Fall:  We went political for the Fall 2002 cover.

The image was of a giant TIPS jar being crammed with various items, such as a passport, a roll of Kodak color film, a Social Security card, an airline ticket, part of a phone bill (local usage details from a recent Bell Atlantic bill), cash, several 3.5" floppy disks with the label "EVIDENCE," and the Spring 2002 issue of 2600.

A hand is stuffing the U.S. Constitution into the TIPS jar.

Operation TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System) was a domestic spying program that involved United States citizens reporting suspicious activity on one another.

It was seen as one of the most flagrant civil liberties violations since September 11 and was subsequently discontinued.

Sensational Cover Alert!  The TIPS program was a civilian program, so it technically can't be "unconstitutional."  When Robert Steele mentioned creating a similar civilian program (Citizen's Intelligence Agency) at HOPE, the crowd cheered...