**URGENT** Telecomm Immunity vote FRIDAY AFTERNOON 20 JUNE

[bean fidhleir]

URGENT Action Alert: Tell Congress to Vote No on Telecom Immunity!

It all comes down to this! Friday afternoon, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which contains the exact same blanket telecom immunity that the Senate passed in February and that the House rejected in March, only with a few new bells and whistles so that political spinsters can claim that it actually provides meaningful court review.

In February, the House stood up for civil liberties and voted against a bill that contained immunity. But now the political landscape has changed, and all signs suggest that the House may be prepared to cave to the White House and vote to pass this bill.

Passing H.R. 6304 would amount to a Congressional seal of approval on illegal surveillance. Even if the President and the telecoms knowingly and brazenly broke the law, the provision in the bill seeks to prevent the courts from holding them accountable. Yet, the suits against the telecoms may be our last hopes for a judicial ruling on whether the President can break the law with impunity.

Please contact your Senators and Congressperson to remind them that we're watching, and that we won't accept any false compromises on immunity for lawbreaking telecoms!

www.eff.org

[OwnedByFerrets]

1. Here are phone numbers...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3484287&mesg_id=3484287

www.wearableartnow.com

[Amy6627]

2. Congressional switchboard# is 1-800-828-0498 K&R n/t

[Krashkopf]

5. Call 'em all! GIVE 'EM HELL!!

Grrrrrrrr! This makes me so fucking mad!

Here is a list of Democratic "leaders" in the Senate and the House. Use the number above to call them all. Go right on down the line, asking for each person by name, tell them that you are a registered Democrat, and that you are calling every member of the Democratic leadership to express your outrage over this spineless cave in.

I also tell them that if the bill passes, I will never send another penny to the DNC, or the DCCC or SDCC.

U.S. Senate

Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader

Dick Durbin, Assistant Majority Leader

Charles E. Schumer, Vice Chair of the Conference

Patty Murray, Secretary of the Conference

Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of Campaign Committee

Byron L. Dorgan, Chairman of Policy Committee

Debbie Stabenow, Chair of Steering and Outreach Committee

Jeff Bingaman, Chairman of Committee Outreach

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice Chair of Committee Outreach

Barbara Boxer, Chief Deputy Whip

Thomas R. Carper, Deputy Whip

Bill Nelson, Deputy Whip

Russell D. Feingold, Deputy Whip

Senate Judiciary Committee:

Patrick J. Leahy, Chair
Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Herbert Kohl (D-WI)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

House of Represenatives:

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House

Steny H. Hoyer, House Majority Leader

House Judicary Committee:

John Conyers (D-MI-14th), Chair
Howard Berman (D-CA-28th)
Rick Boucher (D-VA-9th)
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8th)
Bobby Scott (D-VA-3rd)
Melvin Watt (D-NC-12th)
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16th)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18th)
Maxine Waters (D-CA-35th)
Marty Meehan (D-MA-5th)
William Delahunt (D-MA-10th)
Robert Wexler (D-FL-19th)
Anthony Weiner (D-NY-9th)
Adam Schiff (D-CA-29th)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA-39th)
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-8th)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-20th)
Stephen Cohen (D-TN-9th)
Keith Ellison (D-MN-5th)
Hank Johnson (D-GA-4th)
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL-4th)
Brad Sherman (D-CA-27th)


Democratic National Committee

Howard Dean, Chairman: Telephone: [phone]

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, Democratic Caucus Chair

Rep. John Larson, Democratic Caucus Vice-Chair

Telephone: [phone]

Democratic Senatorial Campaing Committee (DSCC)

Charles Schumer, New York, DSCC Chair

Bob Menendez, New Jersey, DSCC Vice Chair

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, DSCC Outreach and Policy Chair

Telephone: [phone]

[bean fidhleir]

3. bump

[annabanana]

4. The "Compromise" actually says that the telecoms will get their

retroactive immunity if they can

"show a federal district court judge "substantial evidence" they received a written request from the attorney general or head of an intelligence agency stating the president authorized the surveillance and determined it to be lawful, the cases against them will be dismissed."


What is this CONSTITUTION NULLIFYING LETTER all about. Since when can "evidence of a letter" be considered "lawful" if it allows

WARRANTLESS WIRETAPPING??? There is no such letter. There would have to be an amended Constitution.

Wiretapping American citizens without a warrant is not just "illegal" it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

[Leopolds Ghost]

7. And ordering courts to dismiss cases in civil court ordering determination of lawfulness & liability

Break down the independence of the common law judicial system much?

[Leopolds Ghost]

6. They say the political landscape has changed... is this the message of the Obama revolution?

"Uniting" the Democratic Party behind the Reagan revolution and
marginalizing the Republicans as the party of the ultra right and
the Democrats as the national unity party, a la Germany in the 1930s?

The Dems have gone this route before, most especially in the
early 1900s before Roosevelt when they destroyed the Populist
movement and dragged the country to the right while attempting
to discredit the Republicans by adopting many aspects of the
"progressive" Republican wing platform.

Obama began his first national campaign ad praising Welfare Reform
to establish his bona-fides with Reagan Democrats.
:scared:

[Tigress DEM]

10. I AM NOT A Reagan Democrat but Welfare was broken. Some of the reforms have helped.

A lot of the reforms have hurt and the Reagan, empty the mental hospitals so Nancy can afford to buy more dresses campaign was a definate disaster for anyone who was touched by it.

BUT to sling crap at Obama for talking about reform bills he helped pass just because it says, "Welfare Reform" is such over simplification.

Obama has to not only win as a Democrat he needs to unite the country. The attacks are already beginning that he's going to give everything to the poor, like some Robincrat run amok.

Most people on Welfare don't want to stay on Welfare. If there is a road up and out, and the means to follow that road without having to offer your children up as sacrificial lambs, most people want to be independent and self supporting.

Much more has to be addressed, but the basic premise of welfare to work programs have been helpful. The cutting all benefits as soon as you get an extra penny in the door has been a major problem and I think we need to aim Welfare Reform even higher and into the realm of planning for a person to be up and out with many of the basics covered based on a voucher system that they earn by working but that isn't counted against them.

A middle class person who wants to go to school or buy a new car or pay off credit debt works a lot of overtime and gets it done. So they don't understand why people who get assistance can't do it too.

If someone on welfare does the same, it makes them ineligible and their whole support system crashes around them and they don't get far enough ahead to make it worth the effort. But if Obama is open to Welfare Reform, he may be able to really make some progress that would be worthwhile.

Obama is working with Republicans and he's discrediting Rethugs who say one thing and do another. I'm not sure what you are afraid of or where you're getting your info but he is nowhere near the right on his issues. Just because a person has civil discourse with others doesn't mean they agree with their beliefs.

Obama wants everyone to pull their weight and put in their fair share. That will mean these corporate giveaways will be going away and people on the bottom will be asked to do what they can to move up and out by a president who believes in the ability of all people to give just a little more than they think they can so we are all in this together.

He's going to ask a lot of everyone. We have a hell of a mess to clean up after the *ushit takeover of the White House comes to an end. I wouldn't be 100% surprised to see *ush leave crap smears on the bathroom in the oval office as a statement of his discontent when the DEMS march in.

As a pResident in the White House he's been WE the PEOPLE's nightmare from the get go.

[Tigress DEM]

8. Emails sent

Russ Feingold --- Thank You for your clear support
MY TWO Senators Normy "the worm" Coleman & Amy Kloubuchar
Harry (where the hell are your cajhones?) Reid
Patrick (you're an alright guy for a Republican) Leahy
Chris (couldn't have said it better myself) Dodd


AND LAST but not least the Democrat who betrayed us all:

Senator Rockefeller,

You need to seriously retool this communications bill to NOT give immunity to telecoms, especially since it's becoming widely known that they have been, well, let's be honest, PAID YOU for your services.

If you want to have any chance of avoiding the "appearance" of unethical behavior, I think you should stop behaving unethically, because that leads to the appearance - eventually when things that are done behind closed doors become known.

How could you sell your party credibility and your own constituents civil liberties?

You stand at the brink of an election that can change this world for the better and you are selling us out.

You, sir, are the kind of politician tar and feathers were invented for. Too bad we don't do that anymore.

A lot of Republicans have been exposed as closet gays. They are creepy, but you are worse. You are a closet Republican masquerading as a Democrat.

Shame on you.

[Tigress DEM]

11. One more --- Ellison is my REP

H.R. 6304

I hope I can assume by your committment to the FISA court being the sole system to regulate spying on Americans that you will be voting agains HR 6304 with its RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY to the Telecoms who broke faith with their customers and communities and allowed the government to bully them into handing over private information without any warrants.

Still it never hurts to ask.

Make us proud Friday.

[Tigress DEM]

12. AND Nancy too!

NO RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY FOR THE TELECOMS and if DC Court is an improvement over FISA, WHY?

FISA should be just fine in that there would have to be a reason to obtain a warrant and that's what WE the People are asking.

What do you have against the 4th Ammendment?

DON'T DO IT Nancy. Please. DO NOT let HR 6304 pass as written. You can NOT allow the telecoms and *ush to get away with these crimes.

If you do, you are clearly not the best person to be 3rd in line should something happen to the other 2 bozos.

You can't condone this kind of bulldozing of our civil liberties and say you stand for the American people in any way shape or form.

[dmr]

9. KICK n/t

[bean fidhleir]

13. bump

[Maureen1322]

14. Hoyers Voice mailbox is full.

Sent e-mail.

[L. Coyote]

15. K & R + posted a dupe thread with the Stop the Spying page.

You just enter your zip code, and your Congress critter's phone number and stand on the issue are displayed.
http://www.stopthespying.org/

[Maureen1322]

16. You are not going to believe this, but I just spoke to John Conyers.

I called his office and he picked up the phone.
He said the blue dog Dems and the repukes will be voting yes on this bill.
So basically it doesn't look good.
He also said we will have a good showing, whatever that means.
He was very nice and was genuine in his interest in what I thought on this subject.

[Hubert Flottz]

17. I would but...

I doubt if Shelly Capito will help out America...Bush owns her. But I think she's on her way out come November.