There have actually been positive developments recently. Last week a federal judge found that the NSA's phone surveillance program violated the Fourth Amendment

There have actually been positive developments recently. Last week a federal judge found that the NSA's phone surveillance program violated the Fourth Amendment. Also last week the Obama administration issued a report that was more critical of the NSA than anyone expected and recommended ending direct government oversight of surveillance data. And there will be more revelations fueling public outrage (Greenwald has said that the worst is yet to come). So nothing conclusive but momentum is on the side of some kind of major change.