The most far reaching story of 2013 must be the Edward Snowden leaks of NSA activities collecting metadata on American citizens.  In addition, I believe the collection of phone data on foreign heads of state such as Angela Merkel of Germany have done irreparable damage to our relationships with long standing allies.  Suddenly many of the younger adoring fans of President Obama are seeing him for the threat he truly is to our country.  This will be an ongoing story throughout 2014 and perhaps longer as more information comes out.  Americans are divided as to whether Snowden is a traitor or a hero.  This conversation will continue for a long time.  The truth is our Fourth Amendment rights have been violated by secret FISA court warrants.  We may believe we have nothing to be concerned about, but do we really know what our intelligence departments are looking for in the volumes of metadata they have collected?  After all, we know the IRS used its power to influence the 2012 election by harassing conservative groups seeking 501C(3) status.  At least the people are beginning to pay attention.