No. FISA already provides for immunity where they have a certification from the AG at the time that it's legal (which they didn't get here) or where they believe in good faith that it's legal. This is designed to include what they claim they have -- an oral "directive" from the President and the NSA.

It sets up a procedure where they go to a court - in secret - and show that they were told to do this by someone in authority and assured that it was legal. That is all that is needed. FISA already has what you're describing -- protection for any legal directive -- and this adds to that to include what they have.

The "right" partners are made for each other...Who said "marriages are made in heaven" [?] and that "lovers are each others all" or "all the world to each other"...Love?

okay. Somebody.

@ 6:06- A mirage of a Yellow Dog wanting a momentary frill by hooking up with a white hair Canadian Maltese puppy, that may be rich, would only lead to a life of perpetual conniption fits. sorry.

It may lead to a puppy love infatuation. Yellow Gog. Thanks. You'd likely end up in a dead yellow dog's life if you fled to Canada.

Thanks for staying in The good 'ole U.S.A. with the rest of us mangy open-minded terriers.

You'd get bored catching red lobsters and seeing 'um red-food-items get caged up for D.C.'s luncheon gop. A bash for tax-paid imperials gee...'um...all 'ole creepy geezers. Slime balls. O, caviar. O, fish heads stinker's. Little tail fondues, dipped into scum dip stews? yucks Remain in America. Yes. Toss the parasite louse nits, and mites, and fleas too into forced mental states of non-stop dvd-stuck-truism. They can go into some serious meditation.

'um gutting' close to near-loon-broken. Help them. 'Um in horrible condition.

Not acute, but chronic ill-banker-insane. Keep up the compassion and care. Patriotism.

Voices in D.C. quiver.

Yellow Dog- The thought of a scatty-cat flight up North with the geese coming South, would probably lead to a brief bouncy dogs life, encounter. A puppy love can eventually transform into a scroungy Yellow Dog life. I not tryin' to be appearing to be foodie arouse.

That's just terrible.

I'm as full of Furry as a wild bronco-fart-kicking a nice Mr. Ed, a mule, a elephant, and or/a talking donkey too. Heehaw, heehaws. no meow. no scratch me in the ribs if I decide to pick-up a sweaty Harley gal. huh.

I sometimes wish to hop on top of a 50- cc. motor bike. Zoom. Kapow. A red ear mule will do wonders for my mood if she dare can stomach some 'ole rants.

She can grip into my ribs-cage.

We both can soar into the sun's setting horizon? Not yet. Not that time of year/Life, yet. yes. It's Here. Remain calm here. O, Liberty. Freedom. Yes.

Oh well, a deep subject. I learning this FISA talk. Quack. But, to me, It's 'um us/me dealing with human Ashabot's, one and all. Creeps. Where Peter Paul, is Holy Mary? Mother Earth agrees. If she had a hammer, she would pound a soft red bell pepper and we'd hear her rant, I bet, and she'd ring a bell of freedom for the brothers and sisters here with more than a mushed red pepper.

She'd splat Yellow Politico's up at the Capital?

Oh- Ah! The sheep need to be all awakened up. Yes.

Sirens.

Danger.

Who ain't Fury-ours-us? Ya'd have to call, the

Mortician...if ya's not. 'um snot. Let red shell pincher

lobsters,

be Free. gads. No let telecoms industry tap the lobster industry. Stop reading me. No keep listening to this kinda' loving banter. For natal-security me-sake!...or mothermayi me sip home-brew...with who? It's still legal. okay- I agree.

Hey M. McConnell- pour favour? It couldn't hurt. Honest. Ask Pedinska? No. Ask Glenn? Ask somebody, but no dare ask me.

I'm too cranky.

Cardin sent me to a voice mail of a staffer and said he would call me back.

Mikulski'a staffer would not discuss it, claiming that they were unsure of what the legislation calls for. They would not discuss the ideas in general.

Do they have to talk to me about this? Is it a general practice that a senator's office gives the cold shoulder to a constituent; i.e refusing to even discuss the senator's positions about the ideas behind the legislation?

If anyone has any similar experience I would appreciate hearing about it,

thanks

this is why I post every now and then to say that the United States is a stealth-plutocracy, with democracy for cover, and that it always has been.

In the 19th century, examples of this kind of straight pay-off abounded. Most famous, perhaps, the incident wherein a railroad baron set up an office in the Capitol building, where congressmen could collect their payments before they voted to give said baron more federal land for his rails.

Nothing has changed. We are as we have always been. Our system of government was designed to work this way Glenn. And it will not change until we have a revolution. And then, of course, it'll all begin again.

I admire idealism, but in this particular instance, there was NO WAY the telecoms were going to sit still and get hanged. And there was NO WAY corrupt congresspeople were going to resist their pressure.

It'd be nice if our system of government had integrity. But it doesn't. And it never did. By design.

One of the most depressing sides of this story, if Glenn Greenwald is correct, is that Rockefeller has been 'bought' for chump change. I followed the link documenting his connections to telcom industries. While it is true that AT&T, Verizon, etc., are near the top contributors, the total contribution of this group is something like (I just eyeballed it, forgive the approximacy) $100,000. At&T gives $16,000, etc.

I thought the whole point of having super-wealthy senators is that they couldn't be bought for such chump change. $16,000 is a weekend in Paris for these people. Rockefeller's total campaign contributions are something like $2.5 mil, so it's not even a very large percentage of that.

Heck, they'd have a hard time buying me off with that kind of money, though I wasn't born into wealth and earn way, way south of $100 k a year. Maybe I'd finance a new stop sign or speed bumps in a neighborhood, but not forgive mass violations of the constitution.

ARGH!