Liberty Makes a Comeback

Freedom fights back. Kudos to the ACLU for their tireless efforts.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ruled that surveillance powers granted to the FBI under the Patriot Act, a cornerstone of the U.S. war on terror, were unconstitutional.

In the first decision against a surveillance portion of the act, Marrero ruled for the American Civil Liberties Union in its challenge against what it called "unchecked power" by the FBI to demand secret customer records from communication companies, such as Internet service providers or telephone companies.

Ashcroft, not surprisingly, is defiant and will undoubtedly fight this tooth-and-nail. Or, more accurately, beak-and-talon.