I’ve got to run out of the house, but I thought it might be fun to post this Reason article by Julian Sanchez ridiculing defenders of the Patriot Act. I think there are a few stolen bases here, but the piece is written judiciously enough that I want to double check my objections before I raise them. But if Ramesh wants to play whack-a-mole, or if Rich — who is attacked by name — would care to defend himself, that would be great.

But I can offer a two points now. Sanchez makes it sound as if critics of the Patriot Act have been making careful, nuanced, subtle arguments over the least year. I have no idea what debate he’s been watching. To suggest that the assault on Ashcroft and the Patriot Act has been finely tuned and careful is absurd, and Sanchez surely knows this. Second, he says — or seems to — that conservatives have called all opponents of the Patriot Act “Fifth Columnists.” Maybe this is simply rhetorical fluorish on Sanchez’ part, but a very quick Nexis search on my part reveals that the term has never been used in conjunction with critics of the Patriot Act, by conservatives. Not once.