FISA Update

Hey folks,

I just posted this Friday “From The Emails” segment. I said this.

“It's FRIDAY. Time to go to the Emails. This week, I got a lot about the Global Warming bunk, I may touch on some of these this Weekend. But this one needs to be brought back to the forefront of peoples' minds. The mass media have all but forgotten about this. Even the usual Radio suspects have all but forgotten about this. No one seems to want to talk about this. Right now the big news, that is getting bigger, is the Hooker that brought down Spitzer. She has had over a million hits on her blog in 24 hours. She has two songs for sale on line, .98 cents a piece, over a million downloads. She will become more famous than Monica Lewinsky. Mark my words folks.

However, THIS is way more import than any of that. WE, the USA, are less protected against those that want to kill us because Traitor of the House Pelosi wants to keep playing games. Here is the Email of the week.”

Well, just a bit later that day, Traitor in the House Pelosi tried to weasel out of it by saying this on the House Floor.

“I thank Mr. Conyers, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, and Mr. Reyes, chair of the Intelligence Committee, for their leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor. They know, as does each and every one of us, that our primary responsibility is to protect the American people. We take an oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic. And in the Preamble, it states that one of our primary responsibilities is to provide for the common defense. We take those responsibilities seriously, and I don't take seriously any statements by some in this body that any person here is abdicating that responsibility.”

You are Traitor in the House Pelosi. You ARE.

“All of us understand, also, the role that intelligence plays in protecting our troops -- force protection. That used to be our primary responsibility, and now of course, homeland security is part of that. None of us would send our troops into harm's way without the intelligence to perform their mission and keep them safe. Although some have been willing to send our men and women in uniform into harm's way without the equipment they need to keep them safe, we don't make any accusations against them that they are not patriotic Americans. We want to protect the American people.”

No you don’t.

“As Chairman Conyers and Chairman Reyes have already pointed out in some detail, this legislation will meet our responsibility to protect America while also protecting our precious civil liberties.

The President has said that our legislation will not make America safe. The President is wrong and I think he knows it. He knows that our legislation contains within it the principles that were suggested by the Director of National Intelligence, Mr. McConnell, early on, as to what is needed to protect our people in terms of intelligence.”

Bunk. It is,,well, keep going.

“The Administration demands that Congress grants immunity to companies for activities about which the President wants only a small number of Members of Congress and no member of the Judicial Branch deciding any of the currently filed lawsuits to know anything about.”

Yup. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. The lawsuits are bogus. YOU Traitor in the House Pelosi, WANT the lawsuits to go through, because you were paid off, with MILLIONS of dollars, by the SAME trial Lawyers that will get rich by them. Twit.

“The bill before us acknowledges that immunity for the companies may already exist under current law and allows that determination to be decided by a judge with due protection for classified information. Not by hundreds of people who really do not have the facts.

Why would the Administration oppose a judicial determination of whether the companies already have immunity? There are at least three explanations:

First, the President knows that it was the Administration's incompetence in failing to follow the procedures in the statute that prevented immunity from being conveyed -- that's one possibility. They simply didn't do it right. Second, the Administration's legal argument that the surveillance requests were lawfully authorized was wrong; or third, public reports that the surveillance activities undertaken by the companies went far beyond anything about which any Member of Congress was notified, as is required by the law.”

Want a worm for that hook? Since your fishing, I thought maybe I could help you out.

“None of these alternatives is attractive, but they clearly demonstrate why the Administration's insistence that Congress provide retroactive immunity has never been about national security or about concerns for the companies; it has always been about protecting the Administration.

As important as the issue of immunity might be, it is chiefly important to the Administration and the telecommunications companies as they look back to events that occurred as many as six years ago. What is truly important to the security of our country and the protection of our Constitution going forward are the amendments made to FISA in Title I in this bill that is on the floor today, the so-called surveillance title of the bill.

The bill retains three of the essential provisions of the bill passed by the House in November and in doing so, explicitly rejects again the heart of the President's warrantless surveillance program. Those provisions are:

One, a restatement that FISA remains the exclusive -- means to authorize electronic surveillance. The President likes to think that he has the inherent authority to survey and collect on anybody and this bill restates that FISA is the exclusive authority. This was a point conceded to in 1978 when the Congress of United States established the FISA law, which was signed by the President of the United States, thereby his recognition of Congress' ability to make the courts the third branch of government the exclusive authority for the collection of intelligence in the United States.

Second, except in emergencies, FISA court approval must take place before surveillance begins. But there are exceptions in case of emergencies.”

That is completely bogus. It puts in the hands of a Judge to determine how and when someone should listen to attack preparation being made against this country. THAT is not the role of a judge. It is an act of War not of Law. A delay or denial by a judge with an agenda or just plain ignorance can HELP another attack happen.

“Third, a refusal to follow the Senate in excluding -- this is very important, because people are talking about the Senate bill as some great thing -- from the definition of electronic surveillance activities historically considered to be within the definition. In other words, if they don't want the law to apply for a particular activity, they'll just say it doesn't fall into this bill. If the Administration's change in the definition change was accepted, 'FISA-derived' information including U.S. person information could be data-mined with fewer protections than currently in place under FISA. This is very important to each and every person in America.”

It passed the Senate, it will pass the House, because it is the right thing to do. Again, you Twit.

“The President insists that we pass the Senate bill as is. Yet even that legislation's chief author -- Chairman Rockefeller -- agrees that many of the House provisions improve the Senate bill. “This legislation before us today will ensure that our intelligence professionals have all the tools they need to protect the American people, and the President knows it.

This legislation will also ensure that we protect what it means to be an American -- our precious civil rights and civil liberties.

Both goals are essential and both are achieved by this bill. I urge its passage.”

It will be vetoed, because again, you are playing politics with American lives. YOU are. Same day as a response to this, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt issued the following statement.

“Even for a Congress with a proven record of over-reaching, the majority's decision to play politics with critical terrorist surveillance legislation is deeply disappointing. And as they force through another ill-fated and poorly conceived FISA bill today, it's worth wondering how many intelligence agents would have to testify that vital information is being lost before Democrats hear their message, and finally take up the bipartisan Senate-passed bill.

Nearly a year has passed since the director of national intelligence identified the need to modernize our outdated surveillance laws, and asked Congress to work with him on finding a workable solution. The Senate has done its part, working with the administration to produce a bill that balances national security with protecting individual rights. But until the House decides to follow suit, our intelligence capabilities will continue to dim -- until our agents reach the point where they find themselves completely in the dark.

It's my sincere hope the two-week Easter recess imparts in Democrats perspective on this issue they currently do not have. Maybe then they'll decide to bring forth the bipartisan Senate bill for passage -- legislation that arms our intelligence agents with the tools they need to keep us safe, while ensuring the firms that aided our country in the days following September 11th aren't rewarded for their patriotism with a lawsuit.”

Yes, you read that correctly. For the second time, the House if going on vacation, WITHOUT passing the Senate version that will keep us safe, and protect companies that help out in doing so. Traitor in the House Pelosi wants them to be able to be sued, not because she cares about you or your “Rights” but rather because she has been paid off. So she just continues to stall, play games, and now go on vacation again. It’s time folks, it’s time she needs to go on an incessant vacation. Like the old saying goes, don’t go away mad, just go away. Let the grown ups keep Americans safe. Let the grown ups run the country.
Peter

Sources:
OPNTalk - From The Emails 031408
Office of the Speaker of the House
House Republican Whip Roy Blunt