Why privacy and respect are important

The Bush administration has been illegally tracking our phone calls, and yet polls show most Americans still don’t mind. Now we’re learning that the administration has been tracking the phone calls of reporters, presumably to plug whistleblower leaks. Here’s one good reason why privacy is so important. Law-abiding political participants need to be able to strategize without fear of retaliation.

Maybe Bush will talk about it tonight when he talks about using our already overextended National Guard to keep poor people of color out of our country. He’s preempting Oprah’s "Legends" show, which ought to make him very popular with women viewers. The show is a tribute to African American women leaders and role models, rescheduled for May 22.