Bruce Schneier takes on the recent statement by the Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, that "Privacy and security are a zero-sum game.":

Security and privacy are not opposite ends of a seesaw; you don't have to accept less of one to get more of the other. Think of a door lock, a burglar alarm and a tall fence. Think of guns, anti-counterfeiting measures on currency and that dumb liquid ban at airports. Security affects privacy only when it's based on identity, and there are limitations to that sort of approach.

If you don't read Schneier's blog, then you should be.  He believes very strongly in the threat of terrorism, and in advancing real ways to protect people from the danger.  The catch is, most of the things that the government has pushed to protect us won't make us safer, and could very well put us in more danger, either from terrorists, or from other criminals.