I agree with Senator Bunning:

The New York Times committed treason by revealing an anti-terrorism program that checks international banking records of Americans and others, U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning said yesterday.

But what do we do about it? Do we try the responsible individuals (writers and editors) for treason? I seriously believe that would never happen.

I'm not a fan of lawsuits, and especially the awful class-action lawsuits. However, this is one action where I would actually sign onto one if it were structured properly. The security of all Americans has been damaged by the deliberate actions of the NY Times in its pursuit of profit. A class action suit that pays out to every American citizen cannot adequately compensate each of us for the damage caused but it can serve as a significant deterrent to future actions by the NY Times and other media organizations.

It needs to be structured so the legal work is provided by a team that is reasonably compensated for the time they spend on the case but with no percentage payout. Assuming 300 million citizens, a 10 billion dollar lawsuit would result in roughly a $30 payout. Again, this is far from adequate compensation for the damages incurred but at least it is a way that the Times can be disciplined for their actions.

The best part is that it does not require a motivated prosecutor or mess with the politics of the issue, as it would be a civil case.