1967: Katz v. United States confirms that Amendment 4 ("The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches...") includes protection from wiretapping.

2001: FCC orders cellular companies to equip all new cell phones with Global Positioning System chips that can pinpoint a user's location to within 300 feet, anywhere on the planet. If your cell is on, your phone company knows where you are.

December 2005: The New York Times prints a story asserting that following 9/11, "President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans [phone calls, email messages] and others inside the United States...without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying"...

May 2006: USA Today reports NSA is collecting and analyzing the calling patterns of most telephone customers in the United States. At least three phone companies handed over their databases, no questions asked.