Rush Limbaugh's Morning Update: ECO-Spies!

Rush Limbaugh: It seems like just yesterday that liberals were on the warpath, accusing the Bush Administration of encroaching on their civil liberties, as he fought the war on terror. The left went bonkers when they learned intelligence agents might look at public library records of suspected terrorists – or worse yet, wiretap suspected terrorists who were calling overseas. Bonkers doesn't even come close to their reaction over the use of "warrantless wiretaps" to foil imminent terrorist plots.

These days, there's no fuss over government monitors. In Maryland, several jurisdictions are bugging citizens' recycling bins. True story. Fredrick, Howard, and Gaithersburg counties have purchased 150,000 bins with embedded microchips. The chips allow county officials to monitor how often residents put their recyclables out for pickup. It doesn't yet monitor what is being recycled, or how much, but this scheme is in the early stages. Maryland isn't alone. Several northern Virginia governments are also snooping on their residents' recycling habits.

And government snoops aren't stopping at your garbage. There's a big push underway for the public utility companies to put "smart meters" in your house – which will allow your energy use to be monitored and, at some point in the future, perhaps controlled.

Of course, the left isn't at all concerned about your privacy and civil liberties being "encroached" upon by these new environmental spies. It's for your own good! And besides … they're in charge of it!

Read the Background Material on the Morning Update...
• MSNBC: Chips: High-Tech Aids or Tools for Big Brother?