the last time I checked, that Constitution lent us all rights that the government could not take away.

The Constitution can certainly be modified. Given enough popular support, it can be amended. At one point, females obtained the right to vote. The government obtained the right to tax income. And slaves were counted as three-fifths of a human being.

That last one is an example of how the moral fabric of the nation can stray, but the amendment was repealed, as amendments can be, restoring the country back to its example status.

If the war against militant Islam is so important that American safety cannot be secured without eavesdropping on conversations without a time-consuming warrant, then let's see a Constitutional amendment ratified by the states that puts it in writing. I'll still oppose it as un-American, but I won't complain.

Until then, the CIA, NSA, DIA and all the other “black alphabet soup” government agencies should keep their paws off my cell phone conversations.

Having accomplished that between breakfast and lunch, the next worry is those bothersome Windows updates that install themselves in the dark of night if my computer is on, bringing in God-knows-what software unbidden into my machine that will eavesdrop on my internet usage.

“Honest, Agent Smith, I was just looking at that website for research purposes.”