Let's not ignore the pending FISA cave-in!

[Truth2Tell]

As it becomes more clear that the Democratic leadership is poised to cave on every crucial element of the revised FISA law, Senators Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold have sent out a new http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/releases/08/06/20080610f.html">letter to Congressional Leaders practically begging for the life of the Constitution.

Reports like http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-see-progress-on-fisa-talks-2008-06-10.html">this latest in The Hill seem to suggest that the new Bill will not only provide immunity to the telecom companies for their clear crimes, but will indefinitely continue - and in fact expand - the ability of the Bush regime to wiretap at will.

Here's an excerpt from the Senator's letter:

...The Senate bill authorizes widespread surveillance involving innocent Americans and does not provide adequate checks and balances to protect their rights. First, it permits the government to come up with its own procedures for deciding who is a target of surveillance, and provides no meaningful consequences if the FISA Court later determines the government’s procedures are not even reasonably designed to wiretap foreigners. Second, even if the government is wiretapping foreigners outside the U.S., those foreigners need not be terrorists, suspected of any wrongdoing, or even be of any specific intelligence interest. That means the government could legally collect all communications between Americans here at home and the rest of the world. Third, the Senate version of the bill failed to prohibit the practice of reverse targeting – namely, wiretapping a person overseas when what the government is really interested in is an American here at home with whom the foreigner is communicating. Fourth, the Senate version of the bill failed to include meaningful privacy protections for the Americans whose communications will be collected in vast new quantities. We strongly believe that these problems should be corrected as the legislation moves forward.

Here's an http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDlYcn5HEs8">old Feingold YouTube to help remind us all what's at stake in this fight.

Let's not forget about this ongoing struggle amid all the Kucinich/impeachment hoopla.

Contact the usual suspects today.

Great site for contacting Congresscritters on this issue: http://stopthespying.org/">Stop The Spying

[wtmusic]

1. Thank You. K&R.

[Nite Owl]

2. Damn they just never stop trying

to screw us.

Feingold and Dodd are in fighting with us at least.

[Truth2Tell]

17. Feingold and Dodd

rock.

:headbang:

[annabanana]

3. They will not stop pushing the immunity clauses.. The stakes

are too high and too many important companies & people are exposed to legal action.

And because THEY won't let up with the pressure, WE can't afford to let up on the pressure to hold them accountable.

You can't just break the law because the President tells you to...

[Canuckistanian]

4. What is up with these idiots?

Can they not read polls?

Do they know that they're facing defeat if it came out that they're supporting immunity aka "warrantless spying"?

[Truth2Tell]

11. Some of them are complicit

and they don't want the whole story to emerge in court.

[Canuckistanian]

12. Yes, I listened to Randi yesterday and she said the same

A LOT of these Senators and Congress people were BRIEFED on warrantless spying, torture, etc.

They were probably sworn to secrecy ("national security" of course) and given ALL the gory details.

Now, when the story comes out, these same idiots suddenly realize that these acts are ILLEGAL and that public opinion is overwhelmingly negative.

So what to do? Ignore, mock the REAL ethical attempts at justice and go along with whatever Bush wants.

It is a cowardice that is killing America much more efficiently than any terrorist could.

[Truth2Tell]

13. Rockefeller (among others) is clearly complicit.

Rockefeller is among a small group of congressional leaders who have received briefings on the administration's four-year-old program to eavesdrop—without warrants—on international calls and e-mails of Americans and others inside the United States with suspected ties to al-Qaida.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8EK2VEO7&show_article=1

But some in Congress were informed of the wiretaps and did nothing to stop them. Instead, the ranking Democrat on Senate Intelligence, Jay Rockefeller, wrote a private letter to Vice President Dick Cheney expressing his "lingering concerns" and saying he'd keep it on file for posterity--or more precisely, for posterior-covering.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/hottopic/?id=110007783

[slipslidingaway]

14. Telecom Group Key Player in Immunity Battle

http://www.truthout.org/article/matt-renner-telecom-group-key-player-immunity-battle

"A think tank with close ties to the telecommunication industry has been working with a key Democrat in the Senate on a domestic surveillance bill that would provide telecommunications companies with retroactive immunity for possibly violating federal law by spying on American citizens at the behest of the Bush administration.

Third Way, a non-profit "progressive" think tank that is funded and controlled by hedge fund managers, corporate lawyers and business executives has advised Sen. Jay Rockefeller on a domestic surveillance bill that includes immunity for telecommunications companies with which Third Way board members have close ties..."

http://www.thirdway.org/leadership

[bluesmail]

5. They're serious. Retroactive immunity sounds funny to us

(and it should, yikes,) The * Administration is deadly serious, Iran serious, Middle East serious. WORLD WAR SERIOUS.

[robinlynne]

6. kick and thank-you!

[williesgirl]

7. Everyone needs to start calling Congress critters and Senators again. rec'd

[Truth2Tell]

8. kick. nt

[snot]

9. k&r'd

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. I've been keeping an eye on it

Every time I see a new rumor of compromise I feel ill.

[wtmusic]

15. K&R. nt

[ThomWV]

16. K&R