Care to, maybe, stay on topic?
"Care to, maybe, stay on topic?"
Looks to me like the topic of this thread is your lack of analytical skills. Take, for example, these quotes:
"Sorry, not good enough. If we were stating (illustration, people!) "we're using the AT&T VR-59 -2000 to tap into every CO in the American phone system, so that we intercept every phone call when it departs and enters the last-mile, and further......." we'd be giving way too much information. But WE'RE NOT!"
Oh, but that is exactly where this is going. Prior to the exposure of this program, even Al Qaeda knew we could wiretap. Any discussion beyond the fact that we have been doing it immediately goes to the question of who and how we've been wiretapping.
"The American people also know we wiretap, but they assume that due to FISA and the events of Watergate, that wiretapping is conducted with some oversight."
In addition to your lack of analytical skills, the above quote indicates you don't even pay attention. As noted in numerous articles on this subject, the wiretapping program is reviewed and reauthorized every few months.