This is a serious problem, and I'm afraid it isn't going to get any better. The US government is the most powerful entity in the world and its purpose is to protect the most powerful people in the world. The executive branch has the legal power to do pretty much anything it wants now, and if it isn't legal they'll do it anyway. The conditions are in place for this country to become strikingly Orwellian. All it will take is one more major terror attack and anybody who dissents will be considered a traitor, terrorist, subversive, or what have you. Not for the sake of security, but because that's what they've wanted all along. The American people are so pacified already, they'll stand by and watch it happen and continue believing that a Republican or Democrat can fix things.