ACLU and EFF suits challenge FISA Amendments
Jul 16 at 3:03pm by Jagwire X
ACLU
The American Civil Liberities Union filed a Motion For Leave To Participate In FISC Proceedings Required By The FISA Amendments Act Of 2008 in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court, requesting that all proceedings regarding the constitutionality of the FISA law be open to the public and transparent. This is contrary to how the secretive FISA court normally operates. As part of the action the ACLU requests that the proceedings be adversarial (i.e., that the ACLU or others as opposed to just the Government can participate in the FISA court).
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Additionally the ACLU filed another action in federal court in the Southern District of New York, alleging that the terms of which grants massive new warrantless eavesdropping powers in the President violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The ACLU’s lawsuits do not challenge the constitutionality of the telecom immunity provisions of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 because those sections will be challenged by Electronic Frontier Foundation and local/affiliate ACLU groups in separate actions regarding NSA Spying.
ACLU Challenges Unconstitutional Spying Law
Jul 10 at 6:06pm by Jagwire X
ACLU
Yes! That’s exactly what the American Civil Liberties Union is for.
Both Congress and the House of Representative succumbed to the manipulation and scare tactics of the Bush administration. Both warrantless wiretapping and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 are abuses of federal power and must be challenged. The next step is to take it to court. I don’t see how it can not be overturned, but with the way things are being run now anything is possible.
In July 2008, Congress capitulated to the White House’s demands and scare tactics by passing the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, giving the NSA even more power to spy on Americans without warrants than it exercised under its illegal surveillance program. The ACLU is asking the court to protect the privacy rights of all Americans and declare the FAA unconstitutional.
Read more about the ACLU Challenging the unconstitutional spying law at the ACLU’s website and sign up via Firedoglake to have you name included in the in the full-page ad in a major national newspaper protesting the the FISA Amendments Act.
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
FISA Passes Senate
Jul 9 at 2:02pm by Jagwire X
Talking Points Memo
From Talking Points Memo - FISA Passes Senate
FISA Passes Senate
07.09.08 — 3:10PM
By David KurtzThe final vote was a rout: 69-28.
No surprises here. Just the weight of disappointment.
Late Update: Worth noting that Hillary voted against the bill, while Obama –as we’ve noted here before — changed positions on telecom immunity and voted for the bill.
To paraphrase Mark Twain:
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of the Senate (Congress). But I repeat myself.
An Open Letter To Senator Obama: Vote NO On Telecom Immunity
Jul 9 at 11:11am by Jagwire X
Barack Obama
Barack Obama, the people who support you are speaking loudly and clearly. I believe you will hear them and will uphold your promise to oppose any FISA bill which includes immunity for for the telecommunications companies which unlawfully went along with President George W. Bush’s program of warrantless wiretapping of ordinary American citizens.
Email Privacy Warning
Feb 13 at 11:11am by Jagwire X
Early Encryption Scheme - Enigma
Here’s a nice warning message to attach to your emails:
Warning: All contents of this email and all other communications by citizens of the United States to other citizens and non-citizens subject to unconsititutional, extralegal searches by the National Security Agency under the executive order of George W. Bush. This action is in violation of Foreign Intelligence Services Act (FISA) of 1978 (Title 50 U.S.C. §§1801-1811, 1821-29, 1841-46, and 1861-62). Impeachment of George Bush by Congress, as stipulated for such executive offenses by the Framers of the Constitution, is possible and pending.
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