I sometimes make a joke about Homeland Security skulking around. That said, if the powers given to government agencies in the Patriot Act keep getting expanded, who knows how far the undercovers will go in their surveillance?

Cheney said not long after 9/11: "It will be necessary for us to be a nation of men, and not laws. (Toss the Constitution, become king and go with Nixon: "When the President does it, that means that it's not illegal.")"

And: "We also have to work, though, sort of the dark side, if you will. We've got to spend time in the shadows in the intelligence world. A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be done quietly, without any discussion, using sources and methods that are available to our intelligence agencies, if we're going to be successful. That's the world these folks operate in, and so it's going to be vital for us to use any means at our disposal, basically, to achieve our objective."

Who knew, the dark side and shadows also are located domestically and the activities of the undercovers would still be ongoing? Fourth Amendment be damned.