I'm very glad to see this editorial and conversation going on in a professional forum. I was surprised to see it actually. Thanks, Mr. Jones!
I would refer people to the revelations of Russ Tice, one of the first NSA whistle blowers, and one of the sources for James Risen's December 16, 2005, NSA leak story. He discusses the recording of all content, not just metadata, and the NSA targeting of the senatorial candidate Obama in 2004, as well as the targeting of SCOTUS candidates, and congressional committee members. And Colin Powell just before the invasion of Iraq.
It starts to paint a picture that national defense is not the actual motivation for the intrusion on our civil liberties. Think the days of Hoover are dead and gone? Think again. They're here now and on steroids.
Here is a link to the exclusive interview with Mr. Tice:
Normally, only members of Boiling Frogs Post (you need to support this site if you care about civil liberties!) could listen, but this interview has been made available for free because of its importance.