Last week, from AP we learned that confidentiality in a couple of traditionally sacrosanct instances has been tossed out the window:

WASHINGTON - The National Security Agency could have legally monitored ordinarily confidential communications between doctors and patients or attorneys and their clients, the Justice Department said Friday of its controversial warrantless surveillance program.

In light of this report, I have a couple of questions for the two factions - the corporatists and the Christianists - that make up the unholy alliance of the GOP.

First, for the country club corporatists: Are you comfortable with the notion that the executive branch believes it can accumulate information on your attorney-client communications? All those patents pending, disturbing research studies you want to suppress, strategy discussions about doing a run-around EPA regulations, positioning yourself against your rival corporations? Sure, you gave to Bush-Cheney 2004 until it hurt, but what if a competitor gave until it hurt a little bit more? It isn't like BushCo is shy about lending a helping hand to specific favorites, at least according to a recent report from AP:

FEMA breaks promise on Katrina contracts

Agency will extend, not rebid, deals with politically connected firms WASHINGTON - FEMA has broken its promise to reopen four multimillion-dollar no-bid contracts for Hurricane Katrina work, including three that federal auditors say wasted significant amounts of money.

...

Acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison pledged last fall to rebid the contracts, which were awarded to Shaw Group Inc., Bechtel Corp., CH2M Hill Inc. and Fluor Corp. Later, the agency acknowledged the rebidding wouldn't happen until February.

...

The Shaw Group's lobbyist, Joe Allbaugh, is a former FEMA director and friend of President Bush. Bechtel CEO Riley Bechtel served on Bush's Export Council from 2003-2004, and CH2M Hill Inc. and Fluor Corp. have done extensive previous work for the government.

Are you absolutely certain this gang wouldn't drop a hint garnered from electronic surveillance to one of these favored companies? Or pit you in a bidding war for who really owns this presidency?

And for you Christianists: Obviously, you never need to see a lawyer because you never break the law. And G-d knows you never have to see a doctor for embarrassing STD's like the satanic liberals or consult about sexual dysfunction (after all, if the Lord wanted you to have sex, he'd give you an erection, right? You resigned yourself to that years ago.). So clearly you're safe on the attorney/physician front. But ...

What about conversations with your pastor? What about the time you were in need of Scripture citations about how you found Mrs. Kopansky's bosoms distracting during the church supper? Or found yourself a little more interested in Brad Pitt's musculature as Achilles than in the storyline? Or felt the slight call of cybersex with sheep being only a click on the internet away? What about those painful and humbling conversations in which you bared your soul, sought guidance for your lusts and greed, described in detail your temptations, asked for forgiveness and some appropriate verses to keep you on the straight and narrow?

It's really only a hop - not even a skip and a jump - from violating attorney and physician confidentiality to listening in on G-d's chosen wrestling with demons with their pastors. Of course, you and the Blessed President are on the same side in this holy war against the godless ... except, of course, for the time you posted an "Amen!" and "Hallelujah!" at www.bushdoesnthatefagsenough.com in response to Family Research Council's Tony Perkins' declaration/threat that elected Republicans need to do more to replace the Constitution with biblical law. Surely your president and his minions will excuse over-enthusiasm for the common Christian cause. After all, the only religious organizations the administration feels compelled to listen in on without oversight are those of the Islamic infidels, right? Which is A-okay with you.

So both the corporatists and the Christianists may feel secure in their private communications under this steadfast administration, I suppose. Only crazy liberals and enemies will be targeted, of course. But ... but ... but ....

Not to fan the paranoia flames, but what happens to these mountains of unsifted data under President Hillary Clinton? I guess you could pray all hoarded information will be destroyed before the incoming administration takes over, but those in power haven't proven themselves exactly cyber-swift, if you get my drift. I mean, more than four years after 9/11, the FBI can't even manage to get all its agents email addresses. And powerhouse political fundraiser Jack Abramoff and fellow scamp Michael Scanlon apparently don't even know how to locate "delete" in their email inboxes when they refer to their clients as "monkeys," "troglodytes" and "idiots."

Imagine the Bush administration responsible for clearing out all the hard drives, disks, tape back-ups, internal memos, message boards, print-outs and in-boxes across all agencies (with new ones we've never even heard of popping up each day) that have access to all your personal and corporate information. Not exactly a comforting scenario, is it?

Here's a piece of advice I'm sure you of the unholy alliance won't take, but I feel compelled to give anyway: Object to this privacy invasion. Strongly. Clearly. In no uncertain terms.

Alternatively, the corporatists can start building a war chest to pay off the next Democratic administration and see if that works. As for the Holy Warriors of Wingnut Righteousness ... I suggest you start praying.

