From our friends at DownsizeDC:

My second thought was that the Constitution gives Congress no authority over public safety, except on federal property. This power is left to the states.

by Declan McCullagh

The U.S. Senate is investigating allegations by two National Security Agency whistleblowers who have described widespread monitoring of innocuous telephone conversations by the Bush administration's clandestine program.

This was published in the Federal register on Monday. If you find yourself being forcibly injected with somehting during a "public health emergency," and it hurts you, Homeland Security says that's just tough luck. You won't be able to sue because the Homeland Secretary Chertoff has unilaterally declared these companies won't be liable.

[Federal Register: October 6, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 194)]
[Notices]               
[Page 58239-58242]

From our friends at Fairfax County Privacy Council:

Norfolk police step on it again on Fourth Amendment privacy
In an interesting article at http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/norfolk-police-clashes-fires-gun-rights-... the Norfolk police defend an apparent custom and practice to seize people not suspected of any crime in violation of the Fourth Amendment merely because somebody calls 911 and “requests service.”

SNIP

The House and the Senate passed bills to protect federal employees who blow the whistle on waste, fraud and abuse by veto proof margins last year (H.R. 985, S. 274), but have yet to agree on a final bill. Now is the time to tell negotiators, leadership, and other interested Members of Congress that passing a strong bill -- especially one that extends protection to whistleblowers in the FBI and intelligence agencies -- before Congress goes on recess is a priority!

Rep. Barney Frank has drafted a bill to make sure that the law passed against Internet gambling does not lead to widespread surveillance of online financial transactions. Pokernews.com describes it this way:

The bill, entitled the “Payment Systems Protection Act of 2008,” prohibits the U.S.

From our friends at the ACLU:

ACLU Asks Court To Strike Down Unconstitutional Spying Law (9/12/2008)

Dragnet Surveillance Puts Innocent Americans' Telephone Calls And Emails At Risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org