U.S Senate To Undermine Constitution With FISA Vote….Do You Care?
The whole idea that both Democrats who should know better, and Republicans who just can’t help themselves, will join forces in the U.S. Senate to pass the fatally flawed FISA bill should chill every red-blooded American. But instead of outrage and disgust too many of my fellow citizens are asking “FISA what?” We live in a nation of mental midgets much of the time. The rights that made our nation great and special are being eroded away. Not by a foreign power or terrorist group, but by the very people who we elect to protect us, and do what is in our best interest. I am ashamed to say it seems too many of the people I meet on the street, at the market, or in my neighborhood just do not care.
The idea that our government can spy on any of us in such a disdainful way, as outlined in the FISA Bill, should send shivers all the way through our bodies. Instead of tightening the restrictions on what President Bush did, this bill will actually make it easier to spy on Americans in the nation, and provide immunity to the very companies that turned over information to the government without a proper warrant. In the end the powers of the government will be enhanced, and the very safeguards in the Constitution that were meant to work for us, will instead be eroded.
Since under this FISA bill the ability to conduct spying on Americans is easier than under current domestic wiretapping, it is a safe bet that prosecutors would have a field day at the expense of the citizenry. Since under FISA the person being spied on never needs to be notified, the government will get far more power over those it is supposed to protect.
The fact that after the passage of the bill (probably on Wednesday) there will no longer be any chance to bring to light (or justice) President Bush or his administration for the illegal spying on Americans after 9/11 should hit a nerve for anyone who ever read a civics book, or cared about the nation in which we live. This is the meat and potatoes of our democracy, and I feel like I am spitting into the wind as most of my fellow citizens find their navels more interesting.
Thanks for writing this article. I do care, and am dismayed at how hard it is to find explanations of the issue. CNN.com and Time.com have nary a word on the subject on their front page. Jon Benet Ramsey seems more important.
I’ll say that the lack of information on the web is making it hard to tell what’s what, though. I’ve learned over the years that a seemingly nightmarish bill in politics is often not as bad as it seems, much like a seemingly heavensent bill is often not as good as it seems. I’m having a sense that my worst nightmares may not be as true as I think they are…but I’m having a hard time finding the evidence.
So please, I implore any supporters of the bill…mitigate my fear. Explain how senators Obama and Mikulski, whom I had previously believed to be reasonable people, who at least somewhat had our interests in mind, could support this. Please don’t insult me with the usual “because they’re leftist/hate your freedoms/you should’ve voted for Ron Paul” drivel. Give me real reasons. Play the Devil’s Advocate, if you will, because I’m having a very hard time believing it otherwise.
I totally agree with you about FISA and Obama. The FISA bill only gave the phone companies civil protections but not criminal protections. So Obama maybe waiting until he get into the White House to press criminal charges. So that is why he is being quiet about the whole thing because he does not want for the President to try to put another bill into legislations that protected against criminal charges.
Let me be perfectly clear here.
I was dismayed over Obama’s FISA vote. It was wrong!!
I also know a thing or two about politics. And what I see in the last few weeks is a candidate that is determined to win an election.
I know from experience that it is better to be on the inside with a half of what I want, than to be on the outside looking in with nothing I want.
That is politics. Grown-up, hardball politics. One can’t do anything until elected. The whole thing now is about winning in November.
I may be a purist here on the blog….I am not a candidate. My role as a blogger over news and politics serves a niche. I hope to make people think and ponder.
You mean Obama is actually changing his position on things???!!! WOW!!! First Iraq, then Faith based Incentives, which Obama’s plan is a crock anyway and now FISA… What do you know about that Elmo… OBAMA’S A REAL, LIVE, TYPICAL POLITICIAN AND NOT THE MESSIAH!!! Well, Dust my Britches!!!
How can you support Obama after his approval of bannng law suites against cell phone companies selling data… if you hate FISA
First you will note the post was written the night before the FISA Senate vote…..only Diebold and the GOP can tell the outcome of elections before the votes have been cast. Recall Election 2000, 2004……
Second, read the first line of the post as you will see that I put the Dems in the same pile as the GOP on this issue. No one gets away without the stench of this one.
Third, Bush and Company are to be blamed more than anyone else as they created this unconstitutional mess.
Fortunately, the person who wrote this post does not experience “shivers all the way through [his body]” at the thought of another blood bath in the U.S. thanks to Islamic murderers.
Indeed, privacy is always more significant than human life. Human life is expendable; there are 6 billion humans already.
The bill that passed today, which the writer of the above post does not link to, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passed on a 69-28 vote. Among Democrats, 22 voted in favor. Perhaps those 22 were also gazing at their navels?
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00168
It is very easy to be self-righteous when you have the luxury of avoiding the real-world consequences of the abstract principles you support.
~ Sisyphus, http://www.tsfiles.wordpress.com
Flint, thanks for reading…..but you are an idiot. If you are offended and I lose you as a reader so be it.
You do not understand the point of Anna’s comment here on the site above? You are helping the terrorists by doing their work. They want to destroy our way of life. But all they can do is kill people. But by being so fearful that you undo Constitutional safegaurds then you are finishing the job the terrorists could not do alone.
You must feel proud.
Your fear of terrorists seems to be more important than the value you place on the Constitution and civil rights that we used to tout as a way to point out our greatness to the rest of the world. How can you be proud of your comment?
How many rights are you willing to give up to feel ’safe’? How much political bile are you willing to swallow from the GOP?
How does it feel to kneel to the government, Flint?
If listening to my telephone conversations and reading my E-Mails helps the government catch terrorists, they may have this access.
Bcc is feeble-minded and should pick up any civics book and peek inside. Quite sure the stupid shit did not do that in school.
Ya shoulda voted for Ron Paul, fools. Too bad, too late. — Silverwolf
While grossly unfortunate, this doesn’t matter to me, you, or anyone else living a normal life. Drama.
I’m anticipating the revolution and I hope the stupid and ignorant die first.
Look at what has been allowed to happend when the use of fear was used as a political weapon. What the terrorists on 9/11 could never destroy, Bush and Company and the weak-minded in the nation have destroyed. How tragic. Thanks for your article. I mourn the loss of our civil rights too.
Hey Deke. I just read it on FoxNews.com. Your bill just passed the Senate. President is supposed to sign it next week.
Those who forget history are destine to repeat it. The Roman Empire understood how to manipulate the masses, when the political winds would shift against the ceasar he would proclaim a holiday and have gladiator games and public specticals, This diversion allowed the corruption within the roman senate to go “unnoticed” by the general public. Now think…..every time the public becomes concerned about our goverment or a particular bill to be passed something else grabs the news cycle and that thing we are concerned about moves to the back page. that is why nobody cares about FISA, we just want to afford the gas in our cars. diversions and misdirections.
I agree, and thank you for being an American that cares.
This such big time what Congress is doing now. I can’t believe that many Democrats are not screaming at the top of their lung in the night at this. There should be riots outside in every major cities across the country.