But don't pop the champagne just yet; no triumphalism is warranted (especially since this decision has to run the gauntlet of a Federal judiciary system now headed by Scalito and Roberts (thanks for the great work on that cloture vote, Joe. Oh, wait....))
The bad news: The key component of Bush's twentyfirst century power grab--the NSA's datamining program that reads all your mail, all your searches, and this blog--is left in place by Judge Taylor's decision.
Christy at Firedoglake weighs in, as does Glenn Greenwald.
I haven't read the opinion yet since I've been on Ramsey-Karr duty, but the ACLU says:
"Today's ruling is a landmark victory against the abuse of power that has become the hallmark of the Bush administration," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "Government spying on innocent Americans without any kind of warrant and without Congressional approval runs counter to the very foundations of our democracy. We hope that Congress follows the lead of the court and demands that the president adhere to the rule of law."
Today's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor agreed with the ACLU that the NSA program violates Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution, and runs counter to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) passed by Congress in 1978.
As the ACLU so aptly notes:
"Throwing out the Constitution will not make Americans any safer."
But that didn't stop Attorney General Alberto Gonzales from appealing the decision.