« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
FISA Debate Gets Underway In The House
The House debate about the FISA law is underway. The House has capped debate at just one hour.
So far, the Democrats seem to emphasize that this legislation will not get the Bush Administration off the hook.
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) said he opposed the bill, but did point to one bright spot in the legislation.
"[The bill] will ask the inspector general to conduct an independent investigation of the president's wiretapping program," Conyers said. "This will uncover the truth for the American people, hopefully, about the president's activity."
Rep. Sylvester Reyes (D-TX), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, also noted that: "This bill does not grant immunity to any government official that might have violated the law."
Josh
Zachary
This is bullshit... plain and simple. If there was ever a reason to hate our representatives, this is it... you are experiencing a disgusting act of cowardice and obstruction of justice in the light of day.
I hope everyone holds these assholes to task for this... NO MORE MONEY for the D's that are party to this gang-rape of the 4th amendment... Period.
June 20, 2008 11:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
I could not agree with you more.
This is BULLSHIT...APPEASEMENT BY A PUNK CLOWN IDIOT NAMED NANCY "the GOP Whore" PELOSI....Reid, and now CONYERS?
LOOK how duplicitous CONYERS is and was in the past:
----THOMAS S. BEAN ALREADY WROTE AND SIGNED A 47 PAGE US DOJ OIG/FBI OPR COMPLAINT THAT WAS OBSTRUCTED BY GLEN FINE, BOB MUELLER, PAT LEAHY, JOE BIDEN, JON CONYERS, PELOSIWHORE, REID the Nev.faggot.
----THIS COMPLAINT MEMORIALIZES OK CITY BOMB AS FALSE FLAG TERRORISM using detenators manufactured at a Canistota, SD, electronic assembly plant....detenators seen by DENVER US MARSHALLS INFORMANT CARY GAGEN;
----RCMP WARRANT FOR MIAMI FBI AGENT TERRY NELSON'S MONTANT BIG SKY CALI COCAINE DRUG PIPELINE with money laundering by former Mont. Gov MARC RACICOT AS GOP TREASUERER (remember that Waxman subpoenaed Racicot's emails at GOP treasurer...and WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EMAILS?
----This law changes FISA LAW, when there was absolutely nothing wrong with this law?
----This law now allows the telecomm providers (all GOP corrupt criminal stooges) to move any phone conversation overseas to an overseas server...thus...THOSE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN TWO US CITIZENS IN THE UNITED STATES, ARE NOW OVERSEAS CONVERSATIONS OPEN TO ILLEGAL WARRANTLESS SEIZURE BY THE NSA/FBI/CIA/HLS/LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT?
----HOW COME CONYERS STAFF is this incompetent at "how the police state" is gonna create open back doors...so that...any PHONE CALL BY US CITIZENS DOES NOT REQUIRE A WARRANT if it is moved through an overseas server?
June 20, 2008 11:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Frankly, I am at once both disgusted and scared. Disgusted at the temerity of our elcetted officials to so flagrantly oppose the will fo the people as evidenced by previous rejections of this legislation that makes us no safer than we already are. Americans, and I mean all of you, Republican, Democrat and Independant should stand up and say NO. BUT WE ALREADY SAID NO!!!!!!!!!! How many times can we tear our selves away from our daily lives to address these issues with those elected to represent US?
And here is where I get scared. Jared Diamond in "Collapse, How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed", defines creeping normalcy as slow trends concealed with noisy fluctuations; so ones baseline of what constitutes "normalcy" shifts gradually and imperceptibly. "The Shock Doctine", Naomi Cline, "Letters to A Young Patriot" the persistant and cotinuious assault on our senses (of right and wrong?).
The Repblicans with the help of our authoritarian friends on the Democratic side of the isle will in effect give the the President free reign to continue to exert executive priveledge to protect his posterior, exercise his power as WAR PRESIDENT and promote his role as party leader.
Let me restate my pledge; The Democrats do this and I will never send another dime, not one red cent to the DNC, DCCC, the DSC, NONE. YOU WILL BE DEAD TO ME! Don't believe me? YES I CAN!
June 20, 2008 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gutless cowards! Gutless cowards! Gutless cowads! Traitors; all of them!
June 20, 2008 11:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree about the "so-called" democratic leaders in the house that will help erode our civil rights are anti-american values. I will not contribute any funds to a specfic democrat congressman or the dnc for allowing this to happen. In fact, I will contribute to their opposition for a replacemnt(within the democratic party). They must be getting contributions from the telecoms and that is disgusting to give corporations more rights than individuals. Can I have immunity for any crimes I may have committed?
June 20, 2008 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't these people understand that punishing the telecoms for wrongdoing is also important? It's not enough to say that no government officials are getting immunity or that we're going to investigate what happened if there are no consequences to the telecoms for their actions.
June 20, 2008 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Every time I get excited about the likelihood of Dem gains in Congress, I remind myself that it means a lot of Dems will be elected/re-elected when they deserve to be tossed out on their criminal-enabling asses. Pelosi/Hoyer has enabled the Bush Crime Family on everything. Everything. Good job POS Dems.
June 20, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steny Hoyer seems to think that he ought to be congratulated. His "sincere" tone is just intolerable. What a sad day.
June 20, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
They just don't get it. Boumedine was 5-4. The Alito/Roberts theory of the unitary executive depends on this kind of capitulation by the Congress. One of the touchstones of interpreting whether the "l'etat c'est moi" theory of presidency works is looking to Congressional practice. If Congress ratifies the branch action, then a strong argument exists that the branch's action was lawful. Even the government officials allegedly not immunized will have this defense.
This is just pathetic.
June 20, 2008 12:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
If what they did was "legal," then why immunity and worse, "retroactive immunity?"
This stinks and this part really gets me:
Rep. Sylvester Reyes (D-TX), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, also noted that: "This bill does not grant immunity to any government official that might have violated the law."
... any government official? Bull... the telecoms have tons of lawyers and they knew/know the law - as I say, this stinks and people MUST be held accountable.
June 20, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The House has capped debate at just one hour.
No committee hearings and just one hour of debate after having less than 24 hours to examine the bill.
Q.: What the hell is the rush?
A.: To prevent those who believe in civil liberties from having time to build opposition, which has prevented passage before.
Sylvester Reyes ... noted that: "This bill does not grant immunity to any government official that might have violated the law."
But it does close off the only practical means of uncovering such violations in a way that would be of use legally by granting immunity to private corporations so long as they say "we were only following orders." By the reasonable standard that a lie is a statement made with the intent to deceive, Reyes is a boldfaced liar.
But we already knew that.
June 20, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
There should never have been even the slightest debate of this bill, by the Congress of the United States, whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans; it should have been rejected out-of-hand as patently Unconstitutional. And there certainly is no reason for a Democratidally controlled House to "compromise" away the Fourth Amendment.
Their job is not to keep us safe. Their job is to keep us FREE, by upholding the Constitution against all enemies foreign & domestic. They have become the very definition of a "domestic enemy".
June 20, 2008 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink