The first thing to remember is that Patriot 215 is just one of many forms of legal cover that US spooks use to keep the whole world — including Americans — under constant surveillance. Executive Order 12333 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act both grant spies the power to conduct hair-raising, unconstitutional and unconscionable surveillance. Even if we can keep 215 from rising from the grave, these have got to go, too (here‘s more about that).

But will 215 come back? America‘s spooks, their friends in Congress, and the military contractors who make fat bank off of constant spying sure hope so, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation reminds us: