Openness is a step forward - the real shame is in doing it covertly, while saying otherwise. Email records should be assumed in this day and age. The electronic trail that everyone leaves through credit cards, atms, security cameras in intersections (license plates). I didn't assume that it was as early as pre-9/11, but electronic data is so prevalent now that it's hard not to track people. Do you really care about the CIA/FBI having records though?