An Intelligent Discussion on the NSA "spying" on Americans

I have been trying not to laugh hysterically at the absolutely ridiculous, ignorant, (and frankly hysterical) media coverage of the "monitoring American's phone calls" scandal (we need a catchier name for one if we are really going to blow this up into a firestorm). 

I first read about this capability in a book in the mid-2000s decade after George II rammed it through in the wake of 9/11 as part of the bizarrely named "Patriot Act".  The only "new" part is the ability to compel major Internet providers to fork over data...but even this has been the subject of many news items and debate on the web for years.  

My point here is ignore all the crap your local paper, Fox News, or MSNBC is feeding you and listen to probably the only intelligent analysis that will come out of this,  courtesy of PBS of course and Shields and Brooks in particular.  I would wager that you are not likely to hear a more useful or thoughtful analysis than this.  (Judy Woodruff even slips in a coy mention at the end that PBS News first talked about this in 2007!).

Watch Shields and Brooks on NSA Data, Christie's Election Maneuver on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.