Pretty much all line-drawing, both legislative and judicial (judges “legislate from the bench,” often in footnotes to obscure that game) derives from “the degree and extent” argument. To what degree and extent should government techno-intrude into our lives to protect us, from each other, and from foreign enemies?

I’m a recently retired federal government attorney who ghostwrote judicial opinions for federal judges, including Fourth Amendment, privacy-based rulings. I commend you for your well-written, nicely nuanced essay here. We need calm, rational, deeply analytical debate on matters like this, and you’ve done a nice job…