Congress Considers Renewal Of Atrocious Surveillance Law

Why should the Democrats begiven more power, when they can’t seem to properly handle the power they have now? Congress Considers Renewal of Atrocious Surveillance LawBy Cliff Montgomery – Jan. 24th, 2008Senate GOP members on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Majority Leader Harry Reid to extend the life of an ill-conceived surveillance law set to expire on Feb. 1st. Such an action raises the potential for a vote in the next few days on a re-working of the statute.We at seriously doubt that at this late date, the Republican leadership is interested in stopping the Bush Administration’s abuse of power. But so far they have at least kept this wrong-headed legislation from being extended.Reid (D-NV)–who apparently is working overtime to destroy what little good will Americans still feel for the Democratic leadership of the Senate–tried and failed to create a unanimous consent for an extension of the so-called Protect America Act.Some wags have taken to calling the Bush-supported statute the “Destroy America Act”, since it may be used to eliminate the privacy protections of Americans without court oversight.In August 2007, the gutless wonders who make up the Democratic Congress decided to support the Bush Administration’s desire to “reform” the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). In Washington double-speak, “reform” is code for “dismantle”, in truth if not always in deed.The statute redefines the meaning of the term, “electronic surveillance,” and thus indirectly gives this administration a vastly stronger capacity to spy on any person in America, citizen and non-citizen alike–an action that previously had required court approval when done inside U.S. borders.Bush’s now massive spying powers quietly allow his White House to run far more tyrannical spy operations than wiretapping.Now the same administration which claims the absolute powers of an empire may–at any moment it suits our Idiot King’s gracious pleasure–begin performing some types of physical searches on U.S. soil and demanding the seizure of any Americans’ business records, all without proving just cause in a court of law, the August 18th edition of The New York Times quoted legal experts as saying.The act is such a clear threat to liberty that no less a legal expert than the president of the American Bar Association publicly declared in Aug. 2007 that Congress should “move at once” to rescind the ill-conceived legislation the moment it may achieve that end.Reid has planned to bring competing versions of a FISA update to the Senate floor today. If one of the proposed updates is not approved by the end of the day, Reid promises to force the Senate into a weekend discussion of a legal update no lover of liberty wants to see.But there may be a method to Reid’s apparent madness. Such actions may be part of a plan by top Dems to simply freeze things as they are now, in the hopes that a Democrat will be elected to the presidency in 2008.The House yesterday referred a bill both to its Judiciary Committee and to its Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which would add 30 days to the FISA extension now being considered.The text of the bill is simple enough. It simply states that Congress should amend “Section 6(c) of the Protect America Act of 2007…by striking `180 days’ and inserting `210 days’ ” in its place.While we don’t claim to read minds, it seems that congressional Dems may be hoping to wait out the clock on the Bush White House. If so, they should remember that they were given the reigns to both houses of Congress in November 2006 to stand up to an out-of-control administration–not to give it what it wants and simply hope to wait out its remaining days.Otherwise people may ask themselves a simple question in November 2008: Why should the Democrats be given more power, when they can’t seem to properly handle the power they have now?Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!