Among the many steps leading a true Democracy to a complete fascist society is the alliance between large corporate entities and the government as well as the governments’ ability to spy on it’s own people “legally” ILLEGALLY.
Whatever happened to we The People? Today, the FISA bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 67-31 thus nullifying further fillibuster attempts by Senator Dodd. The bill had a proposed amendment by Senator Dodd and Russel Feingold that didn’t include retroactive immunity for the telecommunication giants, but it was categorically voted against by most Republicans including John McCain. The real question is now, to you the every man is what does this mean to me? What’s FISA? What’s retroactive immunity? Why would Bush veto any bill without retroactive immunity in it?
You may have heard George Bush’s rhetoric in his final state of the union where he declared that he would not able to effectively do his job to protect us from the terrorists if we didn’t rapidly renew his surveillance authority. What you may not know is that the bill he was referring to has been proposed several times in the Senate… Why would he need retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that illegally handed over your telephone recordings and information to the FBI and other Government agencies if he just wanted to protect us from a few loony jihadists?
The answer: 40 or so lawsuits pending against AT&T and Sprint Nextel for breaking the law by not requiring warrants would cost them a fortune. Does this not sound to you as though the Government has yet again chosen to aid the big corporation instead of letting it’s constitutional equal, the court system, decide if information was handed over illegally?
Fear of public disclosure of our intelligence gathering methods is no excuse for taking away our right to privacy, and right to seek justice against these corporations’ injunctions. If they were that scared about the techniques of intelligence gathering leaking to the public they could have the court records sealed. Everybody wins–the terrorists don’t know what we do to gather our intelligence, and the companies still pay the price for breaking the law.
If several cohorts and I decide to rob a bank and get caught by the IRS for tax fraud, can I cry to the government that they should pass a bill immunizing me because I’ll sell the banks secrets about where they hide their money and get immunity for all my crimes and all my bank robberies? Or should I have to suffer through a trial and be put away in prison for breaking the law like everyone else who isn’t Lindsey Lohan?
We the people are limited in our power against these large corporations, and the only method you have to protect yourself against injustices like this is to vote the proper legislator into office. So take a look for yourself at who voted in favor of this bill, and voice your disapproval and vote them out of office next time you have a chance.
One thing’s for sure, if one of those who decided not to show up to vote was running for the office of the Presidency, you may want to think twice about voting her way.
