Comments on: Tug Of War Over Wiretapping

Classified Documents And Threatened Filibuster In Fight Over Immunity For Telecoms

[usaprophet]

I want to report a major fire, my friends. Our Constitution is on fire. And it''s currently being burned in Congress. See H.R. 1955, a.k.a., Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. I couldn''t believe it. Apparently, activists with Web sites are really begining to anger the elite insofar as they are publically holding them accountable for their evil. Here''s a part of the bill, which passed the house on Oct 23, in spite of Congressman, Ron Paul''s opposition thereto. The right to free speech on the Internet is gone, my friends. Look it up for yourself, and weep for your country that our rights have eroded this far. Here''s a short excerpt from the bill''s DEFINITIONS statement: "The development and implementation of methods and processes that can be utilized to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States is critical to combating domestic terrorism." Here''s another excerpt from the bill''s FINDINGS statement: "The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens." And guess who get''s to decide what is "terrorist-related propaganda?" You got it! The Department of Homeland Insecurity, an agency that''s answerable ONLY to The President. If Ron Paul isn''t elected, our country is doomed!

[trillion1]

If congress doesn''t start impeachment on this then they have proven they do not represnt our constitution or the people who live under it.

[gunnerone2]

If the companies didn''t want to be sued, then they shouldn''t have broken the law.

[cbs_oliver]

This is really about the normalization of irresponsibility.

Congress has not seen fit to do their duty and take action against obvious violations of the law.

Now those in Congress who have been most complicit in fostering and enabling illegal acts seek to absolve those outside of government who carried them out of any wrongdoing.

The rule of law is dead.

Only priviledge protects us now.

[pepperp1]

...Immunity suggests that there''s been a violation of the law .....

Exactly that would be called a CRIME Senator, investigate and refer for indictment and prosecution, forget the Presidents demand, it has every appearance that he has ordered a High Crime and has a motive to remove the threat a prosecutor will need to leverage to gain the truth, immunity for the Telcoms would throw sand in the umpires eyes again obstructing another suspected criminal act by this Administration. There is no inherent or implied power in the Constitution that has endowed the President with power to spy on Americans and he is not above the law for the same reason. More suspiciously he the President did this secretly sneakily behind Congresses and the Peoples back during an election year and I want proof that campaigns and candidates where not spied on or the outcome of any election subverted, Congress at the Presidents request revised FISA on 4 occasions he had no reason to hide this from America unless it was a crime against us. This Administration does not have the trust of the public.

Find your plums Senator Durbin fight for the People, who have placed you in office,

[forthepeopl1]

The committee''s endorsement of the immunity plan is needed for the broader legislation to move forward. Some senators refuse to consider the matter without seeing the classified documents.

"Immunity suggests that there''s been a violation of the law and they want to be absolved from any liability," Sen. *** Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters. "I would like to know what happened before I absolve anyone from liability."

The documents have so far not been made available to congressional counterparts on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees.

The Senate bill would direct courts to dismiss lawsuits against telecommunications companies if the attorney general certified that a company gave assistance between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 17, 2007, in response to a written request authorized by the president, in trying to detect or prevent an attack on the United States.

Suits also would be dismissed if the attorney general certified that a company named in a case provided no assistance to the government. The public record would not reflect which certification was given to the court.

so our laws mean NOTHING to anyone that works in the GOVERNEMNT. if they dont have to follow laws then NO AMERICANS HAS TO...THIS WILL BE A BIG MISTAKE TO HAPPEN IF CONGRESS LETS THIS GET INTO LAW....

[cbs_oliver]

If communication companies have done nothing wrong they have nothing to fear.

They do not need or deserve immunity.

Companies have well paid and fully competent legal advisers and cannot ever be allowed to claim ignorance of the law.

[myidoncbs]

some re/**** said, "why worry I have nothing to hide".

With a suffienct level of inspection, I could find hundreds of ways to lock you up right now. And if, by some unbelievable stroke of luck, you have not managed to violate even one of the hundreds of thousands of laws of this country (most of which you will never know exist), then SOMETHING you have said or written will be construed to make it look like you are a dangerous enemy of the United States, an "enemy combatant", and you will be whisked away in the night by a squad of cia goons, sent off to a foreign land, and imprisoned and tortured until you die.

It doesn''t take much. Bush has ALREADY assumed the powers of a king, violating the Constitution of the United States of America. Our Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves if they knew what Bush and Cheney have done to destroy their dream of a democratic republic.

Anyone who still supports Bush, at this late stage of the destruction of our Democracy by the neo-fascist necons, deserves whatever evil that befalls them. The rest of us would like this country to return to being the "land of the free and the home of the brave".

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

[myidoncbs]

Caroline Frederickson, said, "[Bush] is supposed to be upholding laws, not encouraging companies to break them."

I the not-too-distant past, such behavior by a president of the United States would have led to immediate impeachment and removal from office. Unfortunately, the Bushies came to power through unscrupulous means, they maintain power through lies and intimidation, and they have no interest in upholding any laws. They only care about advancing the neocon agenda of world conquest, regardless of whether or not there is any world worth having when they are through with their campaign of terror.

[trillion1]

What they did was clearly illegal and they knew it. Now they want a get out of jail free card.

[frankly6]

Neither telecoms nor the white house deserve immunity in this. They both broke the law period. If Bush wanted to change the law he could have when he had his rubber stamp Republican Congress. He chose instead to break the law.

[mediapreachr]

I''m not a lawyer,but I have friends who are.I''m just telling you what they say-telecom co''s will be sued,the proof cannot be just burned like years ago.

[jonesforch]

mediapreachr

Being a lawyer you would say that more $$$ for you.

[jonesforch]

once again why worry I have nothing to hide BUT maybe someelse does GEE you supose Slicky Willy is behind this?

[condumism]

GREAT POSTS FOLKS, cancel your plans with AT&T, Verizon, et. al. Here we have Qwest, the only telcom that refused to cooperate with the United Soviets in the White House, otherwise I would join you all in this important the boycott. But I will call my democratic congressman and senator and tell them it is past due time thy quite selling out our liberties to these Nazis in the White HOuse. Wow, Soviets and Nazis all in the same White House. This is DISGUSTING!

[p-syrus]

NO IMMUNITY!

If they violate privacy, break the law, or in any manner infringe on the rights of individuals they should be prosecuted and/or held liable under the law of the land.

It matters not who encouraged them to do it. Especially not with this gang of crooks.

[fiteit1]

I think that anything that bush has or says he will veto be pushed through and let him veto them and then rewrite it and do it again and keep doing it unit the bums term is over and we get someone more honest. Then we can change things back to protect the people of this country and make new laws that will never allow this to happen again.

Bush should be tried for crimes against humanity and breaking the laws and constitution of this country.

[alphaa10-2009]

CBS reports, "The House version of the FISA bill does not include immunity from lawsuits for the telecoms, after vociferous opposition from privacy and consumer advocates.

"Let the courts decide whether these companies, or some of them, were acting patriotically, with nobility and legally, or whether they were breaking the law." Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said.

In noting the difference between the two bills, Fratto told The New York Times that the White House would continue to withhold those documents from House Committees unless the provision is added."
---
The NSA spying scandal is a major political crime of the Bush administration, and repeated efforts to beautify the FISA law will not change the fact Bush, Cheney and others broke the law not once, not only frequently, but as a matter of Bush policy for years.

We cannot afford a scofflaw in office who, in November, 2005, facing an assembly of party members critical of his NSA spying program, bristled like a teenager caught drinking after curfew-- "Stop throwing the Constitution in my face! It''s just a GD)((#@*! piece of paper!"

Is this figure, who claims to be president of the United States, the same who pledged an oath to "protect, preserve and defend" the document he calls a "GD)((#@*! piece of paper"?

[tylenol6]

I have been keeping tabs on who the phone companies were
that were spying on Americans telephones. Looks like
I will be canceling my account with AT&T for illegally spying..... Hope more of you will be doing the same thing.

[mediapreachr]

It is good to be a lawyer in USA today.
I see mass lawsuits against the telecom industries,records are there,because administrations change,new people come in.