I'm curious to what options we have as citizens, short of organizing militias, can really do here. I think the government play is just "wait til this blows over" and they might get away with that.
Call—actually call your members of Congress. It's a lot more effective than sending an email. Urge others to call too. If they get enough calls to understand a large number of people are actively angry about this, they might actually do something.
Also encrypt everything possible, and encourage others to do that too. It might attract more attention to you, but it's also a strong assertion of your right to privacy. Everyone should use encryption for even the most mundane of things. The government says we have no right to privacy for emails older then 180 days because we are sharing them via someone else's server. If we encrypt them, that argument is invalid, because we are making it clear that only the recipients are intended to read it and it is private from everyone else.
http://callday.org
Also encrypt everything possible, and encourage others to do that too. It might attract more attention to you, but it's also a strong assertion of your right to privacy. Everyone should use encryption for even the most mundane of things. The government says we have no right to privacy for emails older then 180 days because we are sharing them via someone else's server. If we encrypt them, that argument is invalid, because we are making it clear that only the recipients are intended to read it and it is private from everyone else.