What I learned today

The joint resolution which passed the congress with but one dissenting vote onSeptember 14, 2001 was the equivalent of a formal declaration of war. The Supreme Court held in 1800 (Bas vs. Tingy) and again in 1801 (Talbot vs. Seaman) that Congress could formally authorize war by joint resolution without passing a formal declaration of war.
Section 1811 of the FISA statute which all the liberals are holding sacred as evidence that Bush broke the law and could even be impeached for recognizes that during a period of authorized war the President must have some authority to engage in electronic surveillance "without a court order". There is a question of whether or not Congress had the power to limit such authorization to 15 days. This will be a matter for the courts if someone challenges it, but it seems to me somewhat problematic to assume the courts will get past the logic which would allow Congress to say the President could only attack an enemy for 15 days, for example. That is why all Presidents have refused to follow that part of the FISA statute.