Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report

Several officials said that after President Bush's order authorizing the N.S.A. program, senior government officials arranged with officials of some of the nation's largest telecommunications companies to gain access to switches that act as gateways at the borders between the United States' communications networks and international networks. The identities of the corporations involved could not be determined.

A match made in Hell: a secret government program and faceless corporations.

Continue shopping, prole! You may continue to recite the Bill of Rights, but under no circumstances are you allowed to think about or discuss what they mean. Unquestioning is the key to happiness. Everything is meant to be OK.

I'd like to be compensated by my phone and internet companies for selling out my Constitutional rights, please. I'm thinking an island in the Caribbean will be a good start - I may demand a lifetime supply of mangos and rum as well.