Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Spying is legal now

Senate Approves Telecom Immunity and New Eavesdropping Rules
WASHINGTON (AP) --The Senate has approved a bill overhauling the rules on secret government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telecom companies that helped listen in on Americans after Sept. 11.

The Senate passed the bill Wednesday, 69-28. It turned back three amendments that would have watered down, delayed or stripped away the immunity provision demanded by President Bush.
Every Republican voted for it. They were joined by Democrats Bayh - Carper - Casey - Conrad - Dorgan - Feinstein - Innuoye - Kohl - Landrieu - Lincoln - McCaskill - Mukulski - Nelson (Neb.) - Nelson (Fla.) - Obama - Pryor - Rockefeller - Salazar - Webb - Whitehouse.

Things we learned: the Constitution was more of a list of suggestions not any binding laws or anything. No one was using the 4th Amendment anyway. What's Rule of Law? As long as someone tells you it's legal, you can do it and get away with it. Corporations have rights, you do not. When everyone admits you flagrantly broke the law and commited a felony, the best thing to do is cover it up and let you off without so much as a warning. When Republicans get everything they want and more, that's called a compromise. Humping the Hope & Change pony doesn't really mean shit when you don't have the stones to back it up. Jay Rockefeller, Steny Hoyer and a bunch of other Democrats need to be beaten with a sack full of oranges and buried in a swamp.

EDIT: Go thank the ACLU.
“Once again, Congress blinked and succumbed to the president’s fear-mongering. With today’s vote, the government has been given a green light to expand its power to spy on Americans and run roughshod over the Constitution,” said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “This legislation will give the government unfettered and unchecked access to innocent Americans’ international communications without a warrant. This is not only unconstitutional, but absolutely un-American.”

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