FISA - A Bad Bill Deserves Defeat

Sen. Kohl's email is here. Here are his phone/fax numbers.

202-224-5653 - Office
202-224-9787 - Fax

Sen. Feingold's email is here. Here are his phone/fax numbers.

202-224-5323 - Office
202-224-2725 - Fax

For those of my loyal four readers who are confused by the new FISA bill, go here for a great analysis Yes, it's our boy, Wisco's Sen. Feingold, but he is right on in this piece. If we, as a country, are going to continue this freedom ride, Bu$hCo & the telecommunication corporations that acquiesced to Bu$hCo's illegal demands to cooperate in spying on American citizens, then we must defeat this bill. Sen. Feingold is out front on this bill, Sen. Kohl, not so much. Please, email, call, fax Sen. Kohl. Maybe he will rediscover his Democratic roots & do the right thing. Who knows? Thanks in advance.

The FISA deal announced on June 19 effectively grants retroactive immunity to companies that allegedly participated in the President’s illegal wiretapping program, and it does not provide adequate protections for innocent Americans. Title I of the new bill, which includes a dramatic expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, does not include the most significant safeguards approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and it does not include any of the amendments that Senator Feingold offered on the Senate floor earlier this year, each of which received 35 or more Democratic votes. These safeguards would have permitted the government to obtain the intelligence information it needs while also protecting the privacy of law-abiding Americans.

I'm One Happy Dog

At least for now. We seem to have won a small victory today. & we can all give a big thank you to Sen. Chris Dodd for his big heart & his big courage. Without Sen. Dodd our civil rights would be even deeper in the dumpster. Here's Sen. Dodd:

And yet—the Senate is frozen today. I’ve objected passionately to retroactive immunity—but I did not shut out debate. Republicans have frozen the Senate since debate began last week. And they unwittingly created a perfect microcosm of retroactive immunity right here in this body. Because both flow from the same impulse: shutting down the organs of government—the courts, or the Senate—when you are afraid you won’t get your way. That’s why President Bush wants his favored corporations saved from lawsuits. And that is why the Republican Party wants this bill saved from any and all amendments—saved from serious and thoughtful discussion.

& here's Jay Rockefeller, who up until now, has been a supporter of letting Bu$hCo & his corporate cronies get off completely free in the illegal wiretapping fiasco:

Jay: Under the tortured logic of protecting America against terrorism, the WH has decided to exercise frankly its own form of political terrorism and has taken the FISA bill hostage.

My emphasis

I Think I'd Marry Him

But he's already taken. His spine inspired me to praise this Democrat & actually will cause me to vote for him if he's still on the ballot in Wisco's primary. I like his white hair as well.

In his closing speech Dodd vowed to filibuster again in January if telecom amnesty is still part of the FISA legislation. This speech should be watched by every student, every member of Congress as well as all Americans who value their civil liberties. No matter which presidential candidate you support, you can’t get around the fact that this is what REAL, American leadership looks like. Bravo Senator Dodd, BRAVO!