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House Approves Unconstitutional Surveillance Legislation (6/20/2008)
www.aclu.org/safefree/ge...0080620.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (202) 675-2312 or media@dcaclu.org
Washington, DC - Following a vote in the House of Representatives sanctioning warrantless wiretapping and handing immunity to telecommunications companies for their role in domestic spying, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at representatives who voted for the unconstitutional legislation. The bill, H.R. 6304, or The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed the chamber by a vote of 293-129, and is expected to be voted on in the Senate next week.
The following may be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office:
"It's Christmas morning at the White House thanks to this vote. The House just wrapped up some expensive gifts for the administration and their buddies at the phone companies. Watching the House fall to scare tactics and political maneuvering is especially infuriating given the way it stood up to pressure from the president on this same issue just months ago. In March we thought the House leadership had finally grown a backbone by rejecting the Senate's FISA bill. Now we know they will not stand up for the Constitution.
"No matter how often the opposition calls this bill a 'compromise,' it is not a meaningful compromise, except of our constitutional rights. The bill allows for mass, untargeted and unwarranted surveillance of all communications coming in to and out of the United States. The courts' role is superficial at best, as the government can continue spying on our communications even after the FISA court has objected. Democratic leaders turned what should have been an easy FISA fix into the wholesale giveaway of our Fourth Amendment rights.
"More than two years after the president's domestic spying was revealed in the pages of the New York Times, Congress' fury and shock has dissipated to an obedient whimper. After scrambling for years to cover their tracks, the phone companies and the administration are almost there. This immunity provision will effectively destroy Americans' chance to have their deserved day in court and will kill any possibility of learning the extent of the administration's lawless actions. The House should be ashamed of itself. The fate of the Fourth Amendment is now in the Senate's hands. We can only hope senators will show more courage than their colleagues in the House."
For more information, go to:
www.aclu.org/fisa
To read the ACLU's letter on H.R. 6304, go to:
www.aclu.org/safefree/ge...0080619.html
--
"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why....
I dream of things that never were and ask why not."
--George Bernard Shaw
******************
OBAMA VOTES IN FAVOR OF EXPANDING BUSH'S DOMESTIC SPY POWERSwww.nj.com/njvoices/ind..._domesti.html
* * * * * * * * * *
Obama Caves to Bush on Domestic Spying
by Bill Wolfe
Friday June 20, 2008, 4:44 PM
This is not the change we were promised
Bill Wolfe
Obama speaks at Harrisburg Pa. primary campaign rally.
Today the House voted to approve a FISA bill that would provide retroactive immunity for criminal domestic spying violations by Telecom companies and expand Bush domestic spying powers. Here is a link to the vote tally - NJ Republicans Ferguson, Freylinghuysen, Garrett, Saxton and Smith were joined by lone NJ Democrat Sires to vote yes in support of the bad bill - Democrats Andrews, Holt, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, and Rothman stood up for the Constitution and opposed the bill.clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll437.xml
Waiting until after the vote to take a position on the bill, Obama has finally come forward and issued a statement - looks like Obama reversed his prior strong opposition to both retroactive immunity for criminal acts by telecoms and expanded domestic spying powers. According to Glenn Greenwald at Salon:www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/
"Barack Obama got around to issuing a statement and -- citing what he calls "the grave threats that we face" -- he just announced that he supports this warrantless eavesdropping and telecom amnesty bill:
"Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. . . .
"After months of negotiation, the House today passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year's Protect America Act. . . .It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives -- and the liberty -- of the American people." [end Obama statement quote]
"Telling Americans that they have to give up basic constitutional rights in order to save ourselves from "the grave threats we face" sounds awfully familiar. Obama has obviously calculated that sacrificing the rule of law and the Fourth Amendment is a worthwhile price to pay to bolster his standing a tiny bit in a couple of swing states."
[end Greenwald quote]
* * * * *
Link to Obama statement:
utdocuments.blogspot.com/2008/...a-supp
www.aclu.org/safefree/ge...0080620.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (202) 675-2312 or media@dcaclu.org
Washington, DC - Following a vote in the House of Representatives sanctioning warrantless wiretapping and handing immunity to telecommunications companies for their role in domestic spying, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at representatives who voted for the unconstitutional legislation. The bill, H.R. 6304, or The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed the chamber by a vote of 293-129, and is expected to be voted on in the Senate next week.
The following may be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office:
"It's Christmas morning at the White House thanks to this vote. The House just wrapped up some expensive gifts for the administration and their buddies at the phone companies. Watching the House fall to scare tactics and political maneuvering is especially infuriating given the way it stood up to pressure from the president on this same issue just months ago. In March we thought the House leadership had finally grown a backbone by rejecting the Senate's FISA bill. Now we know they will not stand up for the Constitution.
"No matter how often the opposition calls this bill a 'compromise,' it is not a meaningful compromise, except of our constitutional rights. The bill allows for mass, untargeted and unwarranted surveillance of all communications coming in to and out of the United States. The courts' role is superficial at best, as the government can continue spying on our communications even after the FISA court has objected. Democratic leaders turned what should have been an easy FISA fix into the wholesale giveaway of our Fourth Amendment rights.
"More than two years after the president's domestic spying was revealed in the pages of the New York Times, Congress' fury and shock has dissipated to an obedient whimper. After scrambling for years to cover their tracks, the phone companies and the administration are almost there. This immunity provision will effectively destroy Americans' chance to have their deserved day in court and will kill any possibility of learning the extent of the administration's lawless actions. The House should be ashamed of itself. The fate of the Fourth Amendment is now in the Senate's hands. We can only hope senators will show more courage than their colleagues in the House."
For more information, go to:
www.aclu.org/fisa
To read the ACLU's letter on H.R. 6304, go to:
www.aclu.org/safefree/ge...0080619.html
--
"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why....
I dream of things that never were and ask why not."
--George Bernard Shaw
******************
OBAMA VOTES IN FAVOR OF EXPANDING BUSH'S DOMESTIC SPY POWERSwww.nj.com/njvoices/ind..._domesti.html
* * * * * * * * * *
Obama Caves to Bush on Domestic Spying
by Bill Wolfe
Friday June 20, 2008, 4:44 PM
This is not the change we were promised
Bill Wolfe
Obama speaks at Harrisburg Pa. primary campaign rally.
Today the House voted to approve a FISA bill that would provide retroactive immunity for criminal domestic spying violations by Telecom companies and expand Bush domestic spying powers. Here is a link to the vote tally - NJ Republicans Ferguson, Freylinghuysen, Garrett, Saxton and Smith were joined by lone NJ Democrat Sires to vote yes in support of the bad bill - Democrats Andrews, Holt, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, and Rothman stood up for the Constitution and opposed the bill.clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll437.xml
Waiting until after the vote to take a position on the bill, Obama has finally come forward and issued a statement - looks like Obama reversed his prior strong opposition to both retroactive immunity for criminal acts by telecoms and expanded domestic spying powers. According to Glenn Greenwald at Salon:www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/
"Barack Obama got around to issuing a statement and -- citing what he calls "the grave threats that we face" -- he just announced that he supports this warrantless eavesdropping and telecom amnesty bill:
"Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. . . .
"After months of negotiation, the House today passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year's Protect America Act. . . .It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives -- and the liberty -- of the American people." [end Obama statement quote]
"Telling Americans that they have to give up basic constitutional rights in order to save ourselves from "the grave threats we face" sounds awfully familiar. Obama has obviously calculated that sacrificing the rule of law and the Fourth Amendment is a worthwhile price to pay to bolster his standing a tiny bit in a couple of swing states."
[end Greenwald quote]
* * * * *
Link to Obama statement:
utdocuments.blogspot.com/2008/...a-supp
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