"Obama is thinking about"

Stop right there.

Just stahp.

LOL! It was what I heard on NPR's All Things Considered the other day.

This is a district court ruling. It, like the one saying the program is unconstitutional, will be appealed to the circuit level. Then those will be appealed to the Supreme Court, regardless of the outcomes in the cases.

Just because this one judge says it's constitutional doesn't make it so, just like the other one saying it was unconstitutional didn't make it so. Something as important as this whole NSA business was always going to go to the Supreme Curt to get settled. This is just it winding its way through the system.

(the NSA is a ) "punchback against terrorists" is an
old & well tested legal doctrine, except that we've never heard of it before this judge
announced it. Looks to me like judgey pooh wanted to earn a few brownnosing points with the "hawks" so that a future administration will give him that well earnt promotion.
Perhaps judgey pooh has already demonstrated the "Peter Principle" ( people rise to their level of incompetence within organisations )

Oh give me a break. The judge said this was OK because it's authorized under the Patriot Act, which is constitutional. Or rather, has been held to be so. That's not a crazy legal analysis, even if we both disagree.

As for a promotion, being a federal district judge is pretty awesome job already. Appellate positions tend to be made from outside rather than bumping up existing judges, so I doubt he would ever expect a promotion.

At any rate, what this judge said is almost irrelevant. This thing is going to the Supreme Court unless Congress or the president get rid of the program before the cases make it there.