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FISA for Dummies

By PaganPower on July 9, 2008 at 1:00 PM in Barbara Boxer, FISA

Senator Barbara Boxer stood proudly on the side of the people today. Her admonition on the Senate floor concerning this FISA abomination is a breath of fresh air.

Barbara Boxer Speaks to the Senate on Immunity, Law and Truth

At this point in time to give retroactive immunity kind of makes a mockery of the fact that we’re supposed to be a government of laws, not people. We are a government of laws. Do we then come back and say, “Oh, by the way, there’s three laws over here that we don’t really like, so we’re just going to say to the people that broke them it’s OK? ‘Cause we’ve looked at it and we think it’s OK?” This is America. We are a country of laws.

~snip~

Last week we celebrated the day we adopted the Declaration of Independence, Independence Day, July 4th. In that historic document is the following phrase: “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The consent of the governed. That means the law has to be behind you when you undertake to do something like this administration did. They didn’t care about the consent of the governed. They didn’t care about the law that was in place.

Since it seems likely that this bill will pass the Senate I find it important to describe what this bill does so that everyone knows. Because the outrage I might expect isn’t coming from anywhere significant.

Below are a few primers. Instructive and entertaining.

FISA Amendments Act Basics

1. The law retroactively legalizes a massive electronic operation to spy on the personal communications of millions of Americans – within the United States

2. The law allows physical searches of Americans’ homes and places of work without a search warrant or any other proof that anyone being spied upon is suspected of any crime at all

3. The law allows the same kind of unaccountable spying online and by telephone

4. Under the FISA Amendments Act, the only person with the ability to stop the spying is the same person who actually orders the spying to take place: The Attorney General of the United States.

Please enjoy this excellent video that will clear everything up.

67 days

And while you are at it, take a look at this call to arms.

Please Vote NO on FISA!

PUMAs won’t take this lying down. Just Say No Deal.