FISA

You haven’t heard from me in some time. I’ve been in a chemically induced haze for some time now. Yes it was legal. It is called Chemotherapy. I’ve been unable to string together a sentence let alone an idea, but I think it is over now, at least semi permanently. I’d like to think one of you missed me.

I’ve had to skip on some really interesting topics but I think I’ve come back to an important subject, FISA. FISA requires the government to get a warrant to eaves drop on us. To be responsive to immediate threats they, the FBI etal have 72 hours (3 days) after the wire tap, or whatever the method used, to apply for the warrants. Seems to me plenty of time, the government has millions of lawyers.

For some reason we haven’t learned yet, the Bush administration didn’t want to be second guessed by no "stinkin" court so he blew around it as he has other laws and had the NSA and all but Qwest of the major telecoms start spying on us without FISA notification.

I don’t know how that leaked out but it did.

I copied this bit of drivel from a right wing thing I subscribe to, HUMAN EVENTS, written by one Jeb Babbin.

The compromise has been in development since an interim FISA repair expired. It provides a face-saving level of success to the trial lawyers’ lobby and its dedicated ally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A bipartisan bill -- giving telecommunications companies retroactive immunity from civil lawsuits arising from cooperation in the National Security Agency’s program -- had passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote last fall.

That bill hit a wall when the trial lawyers asked Pelosi to preserve their chance to earn huge contingency fees in lawsuits against the telecoms alleging the sort of class-action tort claims used to blackmail big companies into high-dollar settlements. There are at least forty such suits already in the federal courts. The cases are brought on behalf of people who don’t know if they’ve been listened to and -- because they haven’t been hurt by whatever may or may not have been done -- can only speculate about how they might have been damaged.

Now understand that trial lawyers might make a profit if the courts find the Telecoms violated the laws of the land. Is there something wrong with that? Why are they spending so much to get immunity if they think they were following the law? Well that’s for you to decide.

No one will tell the extent of this illegal spying. To hear the Bush version it was all about "terrorists" but many, including me, believe he was spying on the Democratic party as well, just like Nixon. The telecoms know, but they won’t tell because Bush is promising immunity from the laws they violated if they don’t tell. Big bucks are at stake for the telecoms, they are paying millions for ads and lobbyists explaining how they were only doing their duty to their country. If it were true, they would be able to show exactly whom they targeted and why, but they don’t.

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We will never know if immunity is granted.

The issue is before the Congress now. Write, call or email your representative and Senators and tell them to vote against the Telecom immunity plan.

Thank you.

Sleep well tonight.

Pat Chandler

PS. Now I’m going to be on vacation for a week, see you then.