This is not a candidate diary, but it is another reason to elect Obama.

Just like our civil liberties that, when not held on to with vigilance, slowly slip away, the user-content control of the internet will slowly erode, and the mass telecom corps will have a new medium to funnel misinformation and banal cultural paradigms to an unsuspecting public.

Yesterday, as advertised by Sen. John Kerry her on kos,  the senate communications committee held a meeting on "the Future of the Internet".  Needless to say the leaps in logic by FCC Chair Kevin Martin and the sophistry of the telecoms were on full display. Join me after the jump for the details.

I reside in the 17th Congressional District in Pennsylvania, and am represented by Congressman Tim Holden. I do not like my Congressman anymore.  Or his know-nothing staff.

If Dubya prevails in providing immunity to the Telecoms, he has a plan for them to use the millions they'll save that they had earmarked for legal defense funds.

Is it possible that his sinister suggestion to them will violate the "Establishment Clause" of the First Amendment?

Coming to your neighborhood soon ... below the fold are photos that raise serious concerns of what Dubya has proposed:

When the Congress of the United States is willing to cede oversight responsibilities of the Intelligence Community to the Executive Branch, I have every right and reason to be concerned.  When the Senate surrenders the Constitutional powers of the Federal Courts to the Executive Branch as well, I should be and I am outraged.  We are traveling down a road to tyranny farther than we’ve ever gone during my lifetime.  Ben Franklin said, "We have given you a democratic Republic, if you can keep it."  It has been left to every generation to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which our forefathers put their blood, sweat and tears into, ever since.  But when you, as my representatives, stand with those who violate the Constitution against the interests of your constituents, you are standing with the terrorists.  You are undermining judicial discretion; you are sabotaging the separation of powers, you are obstructing the rule of law, and you are caving in to a would-be dictator.  

Yesterday I wrote a diary about telecom immunity and the suggestion that the telecoms might not help us again if they think they're going to be sued.  This is all just insinuated by people in the Bush administration like Mike McConnell.  It's always in the form of a vague suggestion, so in yesterday's diary I wrote this:

with all the uncertainty about whether or not the telecoms will help us in the next terrorist attack I propose an extremely radical idea:  let's ask them, and settle this thing once and for all.  Let's ask the telecoms whether or not they intend to let thousands of us die in the next terrorist attack because they don't want to get sued.  And let them look the American people in the eye when they give their answer.  Our very lives are at stake here.  I'd call that a Need To Know situation, wouldn't you?

The more I wondered why they didn't just ask the telecoms, the more I started to wonder if they already had.

We really must thank Senator Kennedy for getting the ball rolling with his "if we take the President at his word, he is willing to let Americans die to protect the phone companies" Senate speech last December.  It woke a lot of people up to the disingenuousness of the President's remarks.  Bush really screwed the pooch on this one.

Yes, it's about the telecom immunity, but why is it about the telecom immunity?  Sure, it's partly because the rich and the corporations always comes first with this administration.  The fact that the very act of asking for immunity is a tacit admission of guilt is completely lost on them.   (and you'll notice they've stopped trying to argue the issue on legal grounds).  The new argument is that when and if the next terrorist attack occurs the telecoms will not be willing to help us if they're afraid they'll get sued.

Once again the fabled "newspaper of record" has decided, in its "wisdom," to withhold an important political story until after the voters cannot use it. This time it's about McCain corruption.

In a Rose Garden ceremony this morning, a congressional delegation led by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) formally handed over their balls to President George W. Bush.

"Recent actions, including most notably the cave-in on amnesty to the telecoms,  make clear that we don’t need these any more," said Senator Rockefeller as he handed over a small plastic bag containing his genitalia. "We thought it only fitting that we hand over the essence of our once proud manhood to the man we now roll over for on command: President Bush."

According to the NY Times:

A technical glitch gave the F.B.I. access to the e-mail messages from an entire computer network — perhaps hundreds of accounts or more — instead of simply the lone e-mail address that was approved by a secret intelligence court as part of a national security investigation, according to an internal report of the 2006 episode.

FBI Unauthorized E-Mail Access

Does it ever get old? Follow the money and pull a few things together.

[It's been said, but to be clear: FISA courts work well. They processed tens of thousands of spying requests since 1978 while denying only a handful. They allowed, and still allow, for spying to take place in emergencies by allowing the government to file papers after the fact. FISA was updated multiple times to keep up with the times, even in 2001, and praised by Bush who now says otherwise.]

Who makes out financially as FISA works as intended, protecting the rights of Americans? No one, as far as I know.

Who makes out financially if FISA is circumvented by illegal spying, and if telecoms and others receive full immunity?

It's really kind of nice, in a way, to have a drug-addicted dunderhead for a President.  He manages to let slip a few truisms now and then.  

Here's what he said regarding the FISA battle:

And these telephone companies…. Are afraid they’re going to be sued.

That's the bottom line, folks, and we all know it, but it's nice to hear it from the Corporatist-In-Chief.

You have got to be kidding me! How could anyone with a D behind their name back ANYTHING that Bush wants. Especially the ones that completely behind big business not the safety or well being of this nation. It is unbelieveable that then the Senators that have D in there names would even let this bill come up for a vote.

Senator Chris Dodd is up now in the Senate talking about telecom immunity. He's on fire!

He is outraged at Mike McConnell's statement that we cannot allow the telecoms to be subject to suits because it might bankrupt the telecoms.

This is the same argument made by Michael Mukasey and his FISA conflict and dad + son + AG & Verizon attorney.

DODD: "This is one of the massive violations against our privacy ever. Massive scale abuse and why no corporation can be above the law."

On Thursday, Feb 7, 2008 Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) cast two (count 'em TWO) votes to take away your constitutional rights by joining with the senate minority and a handful of DLC Democrats. Why would they do such a thing? And just who does Rockefeller think he's working for, anyway?

Could the telecoms really buy themselves a millionaire senator's vote or did he lead the charge to knock down amendments fashioned by the Senate Judiciary Dems believing that "911 changed everything" schtick that Benedick Cheney'd have us believe?

While no one knows for sure what will happen in the Senate when they finally vote for the Amendment taking the Immunity out of the Intel Comm. Bill, it appears those in the House of Reps. are making plans to fight it, taking no chances. This is great news. In a "Dear Colleague" sent out on Friday Representatives Dingell, Stupak and Markey, all 3, Chairmen of Committees that have oversight of the Telecoms laid out their case.

     It is beyond dispute that the Government must be able to protect its citizens from terrorist threats. But before Congress should consider the extraordinary notion of telling a Federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit pending before him, Congress has a duty to find out what happened and develop an adequate legislative record to justify such unusual interference with the normal practice of a co-equal branch of Government ---the Judiciary [...]

   We believe serious and substantial questions concerning the past conduct of the present Administration and of the phone companies must be answered before Congress begins to consider providing immunity.

To read the complete letter, a pdf download you can find the link at Wired.

In the span of 1 week, 4 undersea cables have been cut, leading to the serious degradation of
Internet service from the Middle east all the way to India.

Now, we all know the Rule

 Once is Happenstance,  Twice is Coincidence, Thrice is Enemy Action

but I bet very few kossacks know the Nathguy Law

Four times is Monster Attack.

More after the jump

Concern Troll Arlen Spector is at it again. Three days before the Super Bowl, the Pennsylvania Republican announced that he intends to look into why the NFL ordered the destruction of the so-called "spygate" tapes.

Curiously, Spector has either been silent or continued his long pattern of pretending to chastise the Bush Adminstration before he ends up voting with them in lock step. Moreover, the timing of his announcement was suspect as the Senate is debating Telecom immunity and extending FISA. There is also the matter of the destroyed CIA interogation tapes, but somehow Spector is more interested in much to do about nothing:spygate.

Like a lot of you, I've been seriously bummed by the MSM's perfect silence on the crucial subject of FISA and wiretap immunity.  I've been waiting anxiously for KO to turn his attention to it, but like so many other media types, he -- yeah, even he -- seems hypnotized by the exigencies of the campaign.  

I would have preferred to send this letter to him directly, but I can't find a way on the Internet to contact him, via e-mail or any other way, and I don't want to spend any more time looking.  If any of you have an in with him, please pass my letter along to him.  

Meanwhile, I think he checks in here from time to time (in fact, I know he does), so maybe he'll see it here.  And this way the rest of you get to see it too, which is just as well.  Here goes: