"People act as if they're walking through life in a cone of silence in which only they and the other person on the end of the line can hear them, " he says.

CNN: Where are your high-tech manners?

"It does, " agreed Waxman, thereby opening the door to a line of argument in which he found himself suggesting--apparently in all seriousness--that U.S. citizens might have to purchase a government-issued, Maxwell Smart-like "cone of silence" before making a speech in a public park.

CNN: Free Speech On The Net At The Supreme Court

Some other public interest champions, who may not agree with Mr Klayman's conservative leanings, have even admitted a grudging admiration for his efforts to break through the Bush administration's cone of silence and force the White House to be more open and transparent.

BBC: Watchdog bites the hand that fed it