NSA Program Can Continue

The district court judge from Detroit who ruled the NSA surveillance program unconstitutional has been slapped down by the 6th Circuit:

The Bush administration can continue its warrantless surveillance program while it appeals a judge's ruling that the program is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The president has said the program is needed in the war on terrorism; opponents argue it oversteps constitutional boundaries on free speech, privacy and executive powers.

The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave little explanation for the decision. In the three-paragraph ruling, judges said that they balanced the likelihood an appeal would succeed, the potential damage to both sides and the public interest.

The Bush administration applauded the decision.

The President is going to win on this one. Although the decision by the district judge gave the left a few warm and fuzzies for a short time, it was doomed to fail from the start.