Do you notice anything glaringly obvious?

Thank you for contacting me about the proposed legislation to give phone companies legal immunity for past wiretapping. I share both your strong opposition to this special interest provision and your frustration that the President and his supporters in Congress continue to push it. This fight is just one more example of why things in Washington must change.

I have consistently opposed this Administration's efforts to use debates about our national security to expand its own power, whether that was in regard to the conduct of the Iraq war or its restrictions on our civil liberties through domestic surveillance programs or suspension of habeas corpus. It is time to restore oversight and accountability in the FISA program, and rejecting this unprecedented grant of retroactive immunity is a good place to start.

Giving retroactive immunity to telecom companies is simply wrong. Thankfully, the most recent effort to pass this legislation at the end of the legislative year failed. I unequivocally oppose this grant of immunity and support the filibuster of it. I cosponsored Senator Dodd’s proposal that would remove it from the current FISA bill.

This Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens; no more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime; no more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. Our Constitution works, and so does the FISA court. By working with Congress and respecting our courts, I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.

Thank you again for contacting me. I look forward to continuing to wage this fight.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

-----------------

Paid for by Obama for America

I spoke w/ some Obama phone person last might, who indicated that Obama "came off the campaign trail" to vote against telco amnesty, and "would likely do so again". I essentially replied w/ "time to sh*t or get off the pot".

Click sig for linky to ACLU petition against the FISA "compromise".

And GG is correct about dressing up the amnesty as a compromise.

I spoke to Hoyer's office yesterday. After vociferous denials about the Cong. being "pro-amnesty", I told them I knew exactly what he was up to - and outlined what little I know of the Bill via GG. I was greeted with a silence best described as "stunned".

BTW, Glenn, back in the Yoo thread is a link to audio of the Diane Rehm show this morning - I told her all I know )about Boumadienne) is what I read via Glenn Greenwald @ Salon...

N/T

And shout-out to GG

My comments begin @ 28:15

Didn't get to finish my comment, and DR allowed only a rebuttal from the Bush shill, but c'est la vie

http://wamu.org/audio/dr/08/06/r1080617-20527.asx

or click sig for linky

I'll post the audio linky when it comes up in 90 min. or so.

Hoyer's phone guy seems pretty defensive. Scared, even, about what he sees as a tremendous backlash headed his way.

1705 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Phone - (202) 225-4131

Fax - (202) 225-4300

In case anybody wants to get a head start

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/congress-nears-deal-on-surveillance-bill/

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wants the matter settled before Congress breaks for Independence Day at the end of next week, suggesting she is ready to bring the issue to a head.

“We want to pass a bill that will be signed by the president,” she said. “And that will happen before we leave for the Fourth of July. So the timing is sometime between now and then. I feel confident that that will happen.”

Makea me laugh!

(866) 675-2008

Wait for the menu option that says "other questions"...

I'll have to look up that Obama campaign phone number.

If Obama doesn't step up and quash this b.s., he and every other Dem loses my vote.

GG, how are things in Brazil, comparatively?

Nate, you request that responses to ElephantDung be both appropriate and civil. As far as EDung is concerned, the two are mutually exclusive.

For anybody interested, it was John Aravosis, @ Americablog, who cut out the heart of Scalia's dissent.

I think the 500,000+ dead Iraqis provide compelling evidence that Glenn is correct in his assessment.

I shouldn't have used "honest".

It's obvious to anyone reading the post that it wasn't "pre-written". It's pretty intimidating though, the alacrity with which you and Marty Lederman (maybe others, but I'm not aware of them)can peruse, digest, and comment upon the Opinion.

Hats off.

Somebody (Kos?) referenced Scalia's dissent, (Hey, we're at WAR w/ the scary brown men) which is scary. Scarier still that it was 5-4.

Did you have two posts (one for each possible outcome) pre-written?

N/T

Ah well, we need more Olbermanns.

Basically, because it's a given that "everybody does it". Nuthin' we can do about it.

Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid.

Heinrich Heine

German critic & poet (1797 - 1856)

Pelosi at least ought to allow some time for a debate/vote.

I'm sure GG has read this, but everybody else who's interested in the topic of this post ought to read it as well.

http://balkin.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-fisa-debate-is-not-about.html

or click sig for linky

"BigNose strikes again"

Folks, when something seems 100% idiotic, you might want to click the "letters" linky, and scope out the previous submissions.

Sometimes, the appropriate response is laughter, and sometimes [crickets].

"Where the hell is OBAMA on this?" contingent.

Access to his campaign, anyone?

The Bush Administration ginned up intelligence that was fed to them by... wait for it... Iranian spies.

Seems as if Cheney's office was "compromised" and Rummy's man Stephen Cambone shut down the counterintelligence investigation.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/40080.html

or click sig for linky