He sees you when you're sleeping

A few "Snoopgate" developments in the last 48 hours:

• Dan Froomkin at the Washington Post reports that "the I-word" is back, and The New York Observer agrees. Expect other voices to be heard.

• The Washington Times, a far-right newspaper that usually sides with the President, says Bush "presents a clear and present danger to the rule of law" and "cannot be trusted to conduct the war".

• In a scathing report, this Newsweek article by Jonathan Alter tells that Bush summoned the publisher of the NYT to the Oval Office to try and kill the eavesdropping story - not in the interests of national security, but because it would "reveal him as a law-breaker".

• If even über-conservative George Will is saying Bush blew it, you know Dubya's in real trouble.

• A federal judge who oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases has resigned in protest, saying Bush's order "tainted" the work of the secret panel. More details here.
  

• The White House claim that only those suspected of international ties to al-Qaeda were targets of the unwarranted wiretaps doesn't hold water. According to the New York Times, the investigations "involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief".

The shit's hitting the fan big-time, folks.