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Liberty and FISA Amendments Act of 2008

Jul 10 at 1:01pm by Jagwire X

Bill of Rights

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 is a particularly pernicious piece of legislation.  It denigrates our liberty and removes our guaranteed rights.

I’d like to share with a few pertinent quotes:

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

—Benjamin Franklin

Suspicion is a virtue as long as its object is the public good, and as long as it stays within proper bounds. … Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that precious jewel.

—Patrick Henry

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it.

—Thomas Jefferson

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.

—George Washington

If God is truly just, I tremble for the fate of my country

—Gibson Haynes

Take a moment and contemplate those quotes.

Now consider this:

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 has the following effects:

• The provisions of the bill granting immunity to the complicit telecoms create a roadblock for a number of lawsuits intended to expose and thwart the alleged abuses of power and illegal activities of the federal government since and before the September 11th attacks.
• The bill expands the power of the federal government in conducting warrantless surveillance and strips the requirements for judicial oversight, effectively enabling unlimited government surveillance of any citizen of the United States for any reason.
• Allows the government to conduct unapproved warrantless surveillance of any person for up to one week (168 hours) without any judicial oversight.

The Bill of Rights guarantees in the Fourth Amendment Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 effectively negates the Fourth Amendment. That being:

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.

Our liberty is being taken away from us one amendment at a time.  Why are you being so complacent?  Why are you not up in arms over this?  The founders of this great country would shake their heads in shame at our government’s behavior and ours.

Call your congressmen and senators and urge them to repeal the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.  It’s unconstitutional and illegal.  One more quote from one of the founding fathers, in case you still don’t get it.

The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty.

—Thomas Jefferson

Further reading:

• Senate Accepts Retroactive Immunity for Telecoms
• FISA Amendments Act of 2008 - WikiPedia Article
• H.R. 3773: FISA Amendments Act of 2008 - Full Text
• The new FISA compromise: it’s worse than you think - Ars Technica

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