Well kids, it look like our fearless Democrat leaders in Washington are about ready to cave again.
Democrat House Intelligence Chair Sivestre Reyes expressed a willingness to vote on legislation that includes retroactiveimmunity for the big telecoms that helped the Bush administration spy on Americans without a warrant. This despite the fact that just two weeks ago, Reyes sent a letter to President Bush stating his opposition to retroactive immunity.
Keep in mind that the wiretapping in question occurred before 9-11 and the Patriot Act and in complete defiance of the law!
The House needs to hear from the American people again this week urging them not to cave. They must hold firm and stop retroactive immunity from getting a vote. Democrats in the House have been a bulwark against retroactive immunity. The Bush administration is putting tremendous pressure on them to pass immunity, but we need to remind them that it’s their job to uphold the rule of law.
Since a vote on accountability could come as early as tomorrow, Democrats need to hear from us right away. Won’t you please call your congressman/woman today? You can make this call even if it’s after hours. Simply leave a message if no one is available to speak with your personally.
Tell your congressperson: "Democrats must keep standing up to Bush and opposing immunity for illegal spying. Voters will support them."
That’s it. You don’t need to explain your position any further, nor will the person who takes your call ask you to. You will probably be asked your name and address so they can record the call and verify it is from one of the congressperson’s constituents, but other than that you’re done. See how easy it is to be active and make a difference?
If you’re not sure who your congressperson is, or what phone number to call, this web site can tell you. Simply enter your zip code in the top left corner.
After you’ve made the call, leave a comment letting us all know that you did your part so I (we) can say ‘thank you.’
*Portions of this blog post were copied from a CREDO Action e-mail alert.
The other day I posted a message I received from CREDO Action (formerly Working Assets) in regards to illegal wiretapping by the Bush Administration and legislation that would provide retroactive immunity to those phone companies that committed it. Keep in mind that the wiretapping in question occurred before 9-11 and the Patriot Act.
Here’s an update from CREDO Action with some good news and request for more help:
Update on Illegal Wiretapping and Retroactive Immunity
Thanks to your actions, we’ve been successful in preventing the Senate from passing a wiretapping bill that grants retroactive immunity to AT&T and Verizon.
Just a little while ago, the Senate rejected attempts to rush this bill to passage, keeping alive our campaign to remove the immunity provisions. But while we’ve won the battle today, what happens later this week will determine whether the Senate will do the bidding of the White House or stand up for the Constitution. Tonight, if you watch Mr. Bush in his last State of the Union speech, be prepared to hear the fruits of your labors described as helping the terrorists — but you know better.
Action Still Needed to Block Retroactive Immunity
The privacy-invading "Protect America Act" expires on February 1st. In coming days, the Senate will debate a series of amendments to the wiretapping legislation — some good, some bad, but all of them vitally important when it comes to preserving our Constitution and upholding the rule of law. Here’s what you can do.
If one or both of your Senators are listed below, he or she has been identified as a swing vote on telecom immunity. Time is short. You must call to make your voice heard. Please make a call to them today and tell them to oppose retroactive immunity for AT&T and Verizon, sweeping new powers for the Bush administration, and any new legislation that violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Arizona — John McCain, (202) 224-2235 Arkansas — Blanche Lincoln, (202) 224-4843; Mark Pryor, (202) 224-2353 California — Dianne Feinstein, (202) 224-3841 Colorado — Ken Salazar, (202) 224-5852 Connecticut — Joe Lieberman, (202) 224-4041 Delaware — Thomas Carper, (202) 224-2441 Florida — Bill Nelson, (202) 224-5274 Georgia — Saxby Chambliss, (202) 224-3521 Hawaii — Daniel Inouye, (202) 224-3934 Illinois — Barack Obama, (202) 224-2854 Indiana — Evan Bayh, (202) 224-5623 Louisiana — Mary Landrieu, (202)224-5824 Maine — Olympia Snowe, (202) 224-5344 and Susan Collins, (202) 224-2523 Maryland — Barbara Mikulski, (202) 224-4654 Michigan — Debbie Stabenow, (202) 224-4822 Minnesota — Norm Coleman, (202) 224-5641 Missouri — Claire McCaskill, (202) 224-6154 Nebraska — Ben Nelson, (202) 224-6551 New Hampshire — John Sununu, (202) 224-2841 New York — Hillary Clinton, (202) 224-4451 North Carolina — Elizabeth Dole, (202) 224-6342 Oregon — Gordon Smith, (202) 224-3753 Pennsylvania — Arlen Specter, (202) 224-4254 South Carolina — Lindsey Graham, (202) 224-5972 South Dakota — Tim Johnson, (202) 224-5842 Virginia — John Warner, (202) 224-2023 West Virginia — Robert Byrd, (202) 224-3954 Wisconsin — Herb Kohl, (202) 224-5653
Thank you for working to build a better world.
I made my call. Will you? It’s really simple and easy. You don’t have to give any big speech or anything like that. Just say that you are calling to voice your opposition to providing retroactive immunity to the telephone companies that conducted the illegal wiretapping and that you are urging your senator to oppose any new legislation that violates the Fourth Amendment. That’s it. The person taking the call might ask for your name and address simply to confirm you are a constituent, but they won’t argue with you or give you any hassle.
If you care about preventing illegal wiretapping and other crimes by the Bush Administration, you’ll make the call.
This may be our last chance to stop a bad wiretapping bill from becoming law.
Can the government listen in on your phone calls without a warrant? Will big telecom companies be given a retroactive get-out-of-jail-free card for helping the Bush Administration commit massive violations of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act? If Senate leaders and the Bush administration get their way in a debate they’re trying to hurry through Congress this week, the answer to both questions will be yes.
Nothing less than the rule of law and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which protects our privacy) are at stake in this debate. And yet many senators are willing to side with AT&T and Verizon over the citzens it is their duty to represent.
The Senate is currently rushing to pass new wiretapping legislation that continues the worst parts of the law passed last August (the so-called "Protect America Act") with little scrutiny, only now they’ve added something just as pernicious as blanket warrants and indiscriminate data collection: retroactive immunity for telecom companies who are helping the Bush administration cover up its illegal spying program.
Bush has indicated that he refuse to sign a FISA law that does not include amnesty for AT&T and Verizon, making it clear that he cares more about protecting his cronies from prosecution than securing Americans against the threat of terrorism.
CREDO Action members have already sent hundreds of thousands of messages and made tens of thousands of phone calls asking their senators to reject retroactive immunity and any wiretapping laws that make it easier for the government to invade your privacy.
While we have found strong allies in the likes of Chris Dodd, Russ Feingold, and Ron Wyden, many in the Senate have not yet recognized the passion the American people have for them to do their jobs, live up to the solemn oath of office they swore when they took their seats in the Senate, and defend our Constitution.
Let’s remind them once again to do their jobs, before they cravenly throw the rule of law out the window just because they’re afraid of what their opponent’s next attack ad will say.
Some of you have asked me in the past "Well what can I do?" This is something you can do. Credo Action has made it extremely simple to send a message to your senators. Just click the link above. Just do it now before it’s too late.
Attention all Democrats and other non-Republican voters:
Don’t assume that the 2008 is ours in the bag. Please watch this video from Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org PAC. He reiterates a message that I’ve been trying to get across for a while.
Click here for the form that he refers to in the video.
Despite public opposition the Chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, is prepared to allow big media to swallow up even more media outlets (television stations, newspapers, radio stations, etc). In other words, if this goes through, Rupert Murdoch really will own (or at least be allowed to own) all media in America.
Respected journalist Bill Moyers gives us the scoop:
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