Posts tagged “backbone wiretap”

EFF still fighting Bush’s unconstitutional wiretaps and the U.S. Congress’ unconstitutional telecom immunity

Believe it or not, I am still interested in things outside the presidential election. I am a big fan and supporter of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). I think their work is some of the most important civil action going on in the United States these days. That’s why I’m so proud they are still fighting for an American public that is largely asleep at the wheel. I’m talking about the unconstitutional wiretapping that has been going on for years (and continues today) with the explicit support of the major telecommunications companies in this country. I’m also talking about the unconstitutional, retroactive immunity that was given to those same companies this past summer by the U.S. Congress (Note: Obama voted in favor of it, McCain didn’t vote on the issue).

Well, the EFF filed suit on Thursday in Federal Court, challenging the constitutionality of both the legislative and executive branches of our government in the above actions. As the EFF filing puts it,

The immunity law puts the fox in charge of the hen house, letting the Attorney General decide whether or not telecoms like AT&T can be sued for participating in the government’s illegal warrantless surveillance,” said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. “In our constitutional system, it is the judiciary’s role as a co-equal branch of government to determine the scope of the surveillance and rule on whether it is legal, not the executive’s. The Attorney General should not be allowed to unconstitutionally play judge and jury in these cases, which affect the privacy of millions of Americans.Opposition Brief
Electronic Frontier Foundation

Here, here! I’m thankful to have the EFF fighting on my behalf. You should be, too. You can donate to them here.

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Quotable: Michael Mukasey

Our Attorney General, driving us further into the Orwellian nightmare that is telecom immunity and the internet “dragnet”:

Specific information demonstrating that the alleged dragnet has not occurred cannot be disclosed on the public record without causing exceptional harm to national security. However, because there was no such alleged content-dragnet, no provider participated in that alleged activity.Michael Mukasey
U.S. Attorney General

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Olberman saves Obama’s bacon, for the moment

I’d been planning on writing a tirade against Obama and his support for the criminal FISA bill. Instead, thanks to the tutelage of Messrs. Olberman and Dean, I can just wait and see what happens. I’ve never been a doting supporter of Obama. He is, after all, a career politician and therefore beyond trust. But he did represent the most-electable hope for change and change is what we should be seeking as a nation (for best hope for change, see Ron Paul). Watch the video and then join me for a couple thoughts after the jump. It gets particularly excellent around the 7:30 mark. Kinda long, yes, but isn’t the aforementioned possibility of ACTUAL justice worth waiting for?

MSNBC: Keith Olberman on Obama's FISA opportunity


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