the control of information is everything, and always has been. Even if someone disagrees with the means to the end, you have to admit the framework is being set up so there will be no more civil liberties...
Exactly. People defending government surveillance try to justify it by saying things like "Well, Lincoln jailed editors during the Civil War, isn't that worse?" No, it's not worse than a government that's able to keep tabs on its citizens at all times. Freedom can survive occasional abuses. It can't survive chronic total lack of privacy.