How Dare They Rip The Fourth Amendment?

Early next week the U.S. Senate will vote on an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with a few small amendments intended to immunize telecommunications corporations that assisted our government in the warrantless and illegal wiretapping it has grown to love.

That such a gutting of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution even made it out of committee is yet another stain on the gutless and seemingly powerless Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.

That a majority on both sides of the aisle -- not least of them the presumptive nominees for president of both political parties -- intend to vote for such a violation of Americans' right to privacy and of the sanctity of their personal communications is a stunning surrender to those who want us to live in fear forever.

We are living in a time when the right of habeas corpus -- which simply put is your right to be brought before a proper court of law where the government is made to prove that there is good and legal reason to detain you -- recently survived by a margin of only one vote at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now these bad actors are prepared to set aside your right to privacy -- written into the Constitution as a key part of our Bill of Rights -- with hardly a nod in the direction of the true patriots who rebelled against an English king and his army to guarantee those rights.

That they will do this while the last empty phrases of the political windbags at the Fourth of July celebrations are still echoing across a thousand city parks and the bright red, white and blue bunting and blizzard of American flags still flap in the breeze is little short of breath-taking.

How dare they?

Those denizens of the White House and Capitol Hill and all those gray granite buildings that line avenues with names like Constitution and Independence in the nation's capitol would have us believe that we must trade our rights, all of our rights, for some measure of security from the terrorists.

They would have us believe that a nation of 300 million people must surrender what a million other Americans gave their lives in war to protect in order to protect us from a couple of hundred fanatics hiding in caves in Waziristan.

Benjamin Franklin himself wrote of such a debate:

"Those who can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

The fact that British troops, operating on flimsy general warrants handed out by local magistrates, were kicking in the doors of ordinary Americans and rifling through their pantries and papers in search of smuggled, untaxed goods was a prime reason why our ancestors rebelled against their king and went to war.

This is WHY we celebrate the Fourth of July. This is why the vote on renewing the expanded version of FISA and whitewashing the egregious violations of the Fourth Amendment for seven long years by our government is important.

If neither John McCain, the Republican, or Barrack Obama, the Democrat, can find the courage to oppose such a violation of so basic a right, then what are we to do for a president, a successor to George W. Bush, The Decider, who has since 9/11 decided what rights you are entitled to keep, what laws he will or will not obey, and whether you will be protected by these words of the Constitution:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

That's it. That's the Fourth Amendment. That is what these folks in Washington, D.C., have violated continuously and in secret for seven long years.

Somewhere across an ocean and a desert, hiding in his cave, a man of hate named Osama bin Laden is laughing up the sleeve of his dirty robe at the thought that he and a small handful of fellow fanatics could tie a great nation in knots -- knots of fear stoked by our own leaders.

We have done incalculably more and greater damage to ourselves since September 11, 2001, than a thousand bin Ladens and ten thousand al Qaida recruits could ever have done to us.

Franklin D. Roosevelt famously declared that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." Now it would seem that we have no one to fear but ourselves and our leaders.

The questions I pose are these:

How can even one senator on either side of the aisle in good conscience vote in favor of this law that does nothing to enhance our security and everything to diminish our rights as a free people?

How can both men who seek to become our next president cast such a vote when both should be standing shoulder-to-shoulder declaring that they would govern by our consent and with our approval, not by wielding the coercive and corrosive and corrupt powers that King George III and his latter-day namesake from Texas thought are theirs by divine right?

This post was originally published by McClatchy Newspapers

Comments

[fanfare]

Two centuries hence, historians will marvel at how nineteen men with stolen airplanes could instigate the dissolution of the U.S.A. within nineteen years.

[BeeOplentee]

Gimee a break about "the Fourth". We just won a major victory for the 2nd Ammendment! People with nothing to hide could care less about the 4th Ammendment these days! We're at war, dig it!!??

Lighten up!

[mouselion]

We're at war! Lighten up!
(LOL)

[LCRover001]

The fact that Bush began spying before 9/11 is all the more reason to tighten not loosen the laws. Those companies who went along broke the law. Those that didn't and were unjustly punished for it should receive all government contracts from now on. The others should be sued into none existence and/or their CEOs and owners jailed along with the Bush administration.

I could give a flip about their businesses they broke the law they spied on us.

The whole if you have nothing to hide then you should have no problem with this is wearing really thin. It has nothing to do with hiding anything it has to do with not wanting the government to be able to listen and eventually watch every move you make. If you are doing nothing wrong then you shouldn't have a problem with the government posting an agent in your home to watch your every move. The agent is only there to observe so what if it violates the constitution you need to be protected and the best way is someone watching and listening to everything you do.

You people wail about needing guns for when the gov takes over, well they are taking over. One chip at a time they will destroy the constitution. They will chip away till there is nothing left. They can do this because while you cling white knuckled to the 2nd they will do away with the rest while you cheer them on. Pathetic!

[esquire07]

Republican Criminals and Democratic Cowards. The Two Party system will be downfall of the nation. Watch as the nation implodes.

Its like watching the Fall of Rome.

[Vorticose]

People like you are what is leading us down the ROMAN path.

[racom]

What kind of people, I might be like that and I would want to know.

[mouselion]

This is the one area of the law that I flat out disagree with Obama, and am not willing to give the benefit of a doubt of my own judgment. No matter the stated intentions, it's a black diamond of a slippery Orwellian slope to try standing on.

[hate2haggle]

Mr. Galloway,

Thank you. I sent a link to your column to my local newspaper editor in hopes that he'll print it tomorrow. If I had a billion dollars I'd buy ad time on all three network evening news casts and read this in its entirety every day until public opinion caused our spineless congressional representatives to reconsider their action on the new FISA.

[provgrays]

When the populace is compliant, indifferent and largely ignorant, then there are no guaranteed rights.

[Vorticose]

That is a description of Democrats, right???

[racom]

Another repuglican troll, aren't you missing the 'happy hour' with limbaugh?

[ALIMO]

Thank you for a wonderful and truthful article. Glad to know someone seeks the truth. Obama should be ashamed of himself being a constitutional lawyer. He lost my vote for this vote. No guarantee what Hillary will do. She might vote NO for political gain, so she can go to the convention and win votes to still become President. These political parties are just one big Party of the Same. I fear the two party system is gone. Time to vote a third party in order to have a two party system.

[Evelyn]

We're so used to being searched for no reason these days it would make any 18th century patriot cry. Want to travel? Get searched. Need to go to court? Spread 'em. Attending an urban high school? Entering Disneyland? Driving? You can and will be searched any time anyone feels like searching your "person" or your "effects." It's pitiful. And now Google is going to turn over all our internet searches? My god.

[Vorticose]

UMMM… the 18th century patriots didn’t have 15th century throwbacks with bombs strapped to them to worry about.

[mergina]

I guess all of the OBAMAPHOBES had a good reason to be freaking out. Mr Wonderful is not so wonderful.

Ohhhhhhhh did the dem party choose the wrong candidate.

[bgregs]

They all voted for it (except perhaps Kucinich, I don't know for sure about him...)

[egal]

So, you're saying Obama is unfit because he is saying he'll continue to fight to erase the immunity element but will support an improved version of FISA less enabling of criminality than the ones Hillary has already supported?

Logic only works for your point of view when your opinion doesn't conveniently ignore all facts.

[CindyV]

Too bad Obama is one of the "gutless and seemingly powerless Democratic majority in both houses of Congress" that can't protect U.S. Citizens from the Bush White House. If not him, who?

[egal]

What would you call promises to look into the actions of the White House when he takes office and to fight against the immunity aspect of a FISA he supports en toto because it will require more respect for freedoms, due process, proof of cause, and actual consideration of citizens?

He can't change what the cowards around him do, but only a fool would refuse to take advantage of a plan that does almost everything our people need from it when he could instead accept this gift and focus on eradicating solely the elements of it that are unacceptable.

[givesflack]

The Democrats rolling over for the Republicans, AGAIN. They have aquiencence on everything since Iran/Contra. Everything I believe in and voted for has been eliminated without resistance. The ruthless undertakers of justice and liberty have convinced Americans that the greed defines our virtues (The American Way) and that everything our society stands for altered to reflect this view. Our liberal conscience has allowed the strongest, richest, voices to usurp our venues of public discourse (government, media, ...) appealing to the lowest common denominator in humans, the self, while heightening fear creating a false sense of dependence on leaders who actually despise the constitution, which prevents absolute control. What they control is a vast body of people through the manipulation of information and the commercialization of culture in their image. By this propaganda, it makes them look more American than those who oppose them and thus allows them to get into power to direct policy and abuse government. They have an incredible hold over the imagination of many Americans redetermining what our patriotism is, lapel flag etal, and it continues to manifest in the most egregiously phoney and in a real unpatriotic unconstitutional way. So if I know this, and many other millions know this, then why the fuck don't the DEMOCRATS, who know it, FIGHT TO WIN! Damn it.

[sleek]

It's official: the terrorists HAVE WON.

The Constitution is now "just a piece of paper" and we have $140 oil which is sending trillions of dollars to Muslim nations and the terrorists they support.

Heckuva job, Dubya!

[mlaiuppa]

The ONLY amendment the Rs recognize is the second.

[texanna]

Sen. Obama's supporters held that Sen. Clinton was completely unacceptable because of her vote for the resolution that Shrub abused and used as the basis for his Iraq Occupation. I choose to make this vote on his part completely unacceptable, or as he put it "a deal breaker". We have a FISA court that is not going to disappear should the current law expires. So, no matter how hard Sen. O tries to weasel out of his position, our security is not at risk. This is all such crap and there is seemingly nothing we can do about it.

[egal]

Actually, our security IS quite severely at risk if the current FISA is permitted to expire without a replacement.

The FISA Court hasn't been permitted to wield its inherent powers even while the current FISA guidelines have been in place, so what makes you think it will a) even exist, and b) have any power, should we not pass an updated FISA?

Without a new FISA, there is no FISA Court, therefore there is no authorization or clear instructions for legal spying; therefore, all spying performed will be illegal and unlimited, or there will be no spying even in cases where it is desperately necessary

Continuing illegal surveillance because we have no FISA would further empower our corrupt president and those illegally helping him violate our freedoms;

halting all surveillance when FISA expires, because there's no legal conditions or oversight for needed spying, enables terrorists to act more freely, endangering our security and our accountability over our leaders.

The smart thing to do, in order to preserve both our freedoms and our security, is to pass this new FISA and fight like mad to excise the parts that attack our freedoms, but not nearly so bad as what would occur without FISA authorization, a FISA court for accountability, and defined parameters for permitting and performing necessary spying.

[texanna]

The current FISA court hasn't been included in the current warrantless wiretapping by Shrub. The powers were there, they just weren't followed and no one is holding Shrub and his Bushies accountable for this. The law that this law replaces is an abomination and the law they're trying to pass isn't any better. You do remember that for a period of about 90 days the wiretaps were shut down because Shrub didn't pay his phone bill, don't you? And, yet, here we are. Personally, I believe fully that is Shrub's mouth is moving he's lying and on this issue it's been moving a lot lately.

[bgregs]

First, the FISA law as originally written is still in effect, and it will be until such time as the new one being passed by the Senate this week goes into effect.

Second, yes, it IS being ignored by bush, but we won't have him forever, and who's to say that the NEXT president will continue to violate the law? Therefore, to pass a NEW law which completely legalizes everything that bush has done would merely make it more likely that a future President will wiretap without warrants!

[mbaty]

Granting telecoms immunity will not help the economy, either. Because every single American who uses a phone would get a piece of that legislative reparation pie. It would be the biggest class action lawsuit in history, and it just might help level the playing field for all Americans. Can you imagine the way those awarded checks would stimulate the economy? But it's the same reason Dentists can't admit that metal fillings are poisonous, or why the phamaceutical industry will not be held fully accountable for creating autism with vaccines. And it's the same reason the oil industry will not be held responsible for keeping us all dependant on polluting fossil fuels, and, apparently, oil spills, despite huge earnings in an economic downturn. We've all been duped to a certain degree, and we all deserve to be compensated. But will Congress do that? Probably not. Nevertheless, they could at least put a stop to it.

[egal]

The immunity itself serves no beneficial purpose, whatever anyone says; however, the rest of the new FISA is necessary enough that many see the immunity as a small price to pay, many more see it as something that will be trashed when the current corrupt administration is gone and many more Republicans booted for fighting against the needs and desires of their constituencies, and a few reprehensible souls actually think the companies deserve such leeway because of their status while the same persons have no problem punishing soldiers for following the unlawful and abhorrent orders of leaders receiving no punishment.