The administration's view is that the entire world, including every inch of U.S. territory, is akin to a battlefield and that, therefore, if the president decides that he wants to order an arrest or search, then warrants are not necessary. The real controversy is, is the United States of America a battlefield or not?

They do want this to be the president's top priority, to protect the country, and it also makes sense they want him to do everything within the law. For the time being, a lot of people want to give him the benefit of the doubt.

They're talking about turning the Hollywood studios into an organ of the government.

They're talking about turning the studios into a propaganda machine for the government, and that's wrong.

They were looking for a neutral party. That is what the university offers.

This isn't just about Padilla. The rights of all other Americans remain in limbo now.

The orchestra matured and so many great things happened at a speed that outpaced the internal infrastructure in the organization. They're having some growing pains, and it's unfortunate when people get caught up in it.

The fact that Congress wasn't aware that the FBI has used some 30,000 national security letters over the past few years is an indication that not enough oversight has been done. The money-laundering sections of the Patriot Act require scores of businesses to track the transactions of their customers and report to the government. It's an aspect of the Patriot Act that doesn't get much attention, but it should. This has huge implications for people's privacy.

We played very hard and we played pretty well for most of the game. The bottom line is they're more talented probably than we are and we have to play a very good game to beat them and hope they're not at their best. And they're very rarely not at their best.

He did more for this country than any U.S. president ever did.