Tell Big Brother to Stop Watching You

We elected Democratic majorities to Congress in 2006 to end illegal spying by the Bush Administration. At long last, Senators Russ Feingold and Dick Durbin are leading the way, but all the other Democrats in Congress need to join them.

It's time to repeal telecom immunity for illegal spying and roll back the worst abuses of the PATRIOT ACT.

Bob Fertik

Judge Orders Bush Administration To Produce Wiretap Memos

WASHINGTON – A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide the legal basis for the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 warrantless wiretapping program.
U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. signed an order Friday requiring the department to produce the memos by the White House legal counsel's office by Nov. 17. He said he will review the memos in private to determine if any information can be released publicly without violating attorney-client privilege or jeopardizing national security.
Kennedy issued his order in response to lawsuits by civil liberties groups in 2005 after news reports disclosed the wiretapping.The department had argued that the memos were protected attorney-client communications and contain classified information.
But Kennedy said that the attorney-client argument was "too vague" and that he would have to look at the documents himself to determine if that argument is valid and also to see if there is information that can be released without endangering national security.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said Saturday the department is reviewing the opinion and will "respond appropriately in court."

read more digg story

Remaking America.. One Step At a Time

Tomorrow, Chris Dodd is going to get on the floor of the Senate and filibuster the new FISA bill which grants retroactive immunity to telecom companies for illegally spying on Americans. Chairman Conyers emailed his list asking people to support Dodd's action.
You can't do much better than to read Glenn Greenwald's work, who points us to this New York Times article on the extent of the spying. Greenwald writes.

read more digg story

The NSA was spying on Americans before 9/11, and telecoms were in on it

Interesting bit on how long Big Brother has been keeping an eye on us. Maybe, he never stopped looking in the first place? Remember, Senator Joseph McCarthy? J. Edgar Hoover? Sadly, I doubt most people do...

That’s the accusation levied by disgraced former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio, who
claims that he was approached by officials from the Bush administration to bring his company into an NSA surveillance program in February 2001–as in, several months before the 9/11 attacks, and contradicting claims made by the White House that 9/11 was the reason the program existed in the first place.

The NSA was spying on Americans before 9/11, and telecoms were in on it « Scholars and Rogues

Technorati tags: NSA, government spying, spying, government, opinion, 9/11, civil rights, rights and Liberties, freedom