There are more important issues in this country than FISA

[BluegrassDem]

Yeah, that's right. I said it. I can barely afford to put gas in my fuel efficient Honda. We got crushing poverty in this country. Millions of people have no health care. Groceries are fucking high-sky! You got people deciding between feeding themselves or buying medicine. Excuse me, but FISA just isn't a big deal to me. I got more pressing issues to deal with.

I always think issues like FISA and Freedom in Tibet are issues taken when people really have nothing else to worry about in their lives. So they feel compelled to go all out on such abstract issues.

And don't get me wrong, it's not like I disagree with most on DU about FISA, but it doesn't reach the level of outrage like it does for so many others. I just laugh sometimes on here how we on the left get our drawers tied up over an issue like FISA when there's much more important causes that we should be more outraged about.

[evlbstrd]

1. Keep your fuckin' gas.

I'll take the Constitution.

[NattPang]

4. The constitution was gone long ago

before this vote.

and one losing vote
wasn't going to bring it back

Symbols like flagpin
or votes that don't change a thing
are not principles except to those
who want to win a battle even when they can't
all the while losing the war.

[BluegrassDem]

5. When the Constitution starts feeding my family, I'll be more outraged

Otherwise, this is an issue that doesn't rise to any level that matters to the vast majority of Americans.

[Fovea]

12. From the ICC to the DOT

From the first amendment that lets you curse the buttplugs who gouge you at the gas station, to the eighth amendment that kept the police from strip searching your daughter for being out late...

The constitution touches damn near every thing you do, even in nimbyville, or what is left of it.

[evlbstrd]

22. You only have room for one issue at a time?

[Bake]

23. They starve you so you won't give a shit that they steal your freedom

"Please just keep us safe and fed!!!"

That's why it fucking matters. They're fucking you at both ends at the same time, so you can only give a damn about one of them.

Bake

[RNdaSilva]

6. Here she is...

conserving gas.

[RNdaSilva]

10. Just in case...

That is the USS

Constitution

.

[Barack_America]

13. Feel the same way about feeding one's "fuckin' kids"?

That's what many folks in my neighborhood are faced with. So yeah, you could say that FISA isn't high up on my list of immediate priorities.

[evlbstrd]

21. I have kids.

And I worry for their futures. We'll run out of gas no matter what else we do.

[Danieljay]

2. no there isn't , i'm voting for McCain damnit. Or even better, i'm writing myself in.

:sarcasm:

[Dr.Phool]

7. Mickey Mouse is still an option.

[Maddy McCall]

3. Today was an important vote. Nothing you say can change that fact.

Sure, there are other problems...and those other problems require legislative action in the future. Those issues will have their day for legislative attention, if there is any justice.

But today was a huge vote on an important Constitutional issue.

[Fovea]

8. Don't mind me then.

I'll just be checking out your browser cache, digging around in your trash for bank statements, and seeing if your undies fit.

Who needs that pesky old fourth amendment anyway?
It just got in the way of the war on commies, I mean drugs, I mean terror.

Speaking of drugs, let's check out your medicine cabinet.
Never know, there might be commie, terrorist drugs there.

[Mira]

9. Sorry Bud - there is nothing more important to me today !

Your run-down of issues is not unimportant, but it's all localized. What we lost today in the FISA vote is so much more global.
If I have to feel, which I do, that my daily calls to my mother in Germany ( who is 84 ) and my brother in Germany ( who is 58 and dying of cancer), and my other brother who is of support, while in place, make me suspect, and a security risk, then in spite of the fact I have been a citizen for 30 years then
FISA being supported by enough Democrats to pass today, makes me absolutely crazy.
The Fourth Amendment is a really BIG DEAL. Losing it to whatever unbelievable shenanigans the republican powers have scared people with is a tragedy.
This has nothing to do with the issues you mention.

[MarjorieG]

11. First, sorry about your brother. I thought this version prevents some of the worst about overseas.

[Lasher]

14. OK let's say something comes up that matters more to you.

Let's say President Cheney attacks Iran. And just for the sake of argument, let's say you care a lot about that. All there is to stop him is Congress. This Congress. Think about it.

[MarjorieG]

15. This isn't war powers. That I do worry about.

[Lasher]

19. No, but it was capitulation.

What makes you think Congressional Democrats will be any different when something else comes up? That's my point. They have shown they can't be counted on.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

16. so you think the government didn't spy on you years ago?

the US govt has always spied on it's people. It's just that it does it a million times more.

[nam78_two]

17. Agreed-we completely ignore environmental issues again like they don't even exist

It is insane-one of the most important issues out there and even most people here fail to recognize how important it is. It is routinely left out of the laundry lists people here make of important issues. The media of course ignores it, but it is a bit sad to see even liberal bloggers treat it largely as a non-issue. In 2008 as in 2004 and as we did in 2000. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

[thewiseguy]

18. I agree. Economy is the biggest issue right now.

If you cant put food on the table, then FISA wont mean much.

However you need to consider where we are and who posts here and what is important to them.

[DesertFlower]

20. i agree.

i'm also tired of every other thread being about FISA.

[femrap]

24. Yeah, you're right....

We don't need something quaint like a Constitution, do we? Bet you'd feel different if it were about that quaint Constitutional Amendment about guns, wouldn't ya?

Hey...some people see the Big Picture while others focus just on themselves and their plight. Good luck....it's gonna get very, very ugly.

[johnlal]

25. Everybody has different priorities.

A lot of people are outraged about FISA. You're not.
Some people think abortion is a crucial issue. Others don't care.
Some people worry a lot about immigration. It doesn't matter so much to other people.

I'm sorry if you don't like all the noise about FISA. Unfortunately, that's part of our system. In the so-called marketplace of ideas, you have to make yourself heard by whatever means. You can bet the telecom companies have been making noise about this issue. If you don't like the noise, tune it out.

[azmouse]

26. kick

[dailykoff]

27. Yes, let's just get the trains running on time

and let the laws take care of themselves.