FISA Bill Compromise Sticks a Knife in Constitution
Do you remember a couple of years ago when most of our “great” telecommunications company handed over all of our personal communication histories to the federal government? Well, the United States Senate voted yesterday to grant blanket, retroactive immunity to all of those corporations for such action. This is a slap in the face to anyone who values the Constitution of the United States and the liberties granted by the constitution.
Thankfully, the House didn’t include the retroactive immunity provision in their version of the bill, so there’s still time to email or call your Congresspeople. TAKE ACTION TO OPPOSE THIS BILL!
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
There was no warrant issued when the Bush Administration asked for all of our personal data from phone and internet operators. There was no probable cause, affirmation, or description of the things to be searched or seized. Clearly, the Bush Administration overstepped its legal boundaries. But more than that, our mighty corporate leaders, no doubt fixated on the almighty dollar, just handed over our personal data with no questions asked. The corporations should be punished punitively, and the CEOs and anyone else complicit in the giving away of our personal details should be prosecuted criminally.
It seems that at least one U.S. Senator doesn’t have his head up his ass. Check out this video of Russ Feingold opposing the bill in question. He says, “It’s a joke.” And he is right. Read a letter from Feingold and Sen. Chris Dodd to the Democratic Leadership.
Our two major party Presidential candidates have both given their unwavering support to this affront to our sacred Constitution. Both Barack Obama and John McCain flag-wavingly voted for the bill, and, in the process, have vindicated George W. Bush’s Constitutional power grab on the issue.