The Fine Print On Wiretapping Review

notarus writes "Congress' new bill to 'force' the wiretapping program to be reviewed by FISA has some very doublespeak provisions. One nice line: 'Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the constitutional authority of the President to collect intelligence with respect to foreign powers and agents of foreign powers.'"

Comments

Re:Bend over

[9x320]

Hm... how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon? That ruling was before FISA even came into existance, but considering this is about "inherent constitutional authority," FISA's existance can be disregarded in that consideration.

Nice Troll, Supreme Court Has Overrulled Bush

[MyNameIsFred]

...there's no way in hell that august body is gonna rule against Prez...

I realize you're probably trolling, but we can't ignore the facts. See, for example, the Supreme Court rebuking Bush on Gitmo or Supreme Court limits Bush's power.

Re:So let me get this straight...

[Amazing Quantum Man]

It is possible to be a traitor without being a terrorist. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, so if someone could provide one, I'd appreciate it.

Benedict Arnold.
The Rosenbergs.

Re:FUD

[WerewolfOfVulcan]

original bill

changes as of 6.14

The bill is S. 2453. Working title is National Security Surveillance Act of 2006.

There are a couple of other bills worth noting. One is S. 2455 (Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006), sponsored by Senators DeWine and Graham. The other is S . 3001 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Improvement and Enhancement Act of 2006) sponsored by Senators Specter and Feinstein.

I've been following these bills since their introduction. I knew that one or more of them would make it to the table before November. If any of them pass, Bush will have gotten away with wiping his ass with the Constitution yet again

Re:So let me get this straight...

[Anonymous Coward]

We are talking about communications. If you are communicating with an agent of a foriegn power then you have no fourth amendment protection.

If you are unjustly accused of being an agent of a foriegn power, or communicating with one, and the government has not issued a wiretap warrant signed by a judge, then guess what? The case against you is tossed out.

People have this idea that the Constitution protects them from search or siezure by police. It does not. It protects you from having those items siezed used against you in court, and allows you to get them back - after the fact, after you have seen a judge.

Obviously, a DA or detective is not in the business of pissing off judges so they do try to adhere to your rights, but the ultimate expression of those rights are not with the DA or the detective - they are with a judge in a court of law.

Do something about it

[arrrrg]

I'm surpised nobody has posted an EFF link yet. Here's the summary & link from BoingBoing:

Cindy Cohn, EFF's stellar Legal Director, sez, "Senator Specter and the Bush Administration today announced that they have reached a deal to send all of the cases concerning the illegal NSA wiretapping (including EFF's) to the secret FISA court. This is being spun in the press as a big concession by the Administration but in truth it's an abomination -- the FISA court acts in secret and doesn't even hear argument from both sides. This bill will likely move fast, so we only have a limited window to try to stop it. Here's s direct link to EFF's action center to let you write to the relevant Congressional committees."

It takes less than 30 seconds to send an e-mail to your congresscritter, and it's really the least you can do if you really care about this issue.

Welcome!

[Sheetrock]

Project Vote Smart may be a good place to start (the website interface is a little confusing; if you pick the wrong state you can change it on the left-hand side of the page). Voting requirements are quite different depending on the state you're in. While the information on this website gives you a pretty good idea of what you need to do, you should look up your state's elections website (the link to which should be available on Project Vote Smart) to make sure you've got the most up-to-date information, and feel free to call your local election office with any questions (they can be found on Project Vote Smart if you know what county of your state you're in). The following points are, in my opinion, the most important to look for:

• Some states permit registration at the polling place on the day of the election, others require it before. But you will need to register before you can vote for the first time.
• There will likely be a requirement that you live in the state a period of time (such as 30 days) before voting.
• Depending on your state you may be challenged for proof-of-identity at the polling place every time you vote -- the easiest form for you to carry would be either a driver's license if you opt to get one or a state-issued photo ID if you don't (both are typically issued at your local Department of Motor Vehicles for a nominal fee; call them first and ask what identification you need to bring before they can issue you a card. Probably something as simple as your passport and Social Security card). In 2004 a number of such challenges were performed in Ohio and it's possible similar tricks could be played in other states, so I suggest bringing valid ID if you have it even if you don't think they'll require it.
• If you want to vote in primary elections, which are used by political parties to choose the candidate they're going to run in the general elections, your state may have the requirement that you register with that party. If that's the case it's likely to be on the same form you use to register to vote.
• Make sure you know where your polling place is before you vote (sometimes they get changed or your address gets moved to a different voting district).
• If you know in advance you won't be able to get to your polling place to cast your vote on the day of the election you can request an absentee ballot, which lets you mail in your vote. If you plan on voting absentee, request the ballot as soon as you can (to avoid any deadline on mailing them out) and mail it as soon as you can (to avoid the deadline on processing it; they will likely require receipt by Election Day.) Check with your local election office for more information.
• Plan on a significant delay when you go to vote. In 2004 there were waits of more than an hour in some polling places and a number were closing with lines of people yet to vote -- nothing has really been fixed since then and this election should draw almost as many people. If you think this will be a problem, get to your polling place as early in the day as you can or vote absentee.
• Subscribe to your local newspaper, or buy/read a copy for a few days leading up to the election. At least where I'm at, they print a copy of the ballot in there so you can see what you'll be voting on. Voting for candidates is fairly straightforward, but when you're asked to vote on an issue sometimes the wording will be convoluted to confuse voters into voting differently than they intended -- so it helps to look at it ahead of time, and warn family and friends if necessary.
• You should be able to leave a ballot item blank if you don't want to vote on it (ask an election official to be sure).

As far as deciding who to vote for, the least-biased sources take the most work to examine. Our next election in November will affect Congress (every member of the House of Representatives and a number of members of the Senate) -- when t