You are correct--in theory.

In practice, the NSA collectively view everyone outside of the Agency as foreigners and enemies. Therefore, due process of law even within the USA's borders means fuck-all to them. So in actually, Americans within the US have no more real protections than non-citizens, especially when you have pliant judges and magistrates who will sign on the dotted line cuz National Security.

In some rarefied Platonic universe, we all have natural, inalienable rights endowed us, but unless they are recognised, enforced, and vigilantly defended, they aren't worth the paper upon which they're enumerated.

The ultimate purpose of the WoD was never to protect people from themselves--that is merely the pretext. The WoD is actually about class and race warfare (to wit, the disproportionate prosecution and conviction of ethnic and racial minorities and those lower on the socioeconomic ladder) and the aggrandisement of the PTB. Any other conclusion is untenable.

...it did pass both houses, Obama would of course veto it. He has been more overzealous in his use of the surveillance apparatus than Dubya was.

Here's your answer.

Avoid them like the plague.

It may not necessarily be easy, but if it's something you really want to do, don't let the naysayers dissuade you.

Hmmm, I wonder which MEP's were paid off, and how much.

Why does it have to be either-or? Simply leverage MIME somehow (or another global repository of filetype metadata) and have a filename extension that specifies the filetype, for backwards compatibility for OS's and file systems that don't support a global filetype metadata infrastructure. The metadata solution, of course, would be the canonical and more trusted of the two.

Uhhhh....you completely misunderstood me. I was saying that that 'competition' was ill-thought out last time. The infrastructure should be a public utility, with competition to offers services over it. You incorrectly inferred that I disagreed with government intervention.

Yeah, I remember those days with Cavalier DSL here in Richmond, VA. There was a fault in my circuit (laid in the 1920's) and Cavalier placed a service request with Verizon, who sat on it for weeks before I finally had to get the State Corporation Commission involved. Wonderful times, indeed.

You have my solemn thanks. :)

Shame if something should happen to it...'

Could we please slay the ethanol white elephant? It has lousy energy density and is highly corrosive. There are far better fuels out there.

Don't be surprised. I assure you that Billy Badass CEO has all of his communications suitably encrypted, and if he's ever charged with a crime, the authorities will probably 'lose' the device with data needing decryption and say they don't have any evidence to hold him. No, the target for this is the little guy. The people in power are always protected and excused from having to comply with those pesky laws foisted upon hoi polloi.

...because Marriott owns the air in their hotels. Why should pesky freeloading guests expect to breathe for free? Damn Commie bastards.