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House Approves Extending the Warrantless Wiretapping Act
wiedzmin writes "The U.S. House of Representatives voted 301-118 today, in favor of extending the FISA Amendments Act until December 31st, 2017, effectively reauthorizing the broad electronic eavesdropping powers that largely legalized the George W. Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program."
"that largely legalized the George W. Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program"
Sorry for the tangent, but I have a question. Does the constitutional prohibition of ex post facto laws prevent the legalization of illegal activity as a means to annul the culpability of preexisting perpetrators? In other words, should the people involved in warrantless wiretapping before our hideously evil overlords legalized this rape of our rights be culpable for their crimes?
Also, someone do us the favor of linking to a list of the despicable scum in the House who voted in favor of further rape today.
"I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
and still managing to blame Bush. Wow.
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We need a workers party that fights for a workers government! Down with the "war on terror" racist police state! Mobilize the power of the international working class to defeat U.S. imperialist war & drive the U.S. out of Afghanistan, Iraq & everywhere! For international socialist revolution to smash imperialist barbarism before it's too late!
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And the progressives, not to mention the rest of the dems just rolled over. Evil Bush! Evil Evil! We believe in civil liberties. Ha. What a joke. All you believe in is that your guy is in the white house. Not only has Obama and Dems (don't forget the house was Nancy's) failed to roll back anything of Bush/Cheney, they expanded the powers. And we won't even go down that war on drugs road....
Pathetic.
Personally, I'm glad for this extension. There are still evildoers, particularly Islamic terrorists that are bent on harming America. Just wittness the latest attack in Libya.
Wait, how would warrantless wiretaps have prevented THAT? You planning to tap phones in Libya?
And don't we have warrantless wiretaps today and yet we still have THAT?
And if there is a risk that can be averted with a wiretap, why not get a warrant?
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Apparently nobody else's freedom is worth anything to you alive.
Do enjoy your essential security. Others will see to you having neither in the end, rest assured.
\r
My freedom is worth nothing if I am dead.
Your life is worth nothing if you are not free.
If you are not free, you are merely a commodity. A resource to be used in the furtherance of your controller's desires.
"Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." --Milton Friedman
It seems to me we need to work to get the third party doctrine changed. It has no relevancy in anyones lives in the 21st century.
If successfull the governement will begin to loose court cases on constitutional grounds and be forced to stop.
Read it and weep:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized."
Under the votes tab: Roll no. 569.. Might not be there long
They have nothing to fear from this. They see it as a plus, and most of the voters do, too.
I really like America and I really hate to say this ---
America is no longer the land of the free
It has become the land of the free to be wiretapped, without warrant, without due process, without any valid reason
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
Bin Laden is dead, as are many of the top Al Queda leaders, the network has been dismantled, and spuriously we're safer from attack. But considering the freedoms and rights to privacy that we've sacrificed in the process, I'd choose to live my life in pre-9/11 vulnerability, than a reality where everything I say and do is being recorded and monitored. I feel like "terrorism" has still won.
What a warm, kind, and endearing person you are. I'm so very sorry that I live far, far away from your town of Hancock, Michigan. It must be a great place, with you living there.
But like other Americans, I'll defend your right to free speech vehemently, until it becomes sedition itself. Then you're on your own.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
which countries, on this planet, are not currently being tapped by their governments?
How is your question remotely relevant? You appare to be making the same kind of argument that Newt Gingrich did when he said we shouldn't permit the building of the "911 mosque" until Saudia Arabia permits christian churchs in their country.
In other words, you are saying that we should be judged in comparison to the worst countries out there rather than how well we live up to our own expectations for ourselves.
the odds are very low that people will resist the temptation to spy. it seems to be in our nature and it surely seems to be in the nature of those that aspire to country and state leadership roles.
That does not mean we should accept it. The people to which we entrust the reigns of power must be held to the highest possible standard. Abuse under the cloak of authority has been with us since the first human civilization -- the great thing about modern civilizations is that we have laws to punish that abuse. Now is not the time to go roll back modern life to a pre-magna carta standing..
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
There's no point in bring up a limitation such as threats against the president, as so many people are actually OK with freedom of speech being limited in that way. To reach the undecided, the uninformed, and any share of those people who have 'good hearts' but not a lot of on the street political education, you need to mention a limit more people would disagree with, such as the loss of freedom to carry more than $500 cash while travelling. My own favorite is, "if America is the land of the free, why do we have such a high perecentage of people in prison?" For people who appreciate numbers and hard facts, try "Why are there 17 different civilan agencies that have agents trained to used assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and Claymore Mines? ". Try putting things in a context that involves the person you're speaking to. For example, it's amazing how many older people rethink their position on the Fed acting against medical marijuana dispensaries in CA, when they find out the avarage person considering marijuana for pain is about their age, and often wants it for a common disease of people their age (There's quite a number of medical pot users who have lost a foot or leg to type 2 diabetes, and want relief from phantom limb pain. Mention that to a 50 year old pro drug war conservative who has type 2 and fears they might be in the same situation some day, and watch the cognative dissonance at work.).
Who is John Cabal?