F.I.S.A "modernization" bill - ALERT!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291704,00.html

"Democrats Optimistic on Terror Surveillance Compromise

WASHINGTON —  Democratic congressional leaders said Wednesday they want to expand the government's surveillance authority over suspected terrorists and get it done before going on recess at week's end. But they remain in a stalemate with President Bush over spending, with no signs of progress.

The administration is pushing to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to allow surveillance without a warrant of terror suspects who are overseas. The proposal, offered late last week by Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, is designed to fix what the White House says is a glaring problem: the missing of significant foreign intelligence that could protect the country against terrorist attacks.

"To the extent that more flexibility is needed, as Director McConnell has indicated, we are prepared to make those accommodations under the law," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after congressional leaders met with Bush at the White House Wednesday. "We hope to do that this week."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he, too, thought the matter would be worked out. But he would not predict timing, as Pelosi did.

"In the Senate, I don't promise any legislation," Reid said. He said the hang-up is "what the involvement of the attorney general will be."

Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate have openly questioned the truthfulness of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whom they also accuse of helping Bush exploit executive power at the expense of civil liberties and possibly beyond the law on an array of matters.

The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, said he saw bipartisan willingness to get the legislation done before the Congress goes into recess.

The White House responded with measured optimism.

"I think they understand and appreciate the importance," Bush spokesman Tony Snow said of Democratic leaders. "We will see."

The administration believes the FISA court under existing law must approve certain spying because many conversations and contacts taking place overseas are routed through U.S.-based communication carriers, satellites or Internet providers.

Its latest proposal is narrower than what the administration sought in April: a slew of changes to the 1978 FISA law.

That law created a court which meets in secret to review applications from the FBI, the NSA and other agencies to investigate suspected spies, terrorists or other national security threats. Shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush authorized the NSA to eavesdrop — without requiring a warrant beforehand from the FISA court — on calls between people in the U.S. and others overseas when terrorism is suspected.

After the program became public and was challenged in court, Bush earlier this year put it under FISA court supervision."

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People - this FISA "modernization" act is a sham that absolutely MUST be stopped. It is simply a massive increase in the governments' ability to ILLEGALLY spy on legitmate, legal citizens and will give the government retroactive cover and blessing for all the spying already done.

PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS (BOTH OF THEM!)  - TODAY!

http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=wLTy2l1xN1dBwouswh0cAg..

   * Action Alert: Call Congress Now - NSA Spying Bill Headed
for Vote This Week!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that Congress may take
action this week on a bill that could rubberstamp the NSA's
spying program. The Bush Administration is trying to sell
its latest proposal as a serious compromise, but don't be
fooled -- it represents an unprecedented power grab that
endangers the checks and balances that define our
democracy. Please call your representatives now before it's
too late:
http://action.eff.org/fisa

Contrary to the Administration's characterizations, its
"FISA Modernization" bill is not simply about updating the
law and allowing surveillance of foreign-to-foreign
communications. Instead, it could radically expand the
government's ability to spy on Americans without a warrant.

On its own terms, this bill is awful, and it's highly
irresponsible for Congress to even consider it before
uncovering the truth about the still-shadowy spying
program. In recent weeks, Congress has made strides towards
more vigorous oversight and authorized subpoenas for key
information, but the proposed bill would short-circuit such
scrutiny.

Tell your representatives to stand strong against the
Administration and stop the abuse of surveillance powers:
http://action.eff.org/fisa

"Bush Urges Congress to Update Terrorism Surveillance
Program," (Bloomberg, July 28):
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...VL7fOo&refer=us

To learn about EFF's case against AT&T for its role in the
spying program:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att

For this post and related links:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005382.php

Pete

CALL TODAY! 

 

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http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/31/congress.gonzales/index.html

"Spy chief: Anti-terrorist programs MORE EXTENSIVE THAN ACKNOWLEDGED

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration's anti-terrorist surveillance efforts are more extensive than top officials have acknowledged, going beyond the controversial no-warrant eavesdropping program, the U.S. intelligence chief said Tuesday."

....

"In a letter defending the embattled attorney general, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell states that eavesdropping is JUST ONE of the programs President Bush authorized after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

"This is the only aspect of the NSA activities that can be discussed publicly because it is the only aspect of those various activities whose existence has been fully acknowledged," McConnell wrote."

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What's it gonna take, people, before you finally realize that the government wants to - quite literally - stick a microphone and a videocam up your ass and RECORD YOUR WHOLE LIFE so that you can wind up being a "file" in some super-secret government agency?

FIGHT IT! They're behind on "1984" - but they're doing their level-best to catch up and SURPASS that! Pete

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 (The following are qoutes from the UN-classified version of the "modernization" act - there is also a CLASSIFIED version, which of course, we'll never get to see or know the details of...) -
»www.usdoj.gov/nsd/pdf/ODNIintell···3-07.pdf

(First brief mention of "cover my ass")

‘‘(h) LIABILITY.—No cause of action shall lie in any court against any person for providing any information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with a directive under this section."

(MAIN ***RETROACTIVE*** "Cover my ass"):

SEC. 408. LIABILITY DEFENSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other law, and in addition to the immunities, privileges, and defenses provided by any other source of law, no action shall lie or be maintained in any court, and no penalty, sanction, or other form of remedy or relief shall be imposed by any court or any other body, against any person for the alleged provision to an element of the intelligence community of any information (including records or other information pertaining to a customer), facilities, or any other form of assistance, during the period of time beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on the date that is the effective date of this Act, in connection with any alleged classified communications intelligence activity that the Attorney General or a designee of the Attorney General certifies, in a manner consistent with the protection of State secrets, is, was, would be, or would have been intended to protect the United States from a terrorist attack. This section shall apply to all actions, claims, or proceedings pending on or after the effective date of this Act.

This is their own explanation of Section 408:Liability Defense.
Telecommunications providers who are alleged to have assisted the government with intelligence activities after September 11th have faced numerous lawsuits as a result of their alleged activities in support of the government’s efforts to prevent another terrorist attack. Companies that cooperate with the Government in the war on terror deserve our appreciation and protection – not litigation. This provision would protect providers from liability based upon allegations that they assisted the government in connection with alleged classified communications intelligence activities intended to protect the United States from a terrorist attack since September 11, 2001. Section 408 also provides for the removal of any such actions from state to federal court."

This totally defeats ALL previous, current and FUTURE lawsuits against AT&T and similar telcos who have been handing over your phone calls and Internet activities to the government illegally - INSTANTLY.

Hope you're down wid dat. Pete

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Thanks  in part to the massive  non-involvement of people from places like this, the FISA modernization bill passed:

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Aug03/0,4...illance,00.html

"Senate Passes Bush Spy Bill

The Senate vote was 60-28. Both parties had agreed to require 60 votes for passage."

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292140,00.html

"House Passes Foreign Surveillance Bill

WASHINGTON — The House handed President Bush a victory Saturday, voting to expand the government's abilities to eavesdrop without warrants on foreign suspects whose communications pass through the United States.

The 227-183 vote, which followed the Senate's approval Friday, sends the bill to Bush for his signature. He had urged Congress to approve it, saying Saturday, "Protecting America is our most solemn obligation." "

 Amazing how many "computer glitches"/"procedural errors" they had yesterday, isn't it?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/...litical-tangle/

"August 3, 2007
House computer glitch adds to political tangle
WASHINGTON (CNN) – The House of Representatives slammed into its second dead-stop in a day, after 24 hours of wild political maneuvering was topped by a computer failure in the chamber’s voting system.

“It’s obvious we have a technical problem,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland. A chamber full of impatient and skeptical members replied with catcalls and groans.

The problem appeared after Rep. Heather Wilson, R-New Mexico, moved to adjourn the House as a way to block a Democratic proposal on the nation’s surveillance law. But members quickly realized electronic monitors were not working. Members in the chamber couldn’t tell if their votes had been counted and representatives in their offices could not gauge how much time was left to cast their votes.

“We’re in a very awkward situation here,” said Rep. David Dreier, R-California, who is the top Republican on the Rules Committee. “The House may have just adjourned for all we know.”

After some 15 minutes of headscratching, the House recessed to allow engineers to fix the problem. Democrats promised a revote on adjournment.

The House reconvened after the computer glitch and revoted, after 4 p.m. on Friday, on Wilson’s motion to adjourn. The House took up the revised intelligence bill and will work next on a $250 million appropriation bill to help recovery from the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

All of this came less than a day after a controversial House vote led Republicans to stomp off the floor. Republicans claimed voting boards showed them winning a motion 215-213 but Rep. Michael McNulty, D-New York, announced the vote had failed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later said McNulty banged his gavel down early, after a few votes had been entered but not yet processed. She and other Democratic leaders insist the final tally was 212-216."

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Gotta wonder how accurate (truthful) the "roll call" vote tally's were - especially given the fact that in the Senate, it barely made the required number of votes to pass.

But I digress. Pete

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Didn't I hear the bill was passed? 

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Yes, the bill was passed last night - I watched the whole thing on C-SPAN, including the 45 minutes of debate prior to the vote.

I stated that it passed in the first sentence of my previous post. Pete

*And I'm quite sure Bush will be crowing about it Monday morning and signing it into  "law" bright-and-early - with a grinning Gonzales by his side.

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 Well, at least the E.F.F intends to keep fighting that particular bill:

"* Action Alert: Push Congress Back Into the Wiretapping
Fight to Restore your Rights

Last week, Congress passed horrible legislation that
broadly expands the National Security Agency's authority to
spy on Americans without warrants. Now Congress needs to
undo the damage as soon as possible, and to make it do
that, it needs to hear from you:
http://action.eff.org/fisa

By capitulating to the President's demands for sweeping new
surveillance powers, Congress not only trampled on your
Constitutional rights but also disregarded its own
Constitutional duties. The law permits warrantless
surveillance of "persons reasonably believed to be located
outside the United States," even when they are U.S.
citizens or are communicating with U.S. citizens, with no
prior court approval and only minimal court oversight.
Rather than setting meaningful boundaries on the Executive,
Congress essentially handed him a blank check to invade
Americans' privacy.

The most important check on government surveillance still
remains though. It's you. Tell your representatives to
repeal this legislation and restore your rights now:
http://action.eff.org/fisa

Congress' actions are particularly disgraceful given how
the Administration has concealed the truth about its
illegal spying. The President only revealed the so-called
"Terrorist Surveillance Program" when press reports forced
his hand in December 2005, and, after the Administration
deliberately evaded numerous Congressional inquiries, it
took the threat of possible perjury charges for the
Attorney General to concede last week that the program was
broader than first admitted. In its haste to pass
legislation, Congress was essentially flying blind, yet it
caved in to the Administration's fear-mongering anyway.

This is a knockdown -- but far from a knockout -- in the
battle to stop the government's warrantless domestic
surveillance. The fight is not over, and, if you push them
hard enough, Congress still has a chance to set things
right.

For our part, EFF's case continues forward against AT&T for
illegally collaborating with the government, with a hearing
before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals next Wednesday.
We'll keep battling in the courts to uphold the
Constitution and restore your rights.

We will also be taking the fight back to Congress, and for
that we need your help. It's up to you to hold your
representatives accountable for either allowing this
egregious change or supporting it outright. Don't let them
think for a second that this went unnoticed: send them a
letter, call them to voice your opposition, and visit their
home offices in your district during the August recess.
Spread the word to your friends and family about what
Congress has done and urge them to take action, too.

Fortunately, the law has a sunset date, and, more
importantly, Congressional leaders are already signaling
that they want to revise the law before then. Restoring
protections for your fundamental rights shouldn't wait even
a day. Neither should our efforts to make sure that happens
-- take action now:
http://action.eff.org/fisa

Read the Center for National Security Studies analysis of
the bill:
http://www.cnss.org/CNSS%20Views%20on%20S1927.htm

For EFF's case against AT&T:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att

For EFF's page on the NSA's Warrantless Domestic
Surveillance:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/NSA/

See EFF's earlier article, "Administration Concedes Open
Secret: NSA Spying Broader Than Previously Admitted":
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005386.php

For this post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005395.php "

Could you take the time to message your Reps about it? Just use the link:

 http://action.eff.org/fisa

 

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ACLU petition to Reid and Pelosi:

http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=RHK0BZ-kurMKdftEq2MSng..

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http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/nsa/

Two articles:

Lawyers Decry New Spy Law as Unconstitutional, Urge Federal Judge to Toss It
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/lawyers-decry-n.html

BREAKING: Citing Four-Day Old Surveillance Law, Bush Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit Challenging NSA Spying
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/citing-four-day.html

There now - that didn't take long, now did it? Pete

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If its for Bush a federal judge most likely wont toss it. At this point I wonder how many judges dont answer to the UN.

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I don't support ANYTHING that involves the ACLU...they are responsible for killing the heritage and culture in this country. The ACLU can go fly a kite...

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Try and see past the end of your nose for about five minutes, would you? Your little pet peeve with the ACLU is so short-sighted as to be laughable (not to mention pathetic).

The fact of the matter is that the ACLU is only one of the organizations that were against the FISA "modernization" (otherwise now known by the touchy-feely title "the Protect America Act of 2007" (isn't it amazing that people keep falling for the same old tyranny-ridden crap as long as it has a "patriotic"-sounding name? You'd think people would wise up!).

Now - read all these and then come back and tell me that they're all wrong:

http://www.cdt.org/headlines/1035

https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr004=sxfhd77wk2.app13b&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=270

http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_14.16.html

EVERY major privacy/freedoms organization was AGAINST THIS BILL! 

Can you get that through your head, or are you going to continue to let your narrow-minded hatred of the ACLU blind you to that fact?

 

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We are at war with Muslim extremists who took the life of a fireman friend of mine on 9/11 when the first tower fell. 

I have valid reasons for hating an organization like the ACLU...they HATE America, HATE Christians and love to steal money from small municipalities when they bring their BS cases to court and FORCE the community members to pick up the legal tab. I don't support someone who is tearing my country to shreds.

 

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Didn't ask you to support them - I'm telling you that throwing the baby (the truth about the modernization bill) out with the bath water (the ACLU) is ignorant.

Why haven't you got a single thing to say about the information and views of the other three organizations I linked to? 

You know - anything pertinent to the actual information being discussed? Pete

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They ACLU are the biggest twisters of our constitution.

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Do you really think we could trust the ACLU not to shift midstream and sink our boat? I dont know if I could trust them at all. I have a problem thats been years old and finally a newspaper wanted to do the story. I found out this organization fights for illegals immigrants and goes after Lou Dobbs with law suits. I told them nevermind. A snake is a snake. Its like the story of the fox crossing the river and the gingerbread man crossing the river. The fox offers to carry the gingerbread man and points out he wont get across the river without him. So the gingerbread man complies. Half way across he tips up his nose and forces the little man into his mouth and puff hes gone. What did he expect. He trusted a fox. duh.

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bugysgirl, you always seem to have a bunch to say.  Trouble for me is I can't make heads nor tails of much of it.

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Remember, do not respond to baiting. Do not feed trolls!

Maybe this new FISA bill will help prevent another 9/11. I am not afraid of it as I have nothing to hide from anyone. I guess if people are super paranoid, they begin to believe "Big Brother" is everywhere. This is only my opinion, but we are at war.....this bill will help with the cell phones and other materials found in Iraq and Afghanistan EVERY DAY. Many of the cell phones found have American phone numbers on them ...why should a soldier thousands of miles away have to stop what he is doing to get a court order to check out the phone number on a phone that was confiscated from a KNOWN terrorist? To me, there is something very LIBERAL and unjust about those circumstances....a court order during war time....typical of the Democrats to want to tie the hands of those who are trying to prevent another attack in this country as well as hunt these people down overseas.

I am sorry, I just do not agree with you spy1...you make some very good points, but this is MY opinion.

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I agree john.

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