Senate plans no probe of NSA spy program

[Boneman]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/17/eavesdropping/

[katty]

1. surprise,surprise

[Trevelyan]

2. Please go to Sen. Feingold's website and thank him for standing with 2

(Two) other Democrats against the Patriot Act. Reid should be replaced by Feingold. Where is Reid?

Feingold has some interesting information on his site and tomorrow Daily Kos may have some Action Item diaries with Feingold imput.

Please Sign Sen. Feingold's petition to INVESTIGATE NSA and to HOLD BUSH ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS ILLEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Sign his petition And make a contribution

http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/

Sen. Feingold also has a petition at the above URL to BRING OUR TROOPS HOME before December 2006.

FEINGOLD BLASTS FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM
Feingold: “The Intelligence Committee Has Abandoned Its Oversight Role.”

February 16, 2006

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold released the following statement this afternoon following the Intelligence Committee Meeting.

“The Intelligence Committee’s failure today to begin an investigation of the administration’s illegal domestic surveillance program is inexcusable. The Senate Committee charged with conducting oversight of intelligence matters has a responsibility to look more deeply into the President’s illegal secret wiretapping of Americans. The President has broken the law and Congress needs to hold him accountable.” ==
Statement of Senator Russ Feingold
On the Latest on the Patriot Act

February 16, 2006

"The Majority Leader's concession to put off final votes on the Patriot Act deal for almost two weeks gives the Senate time to consider whether this deal is good for the country, and allows the American people their chance to be heard. Contrary to an erroneous news report, I will continue to oppose this flawed deal, insist that the Senate jump through every procedural hoop, and demand the right to offer amendments to improve it. As Chairman Specter noted, the deal makes only "cosmetic" changes to the Patriot Act. No amount of cosmetics can disguise the fact that it fails to protect the rights and freedoms of law-abiding Americans."

[Penance]

14. Only one other Dem

Jeffords is Independent.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Can there be a citizen law suit with subpoenas for those Senate rats? nt

They have to tell us what they know and why they won't investigate. In a situation like this a person is free to assume they are covering themselves.

[peacetalksforall]

4. Under oath. nt

[wtmusic]

12. I was wondering the same thing

Someone's not doing their job. Let's sue the DOJ for not enforcing the law of the land, while we're at it.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Of course they don't. n/t

[Edward Copeland]

6. Pat Roberts has so turned into the White House's enforcer

He's also offering to "fix" the FISA law and to enact harsher penalties for people who leak classified information (aka whistle-blowers -- because you know it won't apply to Rove or Scooter). The House is still going through the motions about having one, but the head of their intelligence committee is arguing with his GOP and Democratic colleagues about the scope.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

7. By "fixing" it he means the same thing Sammy the Bull would have meant.n/t

[Up2Late]

8. Unbelievable - It might be time to take to the streets!

The is Unacceptable!

[kainah]

9. once again, they make their chosen course appear "inevitable"

Anyone who has paid attention to how this administration works long ago noticed that one of their preferred tactics is to make their position appear "inevitable." It started, of course, with getting John Ellis, Bush's cousin, to announce that he had won the 2000 election on Fox. From then on, he was the presumed victor while Gore was cast as the challenger.

This story is more of the same. Read the first line and you discover that this is what Pat Roberts says. Now Pat Roberts may be able to keep enough Repubs in line to make this so but it's been interesting to watch the last two days that the "no investigation" line is continually thrown up, yet when one reads the articles, it always comes down to just what Pat Roberts says.

Write your senators and write letters to the editor. Keep up the pressure. Make their inevitability fall flat on its face for once.

[spanone]

10. We are observing the death of a once magnificent democracy. So sad.

And not a shot fired, at home that is.

[robcon]

11. Senate Panel Decides Against Eavesdropping Inquiry, for Now

What happened to Hagel and Hatch?

"The Senate Intelligence Committee decided today not to investigate President Bush's domestic surveillance program, at least for the time being.

"I believe that such an investigation is currently unwarranted and would be detrimental to this highly classified program," Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas and chairman of the panel, said this afternoon following a closed session.

While Mr. Roberts's announcement signaled that the administration's eavesdropping program would not be subject to Senate scrutiny, at least for the time being, there was no guarantee that the House would not go ahead with an inquiry of its own...

...Although Republicans outnumber Democrats, 8 to 7, on the committee, there had been some suspense over whether the panel would vote to investigate the operation. Two committee Republicans, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, are among lawmakers who have called for Congress to be given more information on the N.S.A.'s operation..."

In related news in the same article, wtf is this?

"Earlier today, the Senate handed the administration a victory as it voted, 96 to 3, not to hold up the Patriot Act to incorporate changes urged by Senator Russell D. Feingold, the act's most persistent critic.

Mr. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said he wants to make the Senate debate several more days on the bill, and under the Senate's rules he can do so. But today's vote signaled that, once Mr. Feingold has exhausted his moves, the act will indeed be renewed by the Senate before its scheduled expiration on March 10.

[deacon]

13. recommend this thread n/t

[antonialee839]

15. I hate these people

[warsager]

16. read

[antonialee839]

18. Read? Read what?

[Patchuli]

17. House Cleaning in order!

in both houses...enough is enough.

[jillan]

19. Hang in there -

After November we will be able to have all of the investigations we want.

We have got to take back the House! And Senate!
More than ever. Get these pigs out of our way.

[fujiyama]

20. 72 hours

AFTER wiretapping suspects isn't enough time to get a warrant?

This is inexcusable. The FISA law as it stands is MORE than sufficient to get wiretaps.

The admin simply wants to abuse power like always and is likely hiding something in their wiretaps. They should be forced to release a list of all those wiretapped that they didn't get a warrant for.

It's shameful that the Senate is going to do shit about this. Is Russ Feingold the only senator to care about civil liberties?

[Up2Late]

21. K&R

:kick:

[appleannie1]

22. Here is a website where you can call them

and tell them what you think. Maybe if enough of us call, they will start to worry about whether they will be re-elected next time if they keep bucking the people of this country. A good read and they actually have a plan.

http://vichydems.blogspot.com/2006/02/now-its-time-to-call-for-nsa-hearings.html

[sandnsea]

23. Rockefeller says committee slipping into irrelevance

"Ranking committee Democrat Sen. Jay Rockefeller said the decision was influenced by the Bush administration.

"It is ... more than apparent to me that the White House has applied heavy pressure in recent days and recent weeks to prevent the committee from doing its job." (Full story)

He said the committee is slipping into irrelevance because it's not providing oversight of the program."

[HuffleClaw]

24. oh i see

they'll simply change the law via 'executive order' and then claim the domestic spying is now 'authorized' by the new change. iirc, the white house has refused to hand over all sorts of information about this crap anyways and strongarmed the republicans on the committee to not investigate it. i guess we'll have to wait until after the elections to get to the bottom of this.