Domestic spying: thank heavens for the Dems

An old story, with a new twist. The Pentagon (you know, the military?) has been using "national security letters" to obtain banking records on "suspicious" US citizens. Cheney declares no patriot would object.

Once this would have been a bit shocking, but it's a yawn. The US military running its own domestic spy operations? Hardly a surprise! This time, however, there's a twist ...

Cheney Defends Efforts to Obtain Financial Records - New York Times

...Representative Silvestre Reyes, a Texas Democrat who is the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel would examine the matter. Mr. Reyes also indicated that he might renew efforts to pass a law requiring various agencies to get court approval before issuing national security letters.

We're much better off than we were a month ago ...