George Bush's Law Breaking Buddy, Harry Reid

Glenn Greenwald has an interesting article on how Harry Reid is unserious, to say the least, about the rule of law.

Reid and friends aren't merely refusing to stand with Dodd. They're not even merely impeding what he's doing. They're actually attacking him, impugning his motives, dismissing his efforts as insincere and worthless.

It's just undeniably true that the most important allies which the Bush/Cheney machine have now are Congressional Democratic leaders. Hence, the motives of Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold and their allies are highly suspect ("grandstanding"), but the good faith of the President and the telecoms in illegally spying on Americans is above and beyond reproach. That's the Harry-Reid-led Democratic Senate speaking.

via Salon

Here's a list of the statutes the telecom industry violated, via Electronic Frontier Foundation

It's the Constitution, stupid

Telecom Immunity

updateHarry Reid delays vote because of the amount of amendements brought to the FISA (Telecom) Bill. Yeah!! While this does not mean the battle is over, but it give you more time to contact your Senator.

Glenn Greewald has a great article over at Salon about what a travesty the notion of telecom immunity actuallly is.

Here's the "money quote" that says it all:

More than anything else, what these revelations highlight -- yet again -- is that the U.S. has become precisely the kind of surveillance state that we were always told was the hallmark of tyrannical societies, with literally no limits on the government's ability or willingness to spy on its own citizens and to maintain vast dossiers on those activities. The vast bulk of those on whom the Government spies have never been accused, let alone convicted, of having done anything wrong. One can dismiss those observations as hyperbole if one likes -- people want to believe that their own government is basically benevolent and "tyranny" is something that happens somewhere else -- but publicly available facts simply compel the conclusion that, by definition, we live in a lawless surveillance state, and most of our political officials are indifferent to, if not supportive of, that development.

and:

As Dan Froomkin observed this week: "Historians looking back on the Bush presidency may well wonder if Congress actually existed." In actuality, Congress exists -- as a vital enabling arm of the most extreme abuses of the Bush administration. Could anyone wishing to dispute that depressing fact muster any evidence at all in service of their argument? I don't believe so.

None of the candidates for the Presidency, save Chris Dodd and Ron Paul, have said anything about this truly anti-constitutional, lawless act.

Chris Dodd is going to fillibuster the vote on telecom immunity because he is the only one of the Democratic Presidential candiates that, it would seem, feels our country is not supposed to be run by the rule of men and fear, but by the rule of law.

Send a note to Russ Feingold and Edward Kennedy, the other Democrats that are supporting Dodd's filibuster.

Send you suppot to Senator Dodd at this critical time.

Call you Senator

Read the whole thing

New Slogan: It's The Constitution, Stupid!

update It seems Bush wanted to do this two weeks after entering office

via Andrew Sullvan

No No Retroactive Immunity For Phone Companies

No Retroactive Immunity