Senators Cave On FISA: New Bill Gives AG Power Over Telecoms

TPM Muckraker:

It took until early this morning, but, as expected, the Senate intelligence committee has passed its surveillance bill. Also as expected, retroactive legal immunity for telecommunications companies complying with President Bush's warrantless surveillance program is part of the bill. Not exactly as expected: it won't be the FISA Court that determines who complied with the program. It will be the attorney general:

The Senate bill would direct civil courts to dismiss lawsuits against telecommunications companies if the attorney general certifies that the company rendered assistance between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 17, 2007, in response to a written request authorized by the president, to help detect or prevent an attack on the United States.

Suits also would be dismissed if the attorney general certifies that a company named in the case provided no assistance to the government. The public record would not reflect which certification was given to the court.

Read the whole story: TPM Muckraker

Comments

[Shasta]

Why, oh why, didn't Russ Feingold run for Pres?

[ContraEgoiste]

My choice too.

[Ramirez]

He's a decent guy, but if he ran for POTUS HuffPo would overflow with comments that he's a Zionist and a tool of Israel.

[civilbehavior]

I called Feingolds office the other day and wished the same thing although we do have Dodd and Kucinich.

[Moshe]

Hmmmm . . . cutting out any judicial oversight and putting the Attorney General solely in charge of assuring that the President (who appointed the Attorney General) respects Constitution and the rights of the People . . . what could go wrong with that brilliant, courageous plan?

Thanks again Congress, for all that you have done for our People and our Nation (you cowardly, traitorous rat bastards).

[Ramirez]

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well you might find
You get what you need

[BrokenMirror]

And why, pray tell, do we need warrantless wiretapping?

[GhostintheMachine]

To find out what the terrorists are planning especially in a time sensitive situation.

[GhostintheMachine]

Love it! Maybe the Democrats actually see the light. It seems the democratically controlled Congress votes with President Bush the majority of the time.

[Pdubya]

http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.3835:

LOOK IT UP, WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, AND GET THIS PASSED!

DO SOMETHING BESIDES BLOG!

and notice who proposed it ;-)

blue dog dem atheist for ron paul

[Ramirez]

Your link doesn't work. Which is not your fault. A Thomas search doesn't link.

You have to post the legislation a different way or explain what it is.

[wordvarc]

Bad Move. Bad 'Karma.'

Letter to Senators Rockefeller and Feinstien:

"We the people" are saddened and angered by your 'compromise' to give retroactive immunity to telecoms who illegally pandered to the WH's desultory fear mongering. You've opened the door to more vigilante lawlessness by the executive branch despite any promised new oversight of domestic spying and subversion of our civil rights whenever the WH says, "Boo!"

Your committee's work may makes sense to you as some sort of compromise but to we voters it is not bipartisan but instead clear capitulation to the process that initiated an continues torture, unlawful detainment, rendition, and the trillion dollar unjust, preemptive, invasion, destabilization and occupation of Iraq.

Dem voters might vote more effectively by choosing the 'lessor of evils' in Republican Congressional and Presidential candidates because Democratic principals and representatives have been rendered impotent and meaningless by continued dem capitulation to the RNC/GOP.

As WH spokesmodel Perino said yesterday. "We won again."
.

[hugs4u]

Senator Dodd is the MAN.

[RandyRanson]

Bush found a new Rubber Stamp and it's the Democrats.

They will message him slowly, they will pick up after him, they will lay down a red carpet, so his shoes don't get dirty, they will kiss his butt, they will polish his top brass, and beg to be able to walk his damn dog Barney.

Nancy and Harry, will send him flowers, and lots of cards with chocolates and candies, with invitations to as many free lunches as they can accommodate. Anything he wishes, they work hard to give him, and they will await his every command, to serve at his beck and call.

They're sadder, than if Al Qaeda, bombed another set of World Trade Towers, they leave America with so little spirit left, the public are about to throw up.

Shame on all of them, and by God I'm mad now. The US Congress is Gutless, at a time when the President's a certified idiot. Maybe a deep pocketed recession might stir things up, with Oil at $90.00 it won't be long in coming.
It will be amazing, the one thing that may save the United States of America, may be a broken economy.
What a joke. Spitting in the eyes of the public, is Washington's new way of treating its constituents.

[ghostsofamerica]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102007A.shtml




With Democrats Like These ...
The New York Times | Editorial

Saturday 20 October 2007

Every now and then, we are tempted to double-check that the Democrats actually won control of Congress last year. It was particularly hard to tell this week. Democratic leaders were cowed, once again, by propaganda from the White House and failed, once again, to modernize the law on electronic spying in a way that permits robust intelligence gathering on terrorists without undermining the Constitution.

The task before Congress was to review and improve an update to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, that was pushed through the Capitol just before the summer break. That bill endorsed warrantless wiretapping and gutted other aspects of the 1978 law.

House Democrats drafted a measure that, while imperfect, was an improvement to the one passed this summer. But before the House could vote, Republicans tied up the measure in bureaucratic knots and Democratic leaders pulled it. Senate Democrats did even worse, accepting a Potemkin compromise that endorsed far too much of the bad summer law.

We were left wondering who is really in charge, when in a bipartisan press release announcing the agreement, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Kit Bond, described the bill as "a delicate arrangement of compromises" that could not be changed in any way. The committee's chairman, Jay Rockefeller, didn't object. .."

[Grannysue]

Thanks for caving, we'll be seeing you all at election time!

[Ilvfredum]

You are all pissed of because they've been lying to you for 50 years and you just now figured it out.

[greenchili]

word

[AmericanScream]

Dems and pukes. At least we see that, why can't you pull your face out of bush's ass?

[greenchili]

I am glad many of you have finally pulled your heads from your buttocks. Do you see the light? Have you connected the dots? Did you just take a bite of reality sandwich?.......WE LIVE IN AN OLIGARCHY! They call themselves republicans, they call themselves democrats but in reality they are the same. They are the aristocrats and we are the peasants. That is the way it is for now. When the peasants are disgusted with the aristocrats they have a.....? The answer is in your history books. I will give you a hint, America had one around 1776.

[Pdubya]

A REVOLUTION...Hot Damn!

http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.3835:

write and call your representatives and get this bill passed!

...and notice who is proposing it.

[civilbehavior]

Bless you gren chili.

Problem is......Americans are too lazy and self absorbed. They wish to be an aristocrat. AS long as they can wish they will remain apathetic to the forces shaping their futures.

America has achieved nirvana. It has become for all intents and purposes the stupidest country on earth.

[wordvarc]

w and the GOP/RNC win again. Special thanks to Rockafellar and Feinstein.

w and the GOP chuckle as the dems invite even more public contempt on themselves than exists for w and his goons.

The Iraq debacle will not be stopped by spineless dems. Only rebellion from inside the RNC/GOP will stop w's desultory policies.
.

[PoliticalPolyanna]

What does "Parent" mean at the bottom of a post?

[Jeff1958]

Clicking on "Parent" will bring you up to the post that the current post is responding to. If you get the message "Error" then the "Parent" post has been deleted by the Administrator.

[speakingtruth2power]

It means they will show you who started the conversation and who replied.

By the way, PoliticalPolyanna, you have a new fan. Please post frequently.

[speakingtruth2power]

Much better explanation by Jeff1958

[PoliticalPolyanna]

Thanks, guys. Appreciate the education.

Thank you, speak, for the kind words.

[Dantana]

I just want a President that can pronounce impordant...

[Ramirez]

lol

[Ginzaman]

So now all the s**t we went thru with Alberto the Monkey Boy is happening all over again?

[LeftLeaner]

I don't understand what we need the Dems for.

It seems they only care about illegal aliens and the Bush Agenda.

We need a third party leader, who cares about the badly beaten-up middle class - the quickly eroding majority.

Nancy and your band of thugs, you are no different than the Repukes.

You make me sick to my stomach.

I will no longer vote for you or support you, Dems - as they no longer exist.

You sold out to the other side.

Now I know why impeachment is off the table!!!

[MrBritesnide]

More third party BS from these payed RepubliKLAN losers

[freespeach]

MrBritesnide

I read the profile of LeftLeaner and overall he/she seems pretty left to me. Seems like a good progressive who at times has some hope for Democrats, but is often disappointed by their war enabling actions.
For you to slander him as a "payed republican loser" is the height of hypocrisy. My guess is that you MrBritesnide are a DLC loyalist, paid or volunteer....I don't know or care. But in reading your profile I found this and you are one nasty little prick.

You MrBritesnide said this on October 15th"

"All of you Pelosi and Reid hating, so-called Democrats can go blow. Too bad you weren't as vociferous about acting on the administration in 2003 4 and 5. Just don't vote at all. For one thing, You're NOT Democrats. You're just stupid jerks who were either voting selfish interests, or were just too dumb to disseminate the days events. You sound profoundly brainless, threatening to do this and that if your wishes aren't met...so prove it by not voting. We're serious about this cycle, and can do without your whining and stupidity."
posted 10/15/2007 at 17:58:35

A typical example of DLC bully tactics anger and arrogance by MrBritesnide. And you wonder why so many progressives are moving to the Green party or re-registering as Independents.

[Pdubya]

its not about party, but principle...

I encourage you to look at Ron Paul

www.dailypaul.com

www.ronpaul.com

www.youtube.com

blue dog dem for ron paul

[IREALLYHATEBUSH]

JUST ONE BIG ASS BOMB WILL GET ALL THESE MOTHERFUCKING SPINELESS PIECES OF SHIT...MAYBE BLACKWATER COULD DO IT...

[Ilvfredum]

Why aren't you in Pakistan with all your comrades?

[Ramirez]

Tough talk, HATEBUSH. Well, as the Dutch would say: Inshallah.

[speakingtruth2power]

What is an ASS BOMB?

Can BIG flatulence kill?

[Ramirez]

Well, SOMETHING killed Arafat.