OK, so even if the government isn't listening in to your telephone call, there is absolutely no doubt now that someone, somewhere can find out who you called and when.

President George W. Bush said today that Americans' privacy is being fiercely protected, but those words seem to belie the actions of the National Security Agency which has, since shortly after 9/11, built a database of every phone call placed in the country. This is not a matter of keeping a record of all calls made outside the country, but all calls period.

So if you called your grandma, or grandson, the government has it on file. If you called your doctor, your accountant or your lawyer, the government has it on file. If you were active in a political party or movement, the government could be able to tell how often you talked to your fellow, say, Libertarians.

If none of that matters to you, local folks might consider this: If you called Speak Out! this newspaper does not know, but some in the federal government could figure it out.