After it first became known that the NSA was tapping phones in America without warrants, Bush assured us that “our intelligence activities strictly target Al Qaeda and their known affiliates.” I’m not sure how he reconciles that with the news, as reported by USA Today this morning, that AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth have been handing over the phone records of “tens of millions of Americans” to the government. Are we to believe that tens of millions of us have ties to Al Qaeda? Or, was Bush lying?

Here’s a clip from the USA Today article entitled, “NSA has massive database of Americans’ phone calls”:

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren’t suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.

“It’s the largest database ever assembled in the world,” said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA’s activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency’s goal is “to create a database of every call ever made” within the nation’s borders, this person added…

Instead of dwelling on the negative, let me share one encouraging piece of information with you. According to USA Today, one communications company, Qwest, stood up to the administration and told them that they would not be participating. (Unfortunately, I just checked and it doesn’t look as though they provide service in Michigan. If they did, I’d switch in an instant.) According to Think Progress, the three telcos that did assist the NSA could be liable under existing law for tens of billions of dollars. Of course, it’s unlikely that our courts would side against these corporations, but I like that there’s a chance for an enormous class-action lawsuit against them. (I suspect that the trial lawyers of America would love to have an opportunity to meet the people who have vilified them for so long in court.)

Another encouraging thing is that Arlen Specter is calling for executives from these telephone companies to testify before Congress… Sure, Spectre has a pretty shitty record when it comes to following through, but it’s still good to know that there’s a chance that this might get the attention that it deserves in Congress. (If you want to write to Specter and encourage him to follow though, you can contact him here.)

And, as long as we’re exploring the realms of the fantastically optimistic, just imagine if we could somehow harness the power generated by our founding fathers spinning in their graves – 100% energy independence overnight!

Back to reality now, I wonder if this is even the last shoe to drop. If recent history is any guide, there may be others. And, it could get even worse.

[Sorry to have sidetracked you from your pursuit of information about Ashlee Simpson’s nose job, but I thought that this was important.]