(I belive) The so called snooping was started as spying on businesses for insider trading. It has worked out very well aparently too.

Why is it that I should care if AT&T and the other idiots are caught in the crossfire "between the Congress and the executive?"

They should not have kowtowed to the executive in the first place without confirming the legality of the request.

Cry me a river AT&T.

The reason the US has seperate branches of gov't is to keep each other's actions in check. And now these company's won't comply to that. Gotta love corporate America.