I'm no fan of the Patriot Act and its various extentions. However, this article by Harvey Silverglate and Carl Takei discusses a more serious threat to our liberties that they refer to as threshold rights. They argue that legislation can be unlegislated, but the Bush Administration encroachment on fundamental precepts, such as habeas corpus threatens to undermine the very foundation of our system of principles which go back to the Magna Carta.