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The right of the people

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

If these words no longer apply, we should go through the process of amending them. In an opinion piece published in the Guardian and on his blog, Dan Ellsberg describes the NSA operations Ed Snowden disclosed as an “executive coup” against the US constitution.

A disciplined minority of totalitarians can use the instruments of democratic government to undermine democracy itself. —Hannah Arendt

Edward Snowden: Saving Us from the United Stasi of America
In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden’s release of NSA material – and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers 40 years ago. Snowden’s whistleblowing gives us the possibility to roll back a key part of what has amounted to an “executive coup” against the US constitution….