It looks like the FBI is claiming that it has the right to read people’s emails and other electronic communications without a warrant, even though a federal appeals court ruled that it violated the Fourth Amendment.

Via Glenn Greenwald I learn that the ACLU had also submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Obama administration to obtain its policy of intercepting text messages sent to and from cell phones.

This is the reply they got from the Department of Justice.

Hilarious, no? A real knee-slapper from Obama, who promised to have the most transparent administration ever.

Again, one has to ask what the response of Democrats would have been if the Bush administration had pulled a stunt like this. Actually one does not have to ask. Some of you may be familiar with the acronym IOKIYAR frequently found on liberal websites. It stands for “It’s ok if you are a Republican and is used for things that Republicans and the media loudly protest about if done by others but accepted if done by Republicans. It looks like we also need IOKIYAD.