Senate Vote On Telco Immunity Pushed Back
from the good-news dept
While the initial reports on the so-called "compromise" bill on FISA suggested that it would breeze through Congress, it appears that public outrage over this issue may have some Senators thinking twice. While the House did pass it, concern from some Senators has now delayed a vote on the bill until sometime after July 7th. That would suggest that a few Senators were serious about filibustering the bill unless telco immunity was taken out -- and those in favor of letting telcos off the hook didn't have enough votes to kill the filibuster. That doesn't mean this is over, however. You can rest assured that telco lobbyists will be pushing hard over the next week to get Senators over to their side. Hopefully, there will be enough public outrage over this issue that Senators will recognize that handing telcos "immunity" for potentially illegal acts is not the way Americans believe in due process. Even if you think the telcos did the right thing in obeying the government, isn't it only fair for that to be established by the courts?
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Filed Under: senate, telco immunity
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This is why we have a secret court in the first place
The fact that they didn't bother going through the motions suggests to me what they were doing was so blatantly illegal that even the "Here's Your Warrant" court would have said No Way.
Oh and that bitch Pelosi should step down. 35 articles of impeachment against Bush and they won't even look at it, and its partially because of her influence. Add this on top of that and its a wonder anyone even thinks of Democrats and Republicans as seperate parties anymore.
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Re: This is why we have a secret court in the first place
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Re: Pelosi
Miraculously, during the same week, Pelosi and Hoyer cave on FISA.
Conclusion: They sold the 4th Amendment to Bush for $95 billion in pork.
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Re: Re: Pelosi
Normally when we're at war, we factor in the costs of the war into the budget. Considering that we've been in Iraq for over five years, you'd think Congress would have done this by now.
But nooo...they continue to pass "emergency" supplemental spending bills, as if this whole war thing caught them off guard.
A consequence of these "emergency" spending bills is that since they aren't factored into the budget, their costs are postponed for a while in the form of debt...multi-billion dollar loans that we take out from places like China (!) and Japan. Sooner or later, they're going to turn it over to collection, but not after the people who took out the loans are off the hook.
I like to call this dishonest, irresponsible deficit-spending fiscal policy of deferring the costs to the next generation "tax your children and spend".
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Add it all together and you get this unexpectedly positive (for the Constitution and the people) outcome.
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I've come to realize that the less the government gets done the better it is for us.
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a BIG hint for you..
Instead just tell them "Vote NO(or YES if that's what the bill requires) on Bill ####". It will save you a bunch of time and you sound like someone who is in charge instead of some subordinate who is trying to get their great king to grant a wish.
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Re: a BIG hint for you..
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Voice your Opinions to your Senator!!!
I'm a constituent and I urge you to oppose telecom immunity.
Vote "no" on the FISA Amendments Act, which contains blanket immunity for telecoms that cooperated in warrantless government spying. It is very important to me that Americans have their day in court against lawbreaking telecoms.
Supporters of telecom immunity will tell you the bill is a compromise but it’s not. The changes have been purely cosmetic, and your constituents can see right through it. False compromises that grant the telephone companies immunity for participating in warrantless wiretapping are unacceptable.
That should let them know where you stand! Let them know that we will remember their actions come november!
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** Cough ** Bush!
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security...........
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Ohh no
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THIS IS NOT A CASE OF TIES GOES TO THE RUNNER
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Paint It Black
Don't sit on your laurels. Share the FISA story with your parents and Boomer generation. They will shared this travesty with co-workers and neighbors. Mine ended up sending letters to their congressional representatives and getting BS responses from them. The boomers will be more angry than you imagine.
http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
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political sellout
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So much for the public's outrage
As far as Obama, his vote 'yes' yesterday in effect allowed him to violate his oath of office before he's elected. Not even G-dub could do that.
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