For The Record: The NSA Spied on All Americans. It Is a Fact.

[Maedhros]

124. I won't recap all of the revelations from the leaked documents.

The 1979 decision applied to the wiretap of a single individual who was a suspect in an investigation. Applying that ruling to the widespread collection of data from individuals not suspected of any crime is incongruent.

Numerous individuals have speculated that the NSA program constitutes "bad acts." For example, here is the opinion of a Federal judge:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/16/justice/nsa-surveillance-court-ruling/

"I cannot imagine a more 'indiscriminate' and 'arbitrary invasion' than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every citizen for purposes of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval," said Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush. "Surely, such a program infringes on 'that degree of privacy' that the Founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment."

Leon's ruling said the "plaintiffs in this case have also shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits of a Fourth Amendment claim," adding "as such, they too have adequately demonstrated irreparable injury."

He rejected the government's argument that a 1979 Maryland case provided precedent for the constitutionality of collecting phone metadata, noting that public use of telephones had increased dramatically in the past three decades.

I suppose it comes down to who you want to believe - the NSA's own talking points, or the analysis from a wide spectrum of dissenters.