Meet the New Boss, Similar to the Old Boss?

A major bone of contention between Democrats and Republicans during the last Bush Administration was what to do about NSA wire surveillance. Turns out that Barack Obama's Administration isn't doing better on this score. From Care2.com.

When he was just one of a hundred in the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama repeatedly stated that he would support a filibuster against any bill which would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies for their involvement with Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) activities.

Once he won the Democratic primaries to become that party's nominee, however, Mr. Obama changed his tune, voting for an intelligence surveillance bill he had opposed just months earlier.

Of course, the bill he had opposed was a slightly different version, but those lawmakers he stood with before had not altered their position, despite any alterations to the bill itself.

Last week, the Obama Administration sought to dismiss the suit brought in Jewel v. NSA, wherein the plaintiff organization sought to discontinue government surveillance of the records and communications of AT&T customers.

In its motion to dismiss and for summary judgment, the Administration argues, in part, that the plaintiffs cannot establish standing requisite to go forward with the suit because they cannot access necessary information to prove such standing. This is so because the state claims that the information the plaintiffs would need is subject to executive privilege as "state secrets", pertinent to national security, and are excluded from
review.