Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall:

BaltSun: 'The National Security Agency developed a pilot program in the late 1990s that would have enabled it to gather and analyze massive amounts of communications data without running afoul of privacy laws. But after the Sept. 11 attacks, it shelved the project -- not because it failed to work -- but because of bureaucratic infighting and a sudden White House expansion of the agency's surveillance powers, according to several intelligence officials.'

If this report is true, then on which side of the truthiness fence does the current set of surveillance programs fall? Take a guess!