the key issues...

...in the NSA surveillance story seem to be at this point

1) making the legal briefs that were written and used in defense of the policy available to the public (through FOIA)

2) holding full hearings by the judiciairy committee as specter has already promised

3) finding out who was actually briefed on this (house and senate intellegence committee chairs and minority leaders aside)

4) and why the NSA was charged with carrying out this policy (more secret, less oversight)

5) and what are the implications of the fact that the NY Times sat on this story prior to the november 2004 elections

6) and senior NY Times editors being brought to the white house to be dissuaded by bush from running the story

i've been disappointed to see this matter flagging in the headlines, tho i spose it's natural on some level. this is potentially impeachable, and it needs to be pressed. when are the freakin economic libertarians going to throw in the towel on this guy?