Latest: Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and presidential candidate put a senatorial hold on the FISA reform deal with the Regime this afternoon because it allowed telecoms to avoid legal penalties for not respecting their customers' right to privacy. It takes sixty votes to override a hold. SALUTE! to Senator Dodd. You can read his statement at Firedoglake. If we can just get 41 Democratic Senators to filibuster the next war funding supplemental, we can hold our head up. So how about it, Harry?
Weekend Update: The "soft on terror" majority in the Senate caved again to the proto-fascists demanding protection for their corporate clients and agreed to a deal on the domestic spying bill granting phone companies immunity from suit for violating their customers' Fourth Amendment rights. A cheap parliamentary maneuver was all that was required to scare the bejesus out of nervous Nellie conservative Democrats in the House. All the neocons had to do was insert the boogeyman's name, Osama Bin Laden, in the legislation and the so-called patriots ran for cover. Its sad they have no stomach for protecting the core value of this country: the rule of law. And the performance of the Democratic congressional leadership since gaining a majority has been truly anemic. So what, if getting the REACH bill right takes more time? Our civil rights are worth deliberation. Congress deserves an 11% approval rating. An immunity grant will wipe out pending lawsuits by civil rights advocates against phone companies who turned over private telephone records, email traffic, and other records to the government without a court order. You say you want privacy in your communications? Send a note by pigeon.
You know the telecom company represented in ads by the friendly looking geek--known as 'test man'--who walks behind you and your cellphone with his army of techs ready to serve you. Turns out they are no so friendly, but ready to give you up to Big Brother. Verizon Communications gave phone records to the government on an emergency basis without a court order 720 times between January 2005 and September 2007. This disclosure was contained in a letter submitted to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The administrative requests, called "national security letters", also asked for information not only related to the subscriber but also information identifying a "calling circle" or people contacted by people contacted by the subscriber. Verizon does not keep such information. Verizon executives said it was not their place to "second guess" government requests for data. However, Q West CEO Robert Nacchio refused to cooperate with a National Security Agency effort in 2001 to data mine the telephone records of thousands of it's customers. He feared possible liability for a program that exceeded legal bounds in the opinion of many experts such as former NSA director, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, and which was known to some Congress members such as now House Speaker 'Big' Nancy Pelosi before the homeland attack. Allegedly Q West was retaliated against by the Regime for the company's lack of cooperation by loosing a $100 million government contract under discussion with officials.