Like most here at our Dkos community I was furious over the passage of the FISA bill and telecom immunity and the way this capitulation was billed as a compromise. Well today I read two pieces of news about the ongoing battle against immunity and the current form of the FISA bill which made me feel (slightly) better: EFF and the ACLU will be fighting on going legal battles attempting to address he unconstitutional nature of the FISA bill.
Below the jump are two quick snips of this news to tuck you in for the evening....
Electronic Frontier Foundation's Kevin Bankston on The Hill Blog:
While duking it out over immunity in the courts, EFF will also continue its fight in Washington, working in the next session of Congress [snip] Careful review of the evolving votes on Senate amendments to the FAA related to immunity, and many statements by both House and Senate leaders about their dim view of immunity, set the stage for a very different debate and outcome when – not if – the 111th Congress takes up the issue of balancing American’s security and privacy in connection with renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act next year.
And (same source)...
(EFF is representing the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of millions of AT&T customers whose private domestic communications and communications records were illegally handed over to the National Security Agency. EFF has been appointed co-coordinating counsel for all 47 of the outstanding lawsuits concerning the government’s warrantless surveillance program.)
And the ACLU
The FAA fails to strike a constitutional balance between the government's interest in protecting national security and the rights of people in the United States to privacy and freedom of speech. Because we could not stand by and let this go unchallenged, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit 45 minutes after the bill became law -- challenging the constitutionality of the law and seeking to halt its enforcement.
Nice to know groups like this are out there!
Addendum: a list of ACLU's plantiffs.
Amnesty International USA
Dan Arshack
Global Fund for Women
Global Rights
Chris Hedges
Human Rights Watch
International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association
Naomi Klein
Scott McKay
The Nation
David Nevin
PEN American Center
Sylvia Royce
Service Employees International Union
Washington Office for Latin America
Support the ACLU
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