Okay, here's an update on that lawsuit against AT&T and the Federal Government for illegally snooping on people's phone calls and e-mails. Basically, there are about seventeen similar lawsuits out there in the midst of the legal world and because they're all sort of similar-- whiny Al Qaeda supporters suing the telecoms and government for doing something unconstitutional, they've been mashed together into one big lawsuit sandwich. That sandwich will be heard in San Francisco's very own Federal Court by one U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker. The reasoning is because out of all the various suits out there, the AT&T one is the most advanced. Bully to the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation and how awesome would it be if they started their own University just so people could say they go to EFF U?) and the ACLU for being on the ball.

The case becomes even more intriguing because Walker, who as far as we can tell is not now nor has ever been a Texas Ranger, has already told the Feds that they can go stuff it when they tried to get the AT&T case dismissed. Previously, both AT&T and the Government had tried to get the case dismissed due to "national security grounds." "Dismissing this case at the outset," Walker wrote, "would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security." Rock on, dude.

Lest you think Walker is some "Activist Judge" who sits all high and mighty and was appointed by Bill Clinton in one of his post-coital moods, as these types of judges are usually depicted, Walker was actually appointed by Papa Bush and has some serious Conservative Cred. According to this SFGate story on him, Walker has, over the years:

"overturned San Francisco's voter-approved limits on bank ATM fees, dismissed a slave-labor suit against Japanese companies by former World War II prisoners of war and allowed reporters to watch all stages of lethal injection executions. He dismissed a suit by anti-logging protesters whose eyes were swabbed with liquid pepper spray, a decision later overturned by an appeals court; and approved Hearst Corp.'s purchase of The Chronicle, despite Walker's reservations about the Justice Department's antitrust review."