FISA Passed
To the surprise of no one, the FISA bill that grants retroactive immunity to telecoms and legalizes warrantless wiretapping has passed today. I think the vote was something like 69-28. Even though pretty much the entire Internet is aware of this, I figured I would post a link to mark the historic occasion.
Anyhow, here is a comprehensive article over at Salon by former constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald on why this bill is a great leap forward for democracy and why the Democratic-led congress may be even worse than the Republican-led one. The owl of Minerva spreads its wings at dusk!
Obama vs. the Internet vs. FISA
Mike Soron has several perspicuous links and quotes regarding Obama’s regrettable support for the house’s update of the FISA bill, which grants retroactive immunity to the telecoms that aided the Bush administration in carrying out its unlawful domestic spying program. Although Obama has stated that he is against the measure to grant retroactive immunity, there’s still this gem:
Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program.
Such a position is more than unfortunate, it is what one might call a travesty. Regardless of whether Obama is simply playing a game of appearances by trying to “act tough” to win over the petty bourgeois and lumpenproletariat that would likely not be willing to vote for him to begin with, his decision to support the updated FISA bill should alert his supporters that it’s not enough to put their faith and trust into such a candidate, even if he is far more progressive than a number of others. If anything, they should be ruthlessly critical, lest one wishes to justify one’s spinelessness as pragmatism.