The charges [government] brought against me, for example, explicitly denied my ability to make a public-interest defense.

I describe myself as an indoor cat, because I'm a computer guy and I always have been.

Nobody needs to justify why they "need" a right: the burden of justification falls on the one seeking to infringe upon the right. But even if they did, you can't give away the rights of others because they're not useful to you. More simply, the majority cannot vote away the natural rights of the minority. Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.

We have to confront the reality of our world, and make the hard decisions about which way we want to move forward.

I have used mass surveillance to target people, so I do know how it works.

The question is: Particularly in the post-9/11 era, are societies becoming more liberal or more authoritarian?

The power of the presidency is important, but it is not determinative.