacy is not worth a single innocent life..

So, I disagree with Paul and I will likely not vote for him if he becomes the GOP Candidate. (I am not allowed to vote in any primary..)

But like you, CW, I respect Paul's commitment to his cause. Unlike practically every other Congress critter (and practically every Weigantian) he doesn't change his position on issues depending on the '-x' after the current leader's name... He believes what he believes without any consideration to politics..

THAT is leadership...

The fact that he is completely wrong on the issue doesn't mitigate the admiration for him taking a stand...

"A man who has nothing he believes in enough to die for is not fit to live..."
Martin Luther King

Michale

"It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all."

Was truly a quote written with pets in mind..

Michale

I always have dogs and cats and know well the real anguish engendered by their getting sick and eventually dying. Every pet is a future heartbreak -- no avoiding it -- have to get through it. The comfort has to come from the fun and companionship you enjoy while they live, and the hope you've helped enrich their lives as they've enriched yours.

Sorry to hear about Kitty.

Here's hoping that everything goes smoothly for you and your beautiful cat now that she's come through the emergency. I know she is in the best possible hands ...

I have to apologize because I have fallen way behind on answering (and even reading) comments for the past week or so. I'm behind on everything, and it's even been a struggle to write new columns every day, because my mind hasn't been on politics.

A week ago, we had to deal with a veterinary emergency, and we got the sad news that our cat has a heart condition which is not going to go away. Now, she's 15-and-a-half years old, so this is mostly old age, which unfortunately hits us all at some point. But even so it's been a heart-wrenching week to live through.

Kitty is doing fine now, and is taking medication. She has bravely bounced back from the emergency and is actively enjoying life once again. She is in no pain and we will be closely monitoring her condition and trying our best to make whatever time she's got left as happy and as comfortable as is possible. But while I am normally not one of those bloggers who shares private details with my audience, I did want to let people know there has been a reason I've gotten so behind on site maintenance, just so nobody thought I was ignoring things.

One final note: the "grumpy cat" at the top of my website's banner is a stock photo I found on the web when I was initially creating this site. It is not, in fact, my cat. My cat values her privacy, and refused permission for me to use her photo in my banner, at the time. So rest assured, no matter what the future brings, the masthead of CW.com will not change.

Thanks for everyone's patience and understanding.

-CW