Uncle Sam on the Line

to the Editor: In his column "Uncle Sam on the Line", November 5, 2007,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/opinion/05ashcroft.html
John Ashcroft labors mightily to obscure what is clear. The FISA statute requires a search warrant for a domestic wiretap. The phone company employees who were asked to participate in tapping lines without warrants were asked to break the law. Their responsibility was to respect the law, and to notify authorities that there was criminal activity afoot. His assertion that "...a corporation will typically not know enough about the underlying circumstances and operations to make informed judgements about legality." is incompatible with democracy. The statue is known, and both citizens and corporations are bound by it. The alternative--in which an act is legal or illegal at the mere assertion of the Executive--is tyranny.
Barry Levine1142 Brown AveLafayette, CA 94549