TresSugar

FISA: Does It Mean - For Illegal Surveillance Act?

LibertySugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:30:53 -0700

Yesterday the Senate voted to revamp government surveillance powers and grant retroactive immunity to telecom companies, thus ending all pending lawsuits filed to uncover the extent that Bush and the telecoms violated the Fourth Amendment prohibition of surveillance without warrants. Bush unsucessfuly tried to pass a similar bill under a Republican congress, but finally got what he wanted from the Democrats.

To the surprise of many, Barack Obama voted for the bill while Hillary Clinton opposed it. (John McCain was not there to vote.)

In a statement on her vote, Hillary explained:

In my judgment, immunity under these circumstances has the practical effect of shutting down a critical avenue for holding the administration accountable for its conduct.

Obama's base is inconsolable about its candidate's vote for the bill. Obama explained his rationale directly to his online supporters. To see what he wrote, read more.

Obama wrote:

Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise. I do so with the firm intention - once I'm sworn in as president - to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.

If President Bush seized powers beyond his reach, should the citizens be allowed to assert their constitutional rights in court, or should responsibility be political rather than legal? I hope there is some accountability for any illegal violation of civil liberties, as even Americans with nothing to hide should fear a government that can use private information to manipulate those innocent American representatives, journalists, activists, and dissenters working on their behalf.

Front Page: Cheney in Afghanistan, Germany Limits Spying, McCain in the UK

CitizenSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:03:29 -0700

Vice President Dick Cheney visited Afghanistan today to meet with President Hamid Karzai. The visit is in anticipation of a NATO summit where Washington is expected to urge its allies to send more troops to the troubled country. The NATO-led force has about 43,000 troops in Afghanistan, charged with fighting Taliban militants. The militants have regrouped since US and Afghan forces removed the hardline Islamist movement from power after the September 11, 2001 attacks. They relaunched their insurgency two years ago. Cheney said of the need for troops, "all free nations have an interest in a secure, democratic Afghanistan."

Germany's highest court has restricted an anti-terrorism law making telecom companies store private data for six months. Uner the new ruling data may still be kept but is only to be accessed during investigations into serious crime. The original ruling was a result of the discovery of a number of alleged terrorism plots in Germany in recent years. The case was spurred by a class-action suit against the original ruling filed by 30,000 people. The German court's decision comes amid US debates over FISA and telecom rights.
Senator John McCain met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today to discuss Iraq, the world economy and climate change. Addressing the fact that Brown hopes to cut British troops near Basra from 4,000 to 2,500 soon, McCain said, "having just come from Iraq, I can tell you unequivocally that the situation has improved dramatically over the last year. Iraqi people are going about their normal lives, but the fact is al Qaeda is on the run. They are not defeated." He added, "We appreciate enormously the long service and sacrifice of the British men and women in the military both in Iraq and Afghanistan."

House Talks Surveillance in Secret, Senate Kills Earmark Ban

CitizenSugar — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:00:25 -0700

Moments ago at a campaign rally in Springfield, PA, John McCain told the familiar funny about laws and sausages, "the two things you don't want to watch being made." McCain was referring to last night's vote-and-dash in the Senate, combined with the House's rare closed debate on the surveillance bill. He said, "It's hard to do the Lord's work in the city of Satan." (John McCain! I've missed you! )

It was a big, big day of voting that lured all the big presidential-candidates/senators (is that like model/actress?) back to Washington yesterday. Obama and Clinton even had a friendly little convo on the floor of the Senate prior to voting to ban earmark spending for a year (McCain also voted for the ban), which ultimately failed. McCain said of the vote, "We're disappointed that only 29 members of the US Senate understand that the American people want us to stop this practice, which has led to corruption."

To eavesdrop on what happened in the secretive House, read more.

In the first secret session of the House in 25 years (only five of which have taken place since 1825 - the last one was over paramilitary operations in Nicaragua) heated debate took place over the Democrats' newly proposed bill to set rules for the government's surveillance of phone calls and emails. The secret session was secured by House Republicans to delay the vote by one day.

President Bush has vowed to veto the bill in favor of the FISA bill passed by the Senate. The president's main objection is that the bill does not protect from lawsuits telecommunications companies that allowed the government to eavesdrop on their customers without legal court-backed permission.

Were you glad to see the candidates back in the Capitol? Does the secret closed session bother you? Do you think, like the candidates, the earmark ban should have passed?

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Front Page: Bush on FISA, Election in Iran, Afghan Bombing

CitizenSugar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:58:30 -0700

President Bush spoke just moments ago from the White House regarding the battle in Congress over FISA. House Democrats introduced their own version of the bill this week in an attempt to bypass the original legislation passed in the Senate. Bush said, "The House bill would make matters even worse . . . the House bill may be good for class-action lawyers, but it's terrible for the United States." Citing the need for the intelligence community to have the appropriate tools to fight terrorism, Bush said, "Voting for this bill will make us less safe." He concluded, "they should not leave for their Easter recess without getting the Senate bill to my desk."

Iran is set to hold an election tomorrow amid mixed perceptions of the enthusiasm behind the contest. Bans have limited the contest severely, the official campaign only ran for one week - including one day which was a public holiday - and the election itself is being held less than a week before the country shuts down for the Iranian new year holiday of Norouz. The Islamic Iran Participation Front party, which held the highest number of seats in parliament four years ago, had all of their candidates revoked because they allegedly lacked Islamic credentials. True reform candidates haven't bothered even submitting their names. Nevertheless, State television has been broadcasting stirring music and pictures of happy voters.
Just hours ago, a suicide car bomb attack on a convoy of US troops also killed six Afghan civilians. The renewed violence left at least 15 Taliban fighters and policemen dead. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast, which detonated on the road to the capital's international airport. Four US troops also suffered minor injuries and 33 Afghans were wounded.

Wiretapping: Which is More Important - Privacy or Security?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:00:32 -0700

House Democrats unveiled new legislation yesterday in an effort to update the nation's wiretapping program. The new proposal rejects the version of the bill passed in the Senate that would give telecommunications companies legal immunity for participation in the program following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

President Bush and House Republicans stand firm that the Senate version of the legislation (FISA) should be passed. While the emphasis on tying the legislation to 9/11 makes it seem new, apparently data mining has been much more extensive than previously known.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "many of the programs in various agencies began years before the 9/11 attacks but have since been given greater reach." This means, for example, the NSA is not only listening to your telephone conversations but also reading your emails, gathering your bank transfers, credit card transactions and travel itineraries. Check out this WSJ graphic for details. The Bush Administration's FISA seeks to grant immunity to companies that abet in government surveillance from lawsuits making Americans' privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment, seem tenuous.

Do you always feel like somebody's watching you? Or do you think if you're keeping your nose clean, it's not a big deal who's checking your email?

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Headline: President Bush Says "I Know There's a Threat!"

CitizenSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:57:47 -0800

In his press conference that just concluded, President Bush strongly criticized Democrats in the House for not putting the FISA bill to vote before recess. "I guess you could be relaxed about this if you didn't think there was a threat to the country." Slamming his hand on the podium, he said, "I know there's a threat to the country!"

Later he said, "how can you listen to the enemy if the phone companies won't participate with you?!" He then stressed that phone companies would not consent to participate without the protection from lawsuits that FISA would allow. Bush continued, "this an important issue for the American people to understand."

President Bush said with regard to the shifting scene of power in Russia, "President Putin's a straightforward, pretty tough character when it comes to his interests. Well so am I." He went on to stress the need to establish a relationship with the candidate who becomes the new leader of Russia on Sunday.

Helen Thomas was in the front row, wearing red, though she didn't get to ask any questions.

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Briefing Book! Knowing Is Half the Battle . . .

LibertySugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:30:00 -0700

FISA: A Democratic congress? Senate defeats effort to strip wiretapping law of immunity for telecoms. - Talking Points Memo

China: People's Republic of Capitalism? Ted Koppel gets us ready for Beijing tonight on the Discovery Channel at 10 ET. - MSNBC
Blogging: Time to approve every Twitter? Proposal to allow members of Congress to post content on approved websites only. - Redstate
McCain: What would grandma do? One 94-year-old thinks McCain's making same-old promises. - Huffington Post
Real World: From roommate to congressman? Kevin Powell from Season One making a run. - Gawker

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Link Time

LibertySugar — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:30:58 -0800

Apocalypse coming? Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil struck by lightning - Daily Mail
US carrier intercepts Russian bombers, Cold War dance begins again - The Lede
Ron Paul plans march on Washington - Wonkette
John McCain and Karl Rove have a love-hate relationship - Huffington Post
The FISA fight: Retroactive immunity for telecommunication companies survives - Michelle Malkin
Irish politician wants country to drive on the right - Passport
The unstimulated: which Americans won't be getting a rebate check - Politico
Boulder considers a resolution to impeach President Bush - Rocky Mountain News

State of the Union: The Scavenger Hunt

CitizenSugar — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:30:04 -0800

Liberty and I are counting down the minutes until the big State of the Union. Not content to just watch for the speech (though that's an added bonus) we're going on a little scavenger hunt. Here's the list of what we're looking for during President Bush's speech. First one to check off all of the items and leave a comment here, wins! Race ya!
Quotes:

"The State of the American people is strong"
"Wireless surveillance of suspected terrorists"
"Importance of opposing the forces of protectionism and isolationism"
"Swift bipartisan effort"

Topics:

Economic stimulus
Surge is a success
Energy independence
Interrogation techniques
Harboring terrorists
Iran
Protect America Act
FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)
Triple Threat: Pakistan+Afghanistan+al-Qaeda

Sightings

Hometown Rep (for me it's Darlene Hooley, D-OR!)
Token celeb
Which cabinet member is missing?
International figure sitting next to Laura
Cute kid
Dem frowning/falling asleep/checking BlackBerry
Both Pelosi and Cheney standing and clapping - together.

If you want to add a layer of sauce to the scavenger hunt, those scamps at Wonkette have this State of the Union drinking game for you.

What do you think is the State of our Union?

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