> An appropriate real-world metaphor for the program might be something like this: In every room of every house and every apartment, cameras and microphones are installed, every letter is opened and copied, every telephone tapped. Everything that happens is recorded and can be accessed as needed.

This is why I hate the media.

I don't understand how making this analogy helps to explain the spying program discussed in the article. Why do we need "an appropriate real-world metaphor" in order to describe a real world spying program that actually exists? I strongly feel that this is a misleading way to relay information, and I'm sure it confused a lot of readers.