I agree with you, mendax, that the media helps to keep the populace at odds with the government. Certainly, there are government practices that I don’t necessarily agree with (NSLs), but I think the general public grossly misunderstands FISA-related activities. As you said, most people don’t take the time to read up on FISA policies. They simply rely upon the media, forgetting that the media is not always out to report the truth, but to report an aspect of the truth and sensationalize the rest. Sometimes the truth is too boring to sell newspapers.

I am constantly disappointed by the media when I read newspaper articles concerning FISA where they refer to the “secret court”. Obviously, when you start calling a court “secret” people are going to become immediately suspicious. Rarely does the media ever explain why the FISA court is different from other courts. Instead, the media works to foster distrust in the American populace.

Another sensationalist statement that drives me nuts is, “The FISA court approves almost every request.” This implies, of course, that the FISA court loves to approve everything that comes across its desk, as if there are no checks and balances. Has the media ever considered that there just might be a lot that occurs with FISA requests before it ever even makes it to the court? Why not write about the whole process rather than just the end point?

Don’t get me wrong…I think it’s good to question our government. I think that Bush did overstep his bounds in his quest to identify terrorists and protect the nation. Not that I love spending my time defending Bush (I pretty much think he’s an idiot), but at least in this instance you can see where he was coming from. Is it better to do and ask forgiveness later, however? Probably not when it comes to government activity. We do have that little document called the Constitution and all. Even the best of intentions can end up trampling the very rights that the government has sworn to protect.

In the realm of FISA, however, I think the populace needs to stop relying upon a biased media and start doing its own research to make up its own mind.