FISA Amendments Act Passes, Telecoms Immune
  Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Get your FISA shirt!

Bad, bad, bad...this is bad. In January, President George W. Bush threatened that he refuses to sign any FISA law that doesn't include amnesty for telecoms AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint--the telecoms that turned over phone records and honored wiretapping requests by the administration without warrants. After the Senate attempts to pass amendments without the immunity provision failed, over the 4th of July holiday, the House already caved and passed the Amendment as is.

At least 47 customers who have filed class action lawsuits against the telecoms citing violations of privacy may now be SOL, as the Amendment protects the activity the telecoms performed via phone and computer lines.

We told everyone to write your Senators about this bill...but apparently money talks louder (House Democrats who changed their vote to support the FISA bill received $8,359 on average in PAC donations from the telecoms).

Yesterday the White House issued a press release titled, "President Bush Pleased by Passage of FISA Reform Legislation," which unbelievably states that the legislation monitors the plans of terrorists while "respecting the liberties of the American people."

Search and seizure of American citizens' private phone (and internet) conversations without a warrant, warning, or due process is about as close to respecting civil liberties as having a Federal agent stationed in the corner of your living room 24/7. I don't care if he brings his own lunch.

AfterDowningStreet has a list of the Senators and Representatives who voted in favor of the illegal spying, and hilariously advise that you "should feel no qualms about spying on them: everywhere they go, including in their homes: get them on video. We want to see YouTube's of them sleeping! Do not give them a moment outside of the gaze of the public they have betrayed!"

And George Voinovich from our native Cleveland, Ohio...you should be ashamed! Do you think his parents immigrated from Croatia to America so that Voinovich could become Big Brother?

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