> Ditto with every electronic device with a microphone: Smartphones, tablets, laptops, home phones, bluetooth in your car, Microsoft's Kinect, baby monitors, etc

While there's a lot of truth to this, that is no reason to go even further down that road. If it's wrong for laptops to be used to eavesdrop then it's insanity to install a seven-microphone listening station in your lounge.

"paranoia trip" is a rather condescending and dismissive way to refer to matters of documented fact, e.g. http://news.yahoo.com/yikes-nsa-turn-iphone-camera-mic-witho....