Fred Hiatt cranks the bogosity knob up to 11. Please, somebody make it stop? My ears are bleeding:

There is one major area of disagreement between the administration and House Democrats where we think the administration has the better of the argument: the question of whether telecommunications companies that provided information to the government without court orders should be given retroactive immunity from being sued. House Democrats are understandably reluctant to grant that wholesale protection without understanding exactly what conduct they are shielding, and the administration has balked at providing such information. But the telecommunications providers seem to us to have been acting as patriotic corporate citizens in a difficult and uncharted environment.

Fred, it just seems that way to you because you're the Village whore.

As we now know, the warrantless surveillance program started before 9/11.

Which means, first, that patriotism had nothing to do with what the telcos did. It means, second, that the program didn't protect us from 9/11.

Every day, the disconnect between the Village and the country--heck, the Village and reality--get worse and worse. Assholes.

UPDATE As Glenn points out:

By definition, our Beltway establishment does not believe in the rule of law -- at least not for them. They are creating a completely segregated, two-track system where high Beltway officials and their corporate enablers arrogate unto themselves the power to decide when they can break the law. They are thus literally exempt from our laws, even our criminal laws, while increasingly harsh, merciless, and inflexible punishments are doled out for the poorest and least connected criminals -- who receive no consideration of any kind, let alone presidential commutations or special laws written for them by Congress retroactively rendering legal their patently criminal behavior.

The Telecom Immunity law that Congress seems well on its way to enacting is one of the most conclusive pieces of evidence yet not only that our Royal Beltway Court is corrupt and decayed at its core. It also proves that they no longer care who knows it.

Gee, I thought it was only in banana Republicans that the powerful could break the law with impunity. Oh, wait....

UPDATE In comments on Fred's chin-wiping teabaggery, reader Enough writes:

Would The Washington Post, if requested, hand over to the government the information it has about people who post comments on its Web site? Some of the comments certainly could be construed as showing extreme, possibly dangerous, emotions. If the Post discloses the information, would it be "acting as patriotic corporate citizens in a difficult and uncharted environment"?

Good question. Tell me again why anybody--at least anybody not using a proxy--would post at WaPo's site, when WaPo, if they run true to form, is selling the information to the Bush Stasi?