Bill in Portland Maine's front page Cheers and Jeers posting touches on Arlen's expected and typical cave-in to BushCo on illegal domestic spying...but it is done in humerous fashion and as merely the first of a string of Cheers and Jeers. Arlen's depraved indifference to the Constitution deserves much more consideration...and strong action.
The traditional media is, by and large, falling for the Bushlie that this bill is a "compromise" and a "significant retreat" by the President concerning the NSA illegal spying program. It is NOT a compromise. It literally gives Bush everything he (and Cheney) wanted and more. It is dangerous to the continued existence of the United States as a Constitutional Republic and gives the President powers, with full blessing of Arlen, to spy to his heart's content. It kills FISA to all practical purposes by making it optional for the President to seek FISA blessing on spying (on Americans). It bites off and accepts the entire "Unitary Executive" fantasy of Yoo. It totally reverses the SCOTUS ruling that effectively means the NSA illegal spying program is illegal. The only "compromise" in the bill was that Bushco didn't get Arlen to include a retroactive decriminalization of the spying program...but then it doesn't need to because the bill gives everything away. This deserves only a joking Jeer post?
With all due respect to Bill of Portland Maine, this issue deserves frontpage exclusive coverage. It is not a joke. We all must make it known to the Dems that purport to represent us or to represent what is right and good about America that they must oppose this bill to the absolute. They must filibuster it. They must kill this bill. It must not pass.
I implore Kossacks to take a read of Glenn Greenwald's latest entry at Unclaimed Territory concerning this latest of Arlen's atrocities against America and take action. There is an alternate bill offered by Schumer back in March (or so) that is far superior (and is the only acceptable answer to the super-Nixonion abuses of BushCo).
Call your senators. Arlen's bill is unacceptable and must be declared DOA.
This topic was brought up yesterday in another diary that quickly slid into oblivion. There's also another diary on this topic that came in, it seems, a few microseconds before I posted this one. Due to precedence I am considering canceling this post to give the previous post a chance, though for now I tend to favor leaving them both up in hopes that one OR the other (or the other) will grab enough attention to make a dent. Literally, I will accept another Lieberman term before I accept this bill. Keep ignoring this and our country, our freedoms, will slide into oblivion...with nary a whimper.