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
What you missed while watching the war
Apr 8 at 2:02pm by Jagwire X
New York Stock Exchange
The Supreme Court hands a big victory to corporations. They have limited the punitive damages awarded to victims of corporations. Since the only language corporations understand is profits and losses, the supreme court has effectively dismantled the right of a citizen to sue a corporation into compliance. Corporations will now have even less of a motive to follow the law knowing that the awards they pay out will never significantly impact their bottom line.
Did you see this in your local paper? No, it was all war talk. It’s one of the benefits of All War All the Time. It allows for a distracted public while the Radical Right Wing can further insure that the United States is a republic for business and not for its citizens.
Read all about it in The Financial Times.
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