This is just the beginning, as you say. It has never been clearer that the Washington Establishment considers the American public irrelevant, as Noam Chomsky said a few months ago.

BTW--John Conyers posted his latest sternly worded missive on Huff Post this afternoon. Read the responses there, if you get a chance. At least those who post on this site and there have had it.

The jig is up. They've gone to far. Jumped the shark. Katie barred the door. There is, indeed, an "Uprising," as David Sirota's excellent new books says it.

My response to Conyers' Huff post:

--

Rep. Conyers:

We had such hope for the Democratic Congress and especially you, after you held meetings in the House basement, conducted investigations and published meaningful reports.

Then Pelosi took it all off the table.

NO ONE has the right to take any part of our Constitution off the table. But you let her.

And now here you are. A joke. A lame joke. A deneutered joke. A letdown.

This latest post by you is just sad. Nobody is listening to your faux outrage anymore. You have become a symbol of a Congress that considers the American public irrelevant. As a result, your post here is irrelevant and worse.

I once spent an evening with my Michigan in-laws defending you and your record. Pre-2006. I wish that I had every word back.

You are a war hero. A hero of Detroit. But at this point in your life, with this challenge, you failed yourself, your constituents, the American people and the Constitution. History will record you as a Pelosi Poodle, who valued his chair position and privileges more than the Constitution.

I feel very, very sorry for you.

The elephantman reading comprehension project.

This is "a day that will live in infamy."

A spineless Democratic Congress, pockets stuffed with telecom cash, and as frightened of life as a cat crossing a twelve-lane freeway, has just voted to give (surprise!) those very same telecoms complete legal immunity for their crimes against the American People.

The lesson Pelosi & Co. teaches American citizens: "If you're a corporation with suitcases full of cash, then you are above the law in the United States. If you are merely an ordinary citizen and you commit a crime, then we have more prisons for you to rot in than virtually any country on the face of the Earth. Have a nice day and please remember to vote! (big, yellow, smiley-face inserted here)"

Even worse, the Gutless Wonders formerly known as Congressional Democrats, cowering in fear of the most unpopular president since Nixon, have told George W. Bush that his heinous Crimes Against Democracy And The Constitution, crimes punishable by 5 years in jail for each offense (adding up to many lifetimes in jail for Mr. Bush were he living in an actual democracy), will not only not be investigated, they will be completely forgiven.

Did Nero, Caligula or any of the other Roman Caesars ever have a more obsequious, toadying legislature than Bush has in Congress right now?

Even Dictators-In-Training, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney must be getting tired of snapping their fingers, telling Pelosi, Hoyer, Feinstein, Reid & Co. to "jump" and hearing only the pathetic bleating "How high?"

It is clear though, from Bush's obsessive quest to evade closer scrutiny of his High Crimes And Misdemeanors that there is a lot more here than meets the eye.

What else is he hiding?

We know that his illegal wiretaps of millions of American citizens, in violation of the 4th Amendment, went on for years. Did he also specifically target anti-war protesters? Did he specifically target prominent Democrats like Nixon did when he broke into Democratic headquarters and Watergate?

Did Bush have political enemies tailed? Did he listen to their phone conversations and read their emails in order to use that information against them in some way? Did Bush eavesdrop on members of Congress? Did he listen to communications between their staff members for strategic and electoral advantage?

Did Bush target liberal political groups like the ACLU, Moveon.org and others in an effort to destroy the Democratic Party, a la Richard Nixon?

Did he do even worse than this?

We will never know now that the Democrats have sided with Bush against America and the Constitution.

Rumor has it, that in light of these events, the Republicans have abandoned their elephant logo in favor of the more distinctive fig leaves and purple toga of Ancient Roman dictators, while the Democrats, not to be outdone, are pursuing the jellyfish as a replacement for their donkey.

Democratic citizens across the land are protesting however, that major offense is given the poor spineless creature and that it would surely not appreciate the comparison.

Meanwhile, somewhere up above, the Founding Fathers are trying to determine whether this is tragedy, or farce.

--Tom J. Wright, original blogger of "The Pornography Of Power"

However this does not apply to U.S. citizens. only foreigners and foreigners living in the U.S.

Do ever communicate with "foreigners," by email or phone? If so, then the Government can eavesdrop on your communications without warrants.

The new FISA bill has an exclusivity clause that bans a president from authorizing surveillance under exclusive powers as president bush did. It has to be under Congressional stature.

The old law had the same thing. Yet it didn't stop the President from breaking the law. Why would this clause?

So your only allowed to blog in Glenn's page if you are FAR leftie totally agree with him. Isn't that a little un American?

Since Senator Obama has a degree in Law from Harvard and is Constitutuional expert. I'm sure he has just as much if not more expertise on FISA than even Glenn.

Glenn still has not addressed the exclusivity clause.

So then you are saying the old FISA was flawed also, and you are saying we cannot trust Obama to be like Bush..right?

Why put all this on Obama? He did vote for the amendments in regard to wire tapping. They did not pass.

Yes. I do have calls from people oversee, receive e-mails, even wire fund transfers. However I'm not doing anything illegal.