Liberal filmaker Michael Moore's next project is reportedly about the liberties we are losing while "we slept." -- or were otherwise distracted.Moore will likely have more coverage on yesterday's action of the Senate than any of the broadcast MSM outlets, that had hours of horserace primary coverage but nothing on a major vote that two of the three presidental candidates cast yesterday. Voice of America Reports:
"The U.S. Senate Tuesday voted to renew a controversial surveillance law set to expire at the end of the week. Lawmakers left intact a provision to shield telephone companies from lawsuits for their role in the Bush administration's wiretap program, despite opposition from many Democrats."
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-02-12-voa74.cfm
Some citizens advocacy special interest groups -- not the telecom companies (remember coorporate special interests lead all of lobbyist groups in their influence of our government) slammed the 31-67 Senate vote. The legislation now moves to the House, where lawmakers did not provide legal coverage for the telecoms. President Bush vows a veto of any bill that does not give corporate communication companies legal coverage in giving the executive branch information to keep the nation secure.
The Washington Post reports:
" The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) slammed the Senate vote. "Immunity for telecom giants that secretly assisted in the NSA's warrantless surveillance undermines the rule of law and the privacy of every American," said EFF senior staff attorney Kevin Bankston. "Congress should let the courts do their job instead of helping the administration and the phone companies avoid accountability for a half decade of illegal domestic spying."
It doesn't make sense for Congress to work hard on the FISA bill when the NSA and telecom providers can circumvent the law, added Greg Nojeim, CDT's senior counsel. "The telecom immunity provision sends a message that it's OK for a telecom to assist with unlawful surveillance when secretly asked to do so by the government," he said.
Democratic Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin had sponsored the amendment to get rid of legal immunity for the telecom providers. AT&T and other telecom carriers are being sued in U.S. court in San Francisco for their participation in the surveillance program, which many civil liberties groups say is illegal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021300920.html
Of course there was a horserace sidebar to this story, and the Politico's CRYPT blog reports.
"The vote also provided an opportunity to showcase the key differences on national security between presidential candidates, as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted against immunity for telecoms, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), voted to keep immunity in the bill. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) did not show up for the vote. All three candidates were in the Washington area Tuesday morning for the region's three primaries."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/
And apparently after the vote, Obama and McCain got togther for a bear hug that turned into a head butt?
"Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and his 60-watt smile couldn't get a moment alone Tuesday as the Senate voted on the FISA bill.
Obama, who’s locked into a fierce battle with New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, was tending to the fans — and there were many of them.
First, he was surrounded by Sens. Ben Nelson, (D-Neb.), Kent Conrad, (D-N.D.), Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). Then, almost instantly, he was enveloped by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sens. Barbara Boxer, (D-Calif.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).
Sen. Bill Nelson, (D-Fla.) pulled him away for a moment, as did Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D-Calif.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) played the "my turn! my turn!" game, too.
Clinton did not vote Tuesday.
But someone else wanted an O-Mo. (Short for Obama moment) As Obama and Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) talked mano-a-mano in the front of the chamber, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) approached Obama to say hello.
The two presidential rivals shook hands and exchanged a laugh, but Salazar apparently wasn't satisfied with that. The Colorado senator bear-hugged the two candidates bringing them head to head for a brief moment, as their colleagues looked on and laughed.
Could Salazar be signaling who he thinks will be head-to-head in the presidential election?
Hmmmm. We wonder.
4 comments:
I certainly think the press should have given the Senate vote priorities, and I certainly think shielding phone companies is going too far. If you're wrongly accused, I think you have the right to sue. That said, I'm sicko(pun absolutely intended) of Michael Moore. That guy is just a whiny loudmouth looking to score big bucks off people's problems. Sure he has the right, but remember, I have the right to disagree strongly with his views.
On the Senate floor, earlier today during the Intel Authorization debate, Sen. John Warner (R-Rep.) (former Armed Services Chairman) said:
"What we always have to remind our colleagues and the American public is that these companies have volunteered. They're not in this for a profit motive. There's some compensation for expenses. They're not unlike the men and women in the Armed Forces, all of whom today are in uniform because they raised their right arm and volunteered. And we cannot ask these companies to subject themselves to the uncertainty and the threats associated with legal processes, and it just... we're going to lose a very important component here of what I call the American Spirit: volunteerism. Whether it's in the corporate world, or whether it's in the Armed Forces, or in any other number of activities, we're a nation known as people who step forward and volunteer. And this is a clear example of how these companies cannot continue under the situation that persists today, because the directors of those companies -- their corporate boards -- have an obligation to their stockholders, and it's a stretch to say to the stockholders that a part of the volunteerism that we're doing to serve the cost of freedom here in the United States should be subjected to a lot of court suits.
So I appreciate you bringing this up. It's an important thing. We've got to remind our colleagues about the -- well, I'm proud of what this chamber did. They voted it through very clearly."
So if a telecom corporation company 'volunteers' to give up your/our private records to the executive branch of government, then We the People have no legal standing......Sounds like Orwell again, 1984 this time.
What is this freedom your professors and doctors are so adamant about? The freedom to molest students and patients without their families being able to utter any protest? Is this what privacy is all about? Democracy is based on transparency. The word idiot is cognate with the Greek for privacy. Your voter registration is public so labor can prevent a Republican from getting a union job. Your property deed is public so you can be held accountable. Swiss Bank privacy only was created during the nazi era.
Court Rejects ACLU Challenge to Wiretaps
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court rejected a challenge Tuesday (2/20) to the Bush administration's domestic spying program.
The justices' decision, issued without comment, is the latest setback to legal efforts to force disclosure of details of the warrantless wiretapping that began after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The American Civil Liberties Union wanted the court to allow a lawsuit by the group and individuals over the wiretapping program. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit, saying the plaintiffs could not prove their communications had been monitored.
The government has refused to turn over information about the closely guarded program that could reveal who has been under surveillance.
ACLU legal director Steven R. Shapiro has said his group is in a "Catch-22" because the government says the identities of people whose communications have been intercepted is secret. But only people who know they have been wiretapped can sue over the program, Shapiro has said.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled against an Islamic charity that also challenged program, concluding that a key piece of evidence is protected as a state secret.
In that case, the Oregon-based U.S. arm of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation alleged the National Security Agency illegally listened to its calls. The charity had wanted to introduce as evidence a top-secret call log it received mistakenly from the Treasury Department.
A separate lawsuit against telecommunications companies that have cooperated with the government is pending in the San Francisco-based appeals court. A U.S. district court also is examining whether the warrantless surveillance of people in the United States violates the law that regulates the wiretapping of suspected terrorists and requires the approval of a secret court.
The case is ACLU v. NSA, 07-468.
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