I see today that the president has condemned the New York Times and various other news organizations for reporting on the administration's efforts to monitor financial transactions. As I understand this, they are using a loophole in financial privacy laws involving an ancient electronic system called SWIFT. It may be legal.

Legal surveillance? That, of course, would be a change for the administration.

Of course, the administration is using their usual tactic of shifting the argument to an irrelevant topic. In this case, it's about blaming the media for revealing the program rather than a debate about the merits of this practice or a discussion of what appears to be a continuing erosion of our privacy under the Bush presidency. Once again, this discussion has all the substance of a toothpaste commercial and the media eats it up. Why, why, why?

CDs listened to today:

• Luciano Berio: Notturno
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
• DJ Shadow: Endtroducing...
• Nine Inch Nails: With Teeth
• Henry Brant: Angels and Devils
• Fall Out Boy: Under the Cork Tree