If you missed it will all the over-hyped JonBenet Ramsey crap, a federal district judge in Michigan earlier today struck down the NSA’s controversial “warrentless wiretap” program. Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled the federal government had violated the Constitution and must immediately stop its program.

One of the interesting things about this case is that unlike attempts earlier this summer which were squelched by the federal government’s invokation of “state secrets” to keep from revealing classified information, Taylor today noted that the government defended itself without revealing any classified information, which it said it couldn’t do.

Plus, there’s this: “It was never the intent of the Framers to give the President such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of 24 Rights.”

And this: “The wiretapping program here in litigation has undisputedly been continued for at least five years, it has undisputedly been implemented without regard to FISA and of course the more stringent standards of Title III, and obviously in violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

Sounds like a smackdown to me. Taylor permanently enjoined the use of the “Terrorist Surveillance Program” and noted that the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution had been flagrantly violated, along with the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Court that was meant to do this kind of stuff legally in the first place.

Don’t get too excited, though. President Bush has consistently defended the program as permissible, constitutional, and a vital tool in the nebulously defined “War on Terror.” An appeal on this is all but guaranteed.

If you’re interested in reading Taylor’s ruling, I’ve posted both the opinion and the injunction here since the Michican site is a little slow:

• Warrentless Wiretap opinion (PDF, 44 pages)
• Injunction (PDF, 2 pages)

Ah, the wonders of having a bunch of media organizations in the same building. A TV network downstairs needed reaction from people inthe 21-25-year-old demographic, came upstairs and found…me. So if you’re in Portland or Seattle, you might see me reacting to a drunk-driving commercial tonight. The package may show in Seattle on KING (CBS) and KONG, in Portland on KGW (NBC), or in Spokane on KREM (CBS) and KSKN (WB). If it ends up online somewhere I will try to post it here. Cuz everyone deserves 15 seconds of fame now and again.

I have to say that my least favorite animal is now the fruit fly. It even surpasses that creepy green jumping spider outside of Reid last year. See, I’ve had a bunch of WW onions festering in my apartment for a while, and when I removed them yesterday to combat L.’s allergy response to the copious mold, I was greeted by a swarm of fruit flies. Now they’re all over my apartment. I killed seven in a violent bathroom massacre last night, but I think that barely made a dent. Danica pointed me to this article that describes their resilience: once alive, they can even metabolize alcohol fumes in the air to keep alive. Reading that article made me want to spray my whole apartment with bleach. Oh the drama in my life.

Which brings me (sort of) to drivers and the silly things they do. This Seattle Times article describes a failed program to get people to stop tailgating by painting dots on the interstate representing how far apart you should be from the car in front of you (160 feet at 60 mph, apparently). Alas, everyone slowed down to figure the dots out, and kept driving that slow with the requisite distance between each other. Except now they could be closer, but people didn’t figure that out and traffic backed up. Context people. When driving, as with pretty much every activity in your daily life, please consider your surroundings. That is all.

My time here is quickly winding down, as evidenced by my ritual creation of side-by-side packing lists. I haven’t written much about my experiences here, so I present you with some of the memorable highlights, in no particular order.

The 16th floor, wine, salmon–and carrots shattering on the cement below.

That one time we drove to see The Sentinel but didn’t know where we were going (it’s in the Court House area of Arlington) and Virginia’s exit signs sucked so bad we ended up in Georgetown instead. Oh, and it was raining.

Discussing Walla Walla wines with senators on the Capitol subway. Best ice-breaker ever.

Jumbo Slice? Nah. It’s all about Alberto’s. That stuff is so tasty it must also be nutritious.

Did I mention that I am now addicted to booking airfares online? It’s just like Internet gambling, but at least this way you end up with a ticket to go somewhere.

There was that time I ended up with Danica, M2 and a few others at this awesome gay bar in Logan Circle with the buy-one-get-one-free vodka drinks…and it was a Saturday night.

I’m still waiting for the wedding, but the bachelorette and bachelor parties were pretty amazing.

…So was the rooftop BBQ I threw with P last quarter, when we watched the sunset over National Cathedral and devoured R’s delicious cooking. Oh, and Bootylicious.

The dog named Monster that barks incessantly at all hours of the day and night, and whose owner thinks he/she is the cutest thing ever…that dog I won’t miss at all. Gah.

The Metro in general has been a fine mode of transportation. My favorite part is crossing the Potomac on the Yellow Line. Bonus points if a plane flies overhead.

Speaking of which, watching planes at Gravelly Point is one of the most cathartic 85 decibel experiences I’ve yet found.