House Votes for Modest Limits on NSA Surveillance

Great news from Washington:

The House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to rein in the National Security Agency’s sweeping collection of telephone records, approving scaled-back legislation that sharply divided the technology sector and civil libertarians but united the White House, conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. The 303-to-121 vote sent an unambiguous signal that both parties are no longer comfortable with giving the N.S.A. unfettered power to collect bulk surveillance data.

Personally I think these limits are not nearly enough -- they were watered down at the last minute after White House lobbying, which led the Internet companies to turn against them -- but at least they're something. If we keep pushing, we may get real limits eventually. As a bonus, this is an issue on which Tea Partiers and liberals can work together.