The democratic leadership is preparing to move a final bill giving immunity to the telecommunication industry after months of waiting for public interest to wane. The new bill would give President Bush and the powerful lobby would it has long sought: immunity from violating federal law and the privacy of customers.
The legislation is incredibly disingenuous. It pretends to create a legal process of review that the members know would be instantly satisfied by the companies. It calls for a federal district court determine whether the telecommunications companies received signed orders authorized by the president asking them to place wiretaps to detect or prevent a terrorist attack. Dozens of lawsuit filed by public interest and civil liberties groups would then be dismissed — at the direction of the democrats in Congress.
I will be on Countdown tonight to discuss the legislation but I am positively baffled by this decision. There is zero public interest value to this legislation. It is a move to shield obvious unlawful conduct and to defeat civil liberties cases by changing the rules in favor of these companies. It is an continuation of a pattern of democratic leaders running on defending civil liberties and then actively undermining such efforts in Congress.
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The House of Representatives, including all too many Democrats, caved in to Bush and passed the Fisa bill with telecom immunity. That bill further eroded our freedoms and contributed to the evaporation of the Bill of Rights and our Constitution. That bill must not become law so it is up to the Senate now to put an end to it. Everybody has to contact their Senators to let them know that the loss of freedom through permission to commit warrantless wiretapping is not acceptable. The idea of immunity for the telecom firms is patently offensive and must be eliminated. Those telecom firms were not just succumbing to pressure from the Bush Administration; they were co-conspirators, each committing a crime in concert with the other. No immunity should extend to Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, Gonzales or Mukasey either since all of them also are criminals and deserve to be indicted, convicted and imprisoned. The Bush Administration and its connections to K-Street lobbyists and other powerful, wealthy corporations makes the Nixon Administration look like a gathering at a day-care center for infants. This administration is the most unlawful and incompetent in the history of the USA. Woe is us! We can’t settle for a new president in January; we must vote in a new president and new Congressmen to replace all of the Republican idealogues and Democrat co-conspirators like Pelosi, Hoyer, and everybody else who voted for Bush’s bills or acquiesced to his illegal torture, wiretapping, lying us into war, etc. We must support any candidate opposing the incumbents and we must support them with our mouths and money. It is now or never!
Not for nothing, but I’ll take my chances with the vending machines.
Statistically speaking, you’re twice as likely to be hit by a falling vending machine than killed in a terrorist attack.
In light of the fact that man did not leave the state of nature and give up his personal & private rights in exchange for greater protection from the threat of falling vending machines…
Like I said, I’ll take my chances.
whooliebacon,
Have you read “Jennifer Government” by Max Barry? I think you are correct to say we’ll be living the “private” life soon enough!
Jill
Wonder how the Dems will vote on bills to privatize water.
Americans have always had the basic right to water. With privatization we won’t.
Gas $12 a gallon. Water $15 a gallon.
I can see the “life style” packages coming from big corp now.
Just like cable. Bundle your water, food, housing, gas, heat, cooling, and transportation, in one low cost package. Free security chip included with upgrades.
The cheneybush administration lies us into a disastrous war. They lie about approving torture. They suppress science at the NIH and EPA. Doing a “Heck of a job” on the enonomy! And on and on. These people sound credible to me. I certainly believe them when they claim they aren’t surveilling anyone who isn’t a terrorist. Nothing to see here. Move along everyone!
This bill just passed with only 129 (1 Republican)voting against it. The Dem House Leadership voted for it. My guess as to why these Democrats capitulated is that many of them were involved in approving this behavior behind the scenes. The Bushies brought them in via secret briefings. They were too afraid of the political ramifications of seeming to be soft on terrorism, to protest publicly. I do believe that this bill will be stopped in the Senate if enough pressure can be brought to bear. I’m calling and writing my senators today.
As discouraging as this is I think a long term perspective is needed. This is one small battle in the ongoing historical struggle by those who believe in human rights, social fairness and social equality. Our opponents are believers in a society run by an elite that either exercises unlimited power, or worship at the feet of wielders of that power. There are ebbs and flows in this ongoing battle, but overall the human race has progressed somewhat towards the side of the common good. The battle will continue long after we are gone and forgotten.
A life well led is one spent in trying to apply the golden rule to society and to those we interact with.
Chiaroscuro:
All is not lost. This and next week is key. Citizens have to let the House and Senate Democrats know that they have not receded into the woodwork. This was an obvious effort to see if the public has forgotten. Let them know that you haven’t.
Mespo: My careful review of your stylistic preferences seems to show that I can wear any suit so long as it is blue or black. (I must confess that — to Leslie’s continual annoyance — I go every few years and buy a blue, black, and dark pin stripe suit to add to the others in my closet).
JT
Just another example of the fact that our elected people (surely not our leaders) in Congress have sunk to the lowest common denominator. Hoyer and Pelosi are sell-outs and disappointments of the highest order. They have now sunk to the point where they deserve to be considered co-conspirators with the Bush Administration offenders like Bush, Cheney, etc. Most of the Democrat “leaders” in Congress have squandered their power since the 2006 election, so obviously they are responsive only to special interests and their own desire for self-preservation in their job. Retroactive immunity as part of a new FISA law is a travesty of justice which violates fundamental principles in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Now Congress even rubber-stamps crimes committed by the White House, as if knuckling under to an illegal war and war funding and torture wasn’t enough. It is incumbent on America to rid ourselves of those in Congress who have forgotten about the nation and its citizens in their never-ending election campaign to keep themselves in office at any cost. Obama’s recent action in the Georgia primary congressional race endorsing an incumbent who supported Bush more than some Republicans instead of trying to help a capable African-American female candidate who is actually aligned with all the wonderful policies and ideals expressed by Obama during the past 2 years shows him for what he really is. So, Obama, too, is committed only to himself and special interests, and he will do nothing to change government as we know it. He, too, is a liar and a fake who is apparently bought and paid for, devoid of principles or real values. With gas and food prices going through the roof and factories and jobs disappearing daily, it should come as no surprise to anyone that elections as we know them will not yield the change we Americans so desperately need. The USA is on the verge of “a perfect storm” for politics, economy and society which will result in nothing but an armed revolution as a means to try to return America to its former honor and grandeur as a land of opportunity, freedom and equality. The USA is fast becoming a morally bankrupt third world nation, no longer the wealthiest or most powerful nation on earth. I never thought I’d see this day!
Thank you, Professor Turley, for your passion and clarity in defense of our Consitution. You were excellent on Countdown tonight.
My question is: What are we to do about this? Obama taught Constitutional Law, but he is busy tacking rightward for the general election. I won’t hold my breath waiting for him to make an eloquent speech denouncing this bill.
Should he be elected president, however, is there a blueprint he should follow to pull the curtain back on all the secret lawbreaking of the last seven years. How can we make sure that Obama, as the leader of his party, restores the country to Constitutional norms? How can we make sure the guilty are brought to account?
whoolie:
JT really did give Olbermann a run for his money in the apparel department. The tie was superb I must agree. Liked the dark suit too.
So how much longer will BLOATEd WOODTICK Olbermann stay on the air now that the Clinton Family is demanding MSNBC come to terms with the months of Hillary Bashing promulgated by the WOODTICK HIMSELF! Will MSNBC cave to the Clintons, fearing the Clinton’s massive ability to rain hell on those that have been (unfairly) promoting Obama at the expense of Hillary for ratings.
russ,
Didn’t you post this like 3 months ago…
Anyway thanks for the remedial reading lesson.
Can’t wait for your posts when you get your GED.
Nice tie JT.
Russ,
Say hi to your pal Niblet for us. Just who do you think you are writing what you did about Professor Turley? That man has more knowledge of the Constitution than 100 of you and you try to belittle him? He gives you the right to post your childish dribble and your reward him with personal attacks. I know the facts often get in your way, but maybe a few more years of therapy might help. You call what he said lies, and you produce zero evidence to back your ridiculous charges What are you going to do when the 4th Amendment becomes a life saving instrument to you and suddenly you remember that your appointed President stole it from you years earlier with apparent help from Congress? And that you agreed with that theft.
Hey Turley; you were on BLOATED WOODTICK OLBERMANN”S LIE-FEST tonight?
If Olbermann had even 400,000 viewers that must have been every two percenter in America sitting ga-ga watching their hero WOODTICK LIE some more!
I hope you get paid for sitting on WOODTICKS show ’cause years down the road your kids are going to say “dad, you were on THAT show? ewwwwwww…..”.
“There is zero public interest value to this legislation. It is a move to shield obvious unlawful conduct and to defeat civil liberties cases by changing the rules in favor of these companies.”
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Zero public interest but unlimited private interest by the companies. I have suggested that if the government wants to get the telecoms off the hook (pardon the pun) they should indemnify and save them harmless from suits occasioned by their direct orders to spy on us. Even though we would be paying the bill, we owe it to those who were harmed by the dolts most of us elected. I also would have no trouble with a tiered matrix of payments a la the Dalkon Shield trust fund that would be funded by the companies and their joint tortfeasor, the Federal Government.
So, the Fed has amended the New York State Constitution?
Article I, Section 12:
“The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable interception of telephone and telegraph communications shall not be violated, and ex parte orders or warrants shall issue only upon oath or affirmation that there is reasonable ground to believe that evidence of crime may be thus obtained, and identifying the particular means of communication, and particularly describing the person or persons whose communications are to be intercepted and the purpose thereof.” (New. Adopted by Constitutional Convention of 1938 and approved by vote of the people November 8, 1938.)
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/cons2004.htm
Exactly what ‘specifically enumerated power’ is Congress relying on to accomplish this?
The ‘hysteria’ stems from undermining the principles of law by those who have taken an oath to preserve those principles, namely Congress and the President. And then there’s this thing called a ‘Constitution’ that seems to be getting trampled upon. The framers might be a bit hysterical , and not from laughter, at the prospect of Congress immunizing clearly lawless behavior by the President.
The insanity here is to legalize criminal activity.
Lets suppose you are robbed at gun point and shot.
It was totally insane to block immunity for the robber when all we have heard for 6 years after 9/11 was nobody connected the dots.
Crying about it are just more the-sky-is-falling hysteria minded people.
Being shot infringes on nobody.
It was totally insane to block immunity when all we have heard for 6 years after 9/11 was nobody connected the dots. This immunity infringes on nobody and those crying about it are just more the-sky-is-falling hysteria minded people. They are the same people that cried about global cooling, that world was out of oil in 1977, that the world would run out of food by 1990, that the american dollar would be worthless by 1985; and those are just a few of the hysterias I remember.
In the end, on either side of the aisle, it’s all about the money. The
telecoms funnel a lot of dollars through their lobbyists and our electoral system requires money to stay in office. Also too this legislation may preclude prosecution of the Administration for the crimes it has committed. Stenny Hoyer is really no different than your average Republican congressional power broker. I’ve already written and called various congresspeople against this. The NY Times editorial helps and the fundraising led by the ACLU and by Digby may help us beat this back once again. Obama’s people should also be flooded by people demanding his opposition to this travesty. We’ve got a shot at beating this back again. Let’s go for it!