The refusal to even collect the dots

AP/Washington Times:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said yesterday that some critics of the Bush administration's terrorist surveillance program were defining freedom in a way that presents a "grave threat" to U.S. security.
Mr. Gonzales was the second administration official in two days to attack a federal judge's ruling in August that the program was unconstitutional. Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday called the decision "an indefensible act of judicial overreaching."
Mr. Gonzales, in remarks prepared for delivery at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, said that some critics see the program as on the verge of stifling freedom rather than protecting the country.
"But this view is shortsighted," he said. "Its definition of freedom -- one utterly divorced from civic responsibility -- is superficial and is itself a grave threat to the liberty and security of the American people."
The attacks by Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Cheney on the court ruling came as the administration was urging the lame-duck Congress to approve legislation authorizing the program. The bill's chances are in doubt, however, because of Democratic opposition in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to end debate and vote.
The Bush administration has long argued that the program focuses on international calls involving suspected terrorists. It dismisses charges that it is an illegal tool because it bypasses federal law requiring a judge-issued warrant for such eavesdropping.
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If we are not able to collect this information because the Democrats put hoops that must be jumped through ahead of getting the information, they will be responsible for the deths that follow the terrorist plot that is not uncovered. Of course, Democrats will never accept responsibility for the consequences of their ridiculous positions.