ACLU: Critical votes within 3 weeks could grant vast new spying powers to Bush

[madfloridian]

From the ACLU email and website. This is alarming how things just keep getting pushed through while we are not paying attention.

From the email:

It’s October and before this month is over, we’ll know which members of Congress stood up for civil liberties and which ones failed freedom. Our job now is to put them on notice — before they vote — that we won’t tolerate wavering, waffling, or wimping out.

The ACLU’s Don’t Wait for ’08 campaign — a 100-day effort urging Congress to restore liberties lost during the relentless Bush assault on our rights — is at a critical “make-or-break” point with FISA votes coming as early as next week. Unbelievably, there’s a push to make permanent the vast new spying powers that Congress gave to the President for a six-month period that ends in February, 2008.

Help us continue the FISA Flood of 2007 by overwhelming Congress with your voice demanding immediate action to defend freedom. Write. Call. Demand Action. Make noise now before our rights are stripped away permanently.

Fix Fisa, Defend the Constitution

Tell Congress: Fix FISA, Defend the Constitution!

Before leaving for August recess, Congress caved in to President Bush and his demand for out-of-control authority to spy on Americans’ emails and phone calls by passing the so-called “Protect America Act.” We’re calling this bill the “Police America Act,” because it allows for the massive, untargeted collection of Americans’ international communications without court order.

The only good news about this bill is that it's set to expire 6 months after it was signed into law. But Congress is rushing forward. Critical votes happening within three weeks could permanently grant vast new spying powers to Bush and all future presidents, with no meaningful oversight by Congress or any court

Send a email now.

Fix Fisa

[Buzz Clik]

1. You can be absolutely guaranteed that Congress will do nothing about this.

Absolutely guaranteed.

[lonestarnot]

2. arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg! FUCKING HAIR ON FIRE!

:grr:

[madfloridian]

4. Do you know who is pushing the votes? ACLU site does not say.

And what votes are they? I think I might have to agree with you, lately it seems we are on the train with Bush as engineer...going along with all of it.

:shrug:

[Buzz Clik]

6. Agreed -- going along with all of it.

Just before critical votes, we get some bogus terrorist threat that either does or doesn't get thwarted, Congress starts shivering, and Bush gets what he wants because the Dems don't want to look "weak on terror." But they've got it covered -- not only are they weak on terror, they are weak on everything. Just plain old weak.

Vote the incumbents out. All of them. Dems, Republicans. They all must go.

[movonne]

7. To me they look weak going along with everything...this is exactly

what they want and when we get a dem president they will also have these powers...there is a war going on all around the world against the corporations and the dictators...I hope it is not to late..

[gateley]

10. I'm glad you told me that. Saved me the trouble of emailing my reps. Thanks. nt

[Buzz Clik]

12. No charge.

[niceypoo]

20. Oh, they will do something...

...they will bow to the mighty 25%er boy king and pass it like obedient jellyfish.

[emsimon33]

23. I agree! What's their problem?

[f the letter]

35. That seems like it's true these days

But i can guarantee that i'll call every one of them just to be sure they realize that i know they're doing nothing

[Junkdrawer]

3. Let me guess: The bill will get an up and down vote, BUT...

the amendment to tone it down will never get past a cloture vote...

[tom_paine]

5. K & R for some good action to take

[gateley]

8. K&R nt

[bonito]

9. K&R This is important!

[madfloridian]

11. Looks like a bill is moved up for tomorrow. What the hell are they thinking?

http://openleft.com/frontPage.do

"I just got word from the ACLU that a new and bad FISA bill is about to be unveiled tomorrow at 1:30pm by Steny Hoyer in a press-only briefing. Telecom immunity is not in the bill, but the Senate is pressing hard for that to be included.

The dynamic in the House is really odd. Hoyer and Emanuel seem to be pushing for a FISA capitulation to 'protect the freshmen', even though the freshmen understand their constituents don't want a FISA capitulation. No one will go on the record on any of this, and Emanuel and Hoyer aren't voting for the capitulation, only orchestrating its passage.

This is not a surprise, though it is amusing that Pelosi's promises to 'fix' the temporary FISA bill passed in August are as worthless as they appeared at the time.

What's weird is that no one wants this capitulation except Hoyer and Emanuel. The Bush Dogs are going to vote for it, since that's what they would do, but they would vote for a better bill. The freshmen don't feel politically threatened by a better bill, and know that standing up to Bush is popular. It's like the House is operating on conservative autopilot."

[madfloridian]

13. "ACLU and civil liberties experts were cut out of the process."

And a press-only briefing....weird stuff and senseless.

I am getting very angry over this stuff.

[lonestarnot]

14. Will you open a new thread on this?

[madfloridian]

15. I just saw one about the Open Left post...but now I can't find it.

I think it was in GDP.

I can not understand why our party is not standing up firmly against lack of oversight on this?

[lonestarnot]

19. I can't understand period. Fucking most perplexing bunch I have ever seen voted into office.

[Demeter]

25. Hoyer Has GOT To Be a Ringer

There is no way he is a Democrat.

[annabanana]

16. K&R - Can't emphasis enough how important this is!!

We hav eto get on the horn, email & fax everyone, twice. .

Your own guys... Nancy, Harry... Committee heads of Intel Standing committees...

must do!

[spanone]

17. kick and recommend

[madfloridian]

18. "Hoyer and Emanuel seem to be pushing for a FISA capitulation to 'protect the freshmen'

From the Open Left post:

http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1736

"The dynamic in the House is really odd. Hoyer and Emanuel seem to be pushing for a FISA capitulation to 'protect the freshmen', even though the freshmen understand their constituents don't want a FISA capitulation. No one will go on the record on any of this, and Emanuel and Hoyer aren't voting for the capitulation, only orchestrating its passage.

This is not a surprise, though it is amusing that Pelosi's promises to 'fix' the temporary FISA bill passed in August are as worthless as they appeared at the time."

Did they lie to us again? Why do they need to "protect" the freshmen?

This is just a bunch of BS.

I just posted this the other day...coming true already.

FISA train wreck on the way...Open Left talks with ACLU.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1537

"The bottom line is that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are disorganized and giving no signals to members on the FISA wiretapping expansion and retroactive immunity to telecom companies, which is going to result in horrific legislation. In the Senate, Jay Rockefeller is once again inviting Mike McConnell into closed hearings on how to fix the FISA law, and the markup is next week. There are no drafts of legislation around, which is a bad The Senate Judiciary Committee is hamstrung by Dianne Feinstein, who prevents a majority, and by the instincts of Democrat leaders who, in a conflicts between Judiciary and Intelligence, will go with Intelligence because of a perceived fear of national security weakness."

I am getting suspicious.

[rockymountaindem]

22. What a fucking nightmare

For someone who's supposedly the mastermind of our "victory" in 2006, Emmanuel seems to be totally out of touch with what people really want. Or else he actually believes this is a good idea, which is even scarier.

[bullwinkle428]

21. If I want to express this using military terminology, I'm thinking BOHICA -

Bend Over...Here It Comes Again!

:hurts:

Never used that smilie before...I guess there's a first time for everything!

[mmonk]

24. Simple solution.

A concerted effort must be made to rid our party of these republican tool traitors. That is my attitude. All these "freshmen" and their handlers must be replaced. An enemy of the constitution is an enemy of the constitution.

[everydayis911]

26. I don't know if

Anybody else is having trouble signing this but for some reason it won't acknowledge my zip code so I can't send it. HUM! Like it's going to do a lot of good. BTW when is Harriot Miers going to take the stand????????????

[madfloridian]

27. Some forms only take the first 5 numbers of the zip.

Could that be it?

[madfloridian]

28. Kick to make sure folks write about it.

I sure don't trust what is going on.

[bonito]

29. Kick

[radfringe]

30. Place your bets

Two part bet:

1. What timeframe prior to the actual vote/debate will there be a terror story?

2. What form will the terror story take? i.e. Pizza-gang arrested? Terror plot disrupted in Europe? Airport/subway/train station et al placed on alert?

my bets:

1. Minimum of 1 week prior to actual vote to give maximum booga-booga feartime

2. terror alert at a mass transit facility, with rumors of a plot being disrupted in connection to a pizza-delivery gang in Frankfurt Germany

[madfloridian]

31. Hoyer Postpones FISA Roll-out

http://www.openleft.com/frontPage.do

"Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, postponed a press conference announcing new reforms of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after progressive lawmakers banded together and said they would fight any legislation that did not include a set of eight principles on wiretapping that preserve the "rule of law."
"What's most significant is that the Progressive Caucus came together and said to the leadership that all 72 of us require that these provisions be included," said Caroline Fredercikson, Legislative Director for the American Civil Liberties Union. "This changes the dynamic significantly."

Rep. Hoyer had planned to roll out the new FISA reform bill at 1:30 PM today. A spokesperson from his office told the Huffington Post that the House Intelligence Committee had decided to postpone completion of the legislation, though it's not clear that the letter from the Progressive Caucus influenced their decision. Votes in the House were also canceled today. The committee was not available at press time.

The ACLU said it had not been briefed on the nature of the reforms that the Democratic leadership was preparing to get behind."

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[madfloridian]

33. Oh, my goodness. You are a feisty one, aren't you. Welcome to DU

Enjoy your stay

:rofl:

[f the letter]

34. all right. sending that email

Tell everyone who will listen