FISA and why it matters

A little document called the Constitution was created by people seemingly a lot smarter than the current crop of political leaders. They worked for years to construct a system that could resist someone coming in and creating a monarchy. That made sense after fighting so hard to fight off King George. It seems so ironic that someone named George has come to destroy a system that lasted for over 2oo years.

The delicate checks and balances that the founders put into place was designed to keep any one branch of government from seizing too much power. But although political parties existed right from the start, it was never conceived that the entire country would break down into just two parties. This two party system allowed the Republicans to take control of the two legislative branches as well as the Presidency. Walking in lock-step, the Republicans decided to break down the walls of checks and balances and allowed their leader to legislate unfettered by the detail of what is lawful and what the Constitution intended. The Congress became a "rubber stamp" for the Presidents' desires and accountability to the people was disregarded.

So what can the average person do about it? Not a heck of a lot it seems. In 2006 the Democrats made never before seen gains in Congress and managed to win back both houses. But due to the continued obstruction from Republicans the Democrats have been unable to turn things around. That combined with the power of special interest lobbyists, has rendered the peoples will moot.
Currently the House and Senate are supposed to work out the differences in between their versions of the FISA bill. This bill concerns the permission for the government to spy on just about anyone they want with little oversight and no public knowledge. In addition the President is pushing for the law to include legal immunity for all of the private companies that aid them in their spying.

These companies are no strangers to you. They include Verizon, AT&T, Quest and others that were coerced in some cases and went willingly in others along a path that contrasts totally with the rights graciously given to all Americans by the founders. Now understand that the Bush administration wants these companies to be immunized from crimes that no one (but them) knows anything about. Just do it blindly so we can move on and fight terror.
But fighting terror has nothing to do with it. It has everything to do with keeping both the telecom companies and the administration from a very possible legal jeopardy. If the American people really got wind of just how extensively they have been spied on by this President they would not be very happy.

Every email, website you visit, political contribution and blog you read or write is being monitored. This is proven now that President and Vice President have confirmed it. They are trying to scare us and the Congress into acting foolishly (see Patriot Act).

It is time for us as a people to act with a purpose. Please contact your senators and congress members and let them know you that you believe in this country and the Constitution. Tell them that blanket immunity for criminal acts is not making us safer!
Please go to http://congress.org and make some noise. The louder we are, the harder it will be for them to ignore us.