On the NSA Speech

As you might expect, better than the status quo but not good enough:

At one point in the speech, Obama argued that everyone involved was concerned with privacy: “the folks at NSA and other intelligence agencies are our neighbors and our friends. They have electronic bank and medical records like everyone else.” But even leaving aside the bad apples that will inevitably abuse broad powers, this isn’t terribly reassuring. History provides many examples of ordinary, decent, well-intentioned people in positions of power placing too little weight on the privacy rights of others and convincing themselves that noble-sounding ends justify means that conflict with other principles. Even our friends and neighbors require much more oversight when they’re given the surveillance powers afforded by modern technology. Obama’s speech is a step in the right direction, but far more is necessary to make the federal government’s anti-terror efforts consistent with the principles embedded in the Bill of Rights.