Time to Badger Congress About NO IMMUNITY for AT&T and Verizon (Telecoms) for Warrantless Wiretaps

[McCamy Taylor]

This happens a lot lately. Just when you think that they have done the right thing, Congress tries to slip it through again. Looks like the House Democrats, flush from their success at NOT IMPEACHING Bush are going to try to give the Phone Companies, specifically AT&T and Verizon great big Immunity deals.

Here are the details from one of the Greatest Posts which links to a Latest post.

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/06/howto-analyze-immunity-provisions-fisa-legislation

In analyzing the bill's final language, the key question is simple: "Will the court be able to rule on whether the telecoms broke the law?" Reporters, activists, bloggers, and political commentators should keep asking this question until the proponents provide a clear answer.
If the answer is "no", and the language fails this simple litmus test, then the purported "compromise" is still immunity, period. If the court is not allowed to rule on the legality of the surveillance, then the statute is nothing more than an attempt to sweep critical issues of Presidential power and personal privacy under the rug, and prevent meaningful judicial scrutiny of the warrantless surveillance program.

Recall that the Senate finally buckled under and produced an immunity deal---hardly surprising when you consider that the Phone Companies are sitting on a wealth of blackmail info about people like Senators and their families, friends and acquaintances and if you remember that the federal prosecution of Martha Stewart lowered the bar so that people can be prosecuted for lying to federal prosecutors during an investigation even if no crime was committed (so if your memory does not match the phone record you are guilty). Also recall Eliot Spitzer's recent public ordeal which was arranged just to show the public that the feds have blackmail info on everyone and will use it even if you are the Governor of New York and your dad is a fucking billionaire and you are a hot shot former DA and the only law you broke is one that no one ever enforces (The Mann Act). The Senate did this despite overwhelming pressure from Democratic constituents to just say no! to telecom immunity.

It was then the House of Representative's job to hold firm---for a while. But looks like the Phone Companies have been after them, attempting to convince the Representatives that if they know what is good for them they will buckle under. Or face the wrath of their constituents this fall as the Phone Companies release oppo gleaned from illegal wiretaps and donate money to their Republican challengers and fund right wing attack groups.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-see-progress-on-fisa-talks-2008-06-10.html

Congressional Republicans are reviewing a Democratic proposal to break the logjam on electronic-surveillance legislation by allowing federal district courts to determine whether telephone companies seeking legal immunity received orders from the Bush administration to wiretap people’s phones.
That differs from a plan that Republicans, with support from the White House, floated right before Memorial Day that would give that authority to the secret court that operates under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). In both cases, the courts would not decide whether those orders constitute a violation of the law, according to people familiar with the language. The plan was floated by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and has the support of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

Well, two can play at this game. If the Telecoms are going to make it hot for the House of Representatives, Democratic Voters are just going to have to make it hotter ! . These limp dicked wimps may claim that they do not have the votes to impeach and that impeachment would be "divisive", but they do not need votes or even a majority to keep Congress from handing AT&T and Verizon immunity for aiding the Bush Administration with its domestic spying operation which we all know is one great big fat blackmail ops that Dick Nixon would have given both testicles for. All they need is a spine!And some people to remind them who does the voting in this country.

That is why we need to start badgering Congressional Democrats once again. And not just the ones in the House. Opponents of immunity in the Senate need to reminded that they have lots of supporters.

So make like this guy

[Canuckistanian]

1. Hell, even I want to write my Congressman

And I don't even HAVE a Congressman.

You all know what to do!