Look, no way will this be abused. Put away those tinfoil hats, people!

[Laughter. Sobbing. Sounds as of breaking glass. Dull thuds as of forehead on desk.]

The WSJ, while Murdoch still lets them do journalism:

The U.S.'s [and by "U.S.," we mean the criminal Bush regime] top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation's vast network of spy satellites in the U.S.

According to officials, one of the department's first objectives will be to use the network to enhance border security, determine how best to secure critical infrastructure and help emergency responders after natural disasters.

That is just so fucking bogus. The regime won't give New Orleans money for the levees, but they're going to use spy satellites to help the responders, after the levees break again? What's WRONG with these people?

And after they figure out how to track and shoot down the brown people at the borders, which color of nigger do you think they're going to after next?

Sometime next year, officials will examine how the satellites can aid federal and local law-enforcement agencies, covering both criminal and civil law. The department is still working on determining how it will engage law enforcement officials and what kind of support it will give them.

Using spy satellites to cover civil law? Like what? Breathing while liberal?

And don't fool yourself. This stuff will be hi-res:

Access to the high-tech surveillance tools would, for the first time, allow Homeland Security and law-enforcement officials to see real-time, high-resolution images and data, which would allow them, for example, to identify smuggler staging areas, a gang safehouse, or possibly even a building being used by would-be terrorists to manufacture chemical weapons.

Or, for example, people gathered in some godforsaken "free speech zone"... That guy who offered to give Babs another pearl necklace on the plane... Somebody who gave Brownie a bad tip on the ponies... You, if you signs og "bad intentions" to a Behavior Detection Officer....

Oh, but there's one small detail. They're not sure if the program's legal.

Unlike electronic eavesdropping, which is subject to legislative and some judicial control, this use of spy satellites is largely uncharted territory. Although the courts have permitted warrantless aerial searches of private property by law-enforcement aircraft, there are no cases involving the use of satellite technology.

In recent years, some military experts have questioned whether domestic use of such satellites would violate the Posse Comitatus Act. The act bars the military from engaging in law-enforcement activity inside the U.S., and the satellites were predominantly built for and owned by the Defense Department.

According to Pentagon officials, the government has in the past been able to supply information from spy satellites to federal law-enforcement agencies, but that was done on a case-by-case basis and only with special permission from the president.

Even the architects of the current move are unclear about the legal boundaries.

But don't worry! The Democrat Party is standing up in favor of your rights and the Constitution!

Oh, wait...

DHS officials say the program has been granted a budget by Congress and has the approval of the relevant committees in both chambers.

Oh, well, that's all right, then. Harry and Nancy must have said the program's clean. Boy, is that a load off my mind! Phew! Nice work all around.

NOTE When the warrantless surveillance program first came to light, I argued that it was treasonous because the program turned a weapon of war against the American people. As usual, things are worse than I ever conceived of.