I should have written "cell-phone-talking while driving" ...not "drivers."

Sorry about that.

[Scott Horton, quoted by Glenn]: To be very specific, [Mukasey] urgently pushed for immunity for telecommunications companies who violated the criminal law by collaborating with the Bush Administration in warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens and residences. So for Mukasey the priorities were clear: protecting telecommunications companies who commit crimes is the core function of the Attorney General, requiring his personal attention....

No. The real priority is to put a lid on the law-breaking of the maladministration. Immunity puts the kibosh on legal efforts to find out what's been going on (just as does the sorry "state secrets" privilege). The maladministration doesn't want sunshine; it fears accountability ... and all because of the potential political fallout.

Why the Democrats should agree to abet such behaviour is beyond me. Maybe they're in it up to their own eyeballs, but if they were honest, they'd still look for accountability. If they want immunity to prevent these actions coming out because of their own involvement, that's understandable (at some level), but just as corrupt as the maladministration.

Cheers,

Yes, but I still like the cell phone theory. The cell phone industry is bigger than the telecoms and has been since Apple, Google, Microsoft, and everybody else has been headed in. And we already found out about some kinds of surveillance (Narus 6400, etc.) which is about the Internet, and we already had the debate about actual wires. So what other big secret would cost the telecoms and several other industries more in lost confidence and sales than any litigation would ever cost? The administration wants an end to the court cases because of criminal investigations, but the telecoms and other industries don't want anything to keep junior from racking up the minutes. To me it makes sense. It also makes sense for the Dems to be more the handmaiden to high tech than to an unpopular bunch of criminals on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Interesting idea. Anyone know how digital cellular is encrypted? What are the endpoints?

BTW, I've added a summary of arguments page, upon which to build rebuttals. The arguments should be consolidate mo' better.

http://fisa.wikispot.org/FISA_Debate_Detail#preview

As horrifying as it is to believe that the Democratic "leaders" cannot comprehend the idea that Senator Dodd is actually making a principled stand in opposing the telecom immunity or even understand the principles involved, the "grandstanding" comments are even more ridiculous. For in a representative democracy, citizens elect representatives to REPRESENT them. If the voters approve what their representative is doing they vote to re-elect him. If they don't they vote for someone else. Thus, even if Senator Dodd could care less about telecom immunity and is, in fact, "grandstanding" for political gain (which I in no way believe is true), it's irrelevant. The very fact that his actions lead to political gain is pretty much the basis of our form of government. Cynical or not, his actions are aimed to please the voters, whereas the Senator Reid and his cowardly cohorts are aiming only to please each other, their corporate donors and the beltway pundits. I'll take Dodd's grandstanding over Reid's arrogance and cowardice every time.

or how about "Madministration"?

Deep breath. ;-)

-- bystander

The guy is an inbred moron. You can look at his few letters and deduce this in a flash. I spent a few nights in San Antonio. It is unquestionably the arsehole of the universe, and not because of brown people. It's that way because of the inbred morons like that white redneck. There are just too few degrees of difference between Jonah Goldberg and Shooter and Quick Draw McGraw for anyone to waste time talking to them. To Shooter and Jonah, liberals are the "real" fascists. To Quick Draw, liberals are the "real" neocons. You'd get more rationality from a conversation with the local village idiot in your hometown. At least he's a "neighbor".

Old-school US 2G digital cell "D-AMPS" used CMEA, thin as tissue paper, cracked in the nineties I believe. GSM uses the A5 algorithm, stronger but IIRC it was broken by some folks at Technion who used a man in the middle type attack.

Fixed wireless is my pidgin, so I may not have my facts straight. But I think it's reasonable to suspect with all this hoovering up of personal communications the clever boys at NSA have figured out how to listen in on anything they want...

I’ll add your theories. So here’s the updated question:

Are those who support telco immunity doing it on the basis of…

1) EVIL (Wanting power over the citizens)?

2) CORRUPTION (Wanting money from telcos)?

3) SECURITY (They rightly choose to give telcos immunity so as to help protect America)?

4) DELUSION (They mistakenly choose to give telcos immunity so as to help protect America)?

5) POLITICS (They stupidly choose to give telcos immunity so as to bargain a deal on other bills and cover their asses)?

6) SELF PROTECTION (They're in it up to their own eyeballs)

7) ECONOMICS (They want to protect other big secrets that would cost the telecoms and other industries even more)?

Gee, looking at all those reasons, it seems that all of them could be swirling around in the backs of their minds.

Telco immunity makes sense!

Believe it or not, I'm trying to spend less time sitting in a swirling computer chair.

I'll often just read back-letters of a 'letter-writer' who 'grabs' my attention.

Before becoming a blog-reader, a paper leaf book would seem like a dear friend...I'd imbibe...sip...so to speak, or just wonder, listen, or move closer like a honeybee approaches toward a rare wildflower?

~

I'm only saying I've enjoyed your back-reads. I envy those who are 'posters' very busy elsewhere in the world, likely engaged in Good Work in various occupations of other vitally Fields.

People do give hope. People bloom a sense of Peace within other people's human hearts, and they do assure me to gladly know it's alright to take a breather and take a quiet stroll in a winter woods, a river trail along the river, or along a rural road to look at natures fields of choice.

People can make others smile, and not by their own will...but because their is a realization that within 'folk' there are good hearts who know the wretched heart rots by its foolish vile nature. It's so foolish but, we got a 'freewill' to choose perdition or Life?

I am never 100% positive when getting analytical about Life's Mystery...randon (R)...So- Thanks for your back-reads. To me they were in an emotional-seat (Heart) strange way, uplifting.

A new day.

A Winter Solstice!

A Pot Luck Gathering Day!