NSA Data Mining

"Constitute government how you please, infinitely the greater part of it must depend upon the exercise of the powers which are left at large to the prudence and uprightness of ministers of state." - So said Edmund Burke This explains why it matters who is in office and whether you trust them to fulfill their duties responsibly. If you reflect on the recent scandals, especially IRS, many people that might normally "trust" the government with data mining are hesitant to do so. Of course, both far Left and far Right (libertarian) can meet at the point of "unreasonable search and seizure" in the Constitution and in the protection of personal property. Difficult issue. It makes for strange bedfellows. Dick Cheney and George W. Bush seem to support the program, while several conservative commentators are against it. Several who opposed the program under Bush now, after expanded by Obama, support it. Strange alliances have formed on this one.