This may surprise you all a bit, but I’m no blind supporter of President-Elect Obama. Just visually impaired. But even through the mists of my rose-colored spectacles, I can see when it’s time to take the man out to the woodshed for an intimate discussion with the Smack-o-Matic. This is that time. I discovered part …
Category Archive: FISA fuckery
Jul 24 2008
The Unintended Consequences of Unchecked Warrantless Wiretapping
Kevin Drum has an answer for all of those who dismiss the dangers of the government’s dramatic new warrantless wiretapping powers by believing the same government that brought us torture, unending war in Iraq, unprecidented levels of secrecy and lawlessness, and a slew of politically-motivated hirings, firings and prosecutions will nevertheless confine themselves to only …
Jul 22 2008
Bob Barr Endorses the Constitution
It’s no secret I’m thrilled that Bob Barr is running for President. I’m hoping he’ll draw off a good number of reluctant McCain supporters: he’s just conservative enough to manage it. And now I have a whole new reason to recommend him: he’s a privacy advocate who’s decided that FISA is poison to privacy. He’s …
Jul 12 2008
We’ve Lost the Battle – But the War Must Go On
So. A travesty of a surveillance bill has passed. The Powers that Be seem to expect the furor to die down now that the FISA amendment’s a done deal. Some former defenders of civil liberties might buy the argument that “I’m not a terrorist, I don’t talk to terrorists, so FISA ain’t nuthin’ to me!” …
Jul 10 2008
Dangerous, Arrogant Children Playing Spy Games
This Salon article, written by Jon B. Eisenberg, is a truly extraordinary glimpse inside the inane attempts of the Bush Regime to keep their warrantless wiretapping program secure. Allow me to sum up. Mr. Eisenberg and his fellow attorneys are representing one of the victims of Bush’s illegal surveillance program, the charity Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation …
Jul 09 2008
Profaning the Sacred
You’d think nobody had ever abused a Communion wafer before: Here’s a story that will destroy your hopes for a reasonable humanity. Webster Cook says he smuggled a Eucharist, a small bread wafer that to Catholics symbolic of the Body of Christ after a priest blesses it, out of mass, didn’t eat it as he …
Jul 07 2008
FISA Zombie Returns!
On July 8th, the FISA zombie’s lurching back into the Senate for yet another attack on American civil liberties and the rule of law. You know what to do: If you need reminding of just how odious this bill is, go here. For a stirring reminder that oh, yeah, Americans are supposed to be against …
Jun 29 2008
Fourth Amendment Gets a Stay of Execution – File Your Amicus Brief Now!
The FISA zombie lurches on, which gives us some hope of defeating the thing. It’s the same hope I have of getting an email from a publisher this year saying, “Oh, hey, saw your blog, went to your website, how about a million dollar advance so you can quit your job and write that book, …
Jun 27 2008
Et Tu, Brute?
I think most of us remember when Keith Olbermann hit one out of the park for law and civil liberty. He delivered a scorching Special Comment on the FISA fuckery, and for a moment, there was hope that a truly noxious bill would get annihilated by mainstream media scorn. Olbermann was one of the heroes. …
Jun 24 2008
Back Into the FISA Fray
Wednesday. That’s when mcjoan says we can expect the Senate to turn their loving attention to the FISA fiasco and put the final stake in the heart of our Fourth Amendment. Man the phones, my darlings. Let the Senate know we stand squarely against this legislative poison: The objective is to strip immunity from the …
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