In a move that chills my bones yesterday George Bush attained congressional approval to make "a massive expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act" (FISA).
Voting on a bill to give telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for participating in the government's warrantless electronic surveillance program was originally scheduled for today. The Democrats, who are suddenly discovering they may have a set of cojones after all, have successfully delayed renewal of the speciously titled "Protect America Act," at least until next week.
There may be hope yet for the idea that our government actually works for us. Two bills, one in the House, and one in the Senate Judiciary Committee, passed without giving blanket retroactive immunity to telephone companies that willingly aided the Bush Administration in illegally spying on the American people.
In a move that takes considerable political clout, Presidential hopeful Chris Dodd has placing a hold on the FISA bill in the Senate that would immunize telecommunications companies against litigation for their role in handing over phone records to the US government.
Requests for access to customer calls received the brushoff from Qwest's former CEO, and the blogosphere has turned the beleaguered telecom into something of a hero.
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