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Dec. 16th, 2007
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FISA/Retroactive Amnesty Update
Dec. 16th, 2007 01:32 pmIf you haven't read this post and called, emailed and/or faxed these people, for the love of the gods, now is the time. Don't wait. Tomorrow is too late. I know it's Sunday; Senator Reid is smart and is aware of how little people pay attention over the weekend. This is intentional.
If you have, or if you haven't but have just gone back to remind yourself what this is about, here're some updates and additional action items.
Senator Dodd is suspending his Presidential campaign to head east and filibuster. He's going to take the floor and not yield it - this is the old-school real thing. However, other Senators can take the floor and spend up to 20 minutes asking a very, very long question. So far, only two (2) other Senators have specifically prepared to do so; Senators Feingold and Kennedy. Senator Dodd is looking for statements from citizen supporters to read, and questions for them to ask. During these 20-minute question periods, Senator Dodd does not have to be on the floor; these are his bathroom breaks, basically, and are very important. If you have anything, comment on the thread linked to above with your suggestions.
Senators Clinton and Obama have not, as yet, cancelled any of their appearances tomorrow, nor have I found any comment by either campaign on Mr. Dodd's filibuster - that they stated they would support. Senator Biden has similarly not indicated any plans to go east, but according to third parties, his schedule tomorrow is unclear. We'll see.
In related news, the New York Times, unreliable though they are, report that the history of telecom direct and explicit violation of the law in providing domestic surveillance goes back before 2001, tho' it is of course dramatically wider and deeper post-2001. They reference testimony from former telecom employees and others discussion the widespread purely domestic warrantless illegal surveillance of Americans with full - and separately illegal - telecom support.
Let me restate: every bit of this was explicitly, specifically, and entirely illegal. But since the co-opted Justice Department refuses to investigate (and, in fact, is actively interfering with Congressional investigations into the destruction of torture evidence), and Congress refuses to do anything except try to cover it up (with the exceptions at this point of Senators Dodd, Feingold, and Kennedy), private lawsuits on the basis of this violation of law are the only investigative path remaining.
And this is Congress, Democrats and Republicans, working together, to close down that investigative channel and cover it up so that massive spying on Americans may be continued indefinitely, law and democracy be damned. And make no mistake: this is happening because the Democratic leadership wants it to happen just as much as the Republicans do. Period. End of story.
Get on those faxes (best, reportedly), email contact forms, and voice lines. Go. Now.
ETA: My letter to Senators Cantwell and Murray, below the cut. Please feel free to borrow from it, but do not copy it exactly.
( Sample letter )
If you have, or if you haven't but have just gone back to remind yourself what this is about, here're some updates and additional action items.
Senator Dodd is suspending his Presidential campaign to head east and filibuster. He's going to take the floor and not yield it - this is the old-school real thing. However, other Senators can take the floor and spend up to 20 minutes asking a very, very long question. So far, only two (2) other Senators have specifically prepared to do so; Senators Feingold and Kennedy. Senator Dodd is looking for statements from citizen supporters to read, and questions for them to ask. During these 20-minute question periods, Senator Dodd does not have to be on the floor; these are his bathroom breaks, basically, and are very important. If you have anything, comment on the thread linked to above with your suggestions.
Senators Clinton and Obama have not, as yet, cancelled any of their appearances tomorrow, nor have I found any comment by either campaign on Mr. Dodd's filibuster - that they stated they would support. Senator Biden has similarly not indicated any plans to go east, but according to third parties, his schedule tomorrow is unclear. We'll see.
In related news, the New York Times, unreliable though they are, report that the history of telecom direct and explicit violation of the law in providing domestic surveillance goes back before 2001, tho' it is of course dramatically wider and deeper post-2001. They reference testimony from former telecom employees and others discussion the widespread purely domestic warrantless illegal surveillance of Americans with full - and separately illegal - telecom support.
Let me restate: every bit of this was explicitly, specifically, and entirely illegal. But since the co-opted Justice Department refuses to investigate (and, in fact, is actively interfering with Congressional investigations into the destruction of torture evidence), and Congress refuses to do anything except try to cover it up (with the exceptions at this point of Senators Dodd, Feingold, and Kennedy), private lawsuits on the basis of this violation of law are the only investigative path remaining.
And this is Congress, Democrats and Republicans, working together, to close down that investigative channel and cover it up so that massive spying on Americans may be continued indefinitely, law and democracy be damned. And make no mistake: this is happening because the Democratic leadership wants it to happen just as much as the Republicans do. Period. End of story.
Get on those faxes (best, reportedly), email contact forms, and voice lines. Go. Now.
ETA: My letter to Senators Cantwell and Murray, below the cut. Please feel free to borrow from it, but do not copy it exactly.
( Sample letter )