The NY Times buried the story this afternoon. Maybe they were busy getting wiretapped on the phone.
After close to a year of in-house cock fighting, the House passed a bill today that will listen into your cavernous soul. Or something similar.
The outdated and now unfabulously updated FISA bill, passing 293 to 129, with near-unanimous support from Republicans, will shield phone companies from billions of dollars in lawsuits for their participation in the warrant-less surveillance program that were initiated by Bush after the September 11 attacks. It now travels to the Senate, where it’s expected to pass easily. Kidney stones everywhere grimace.
The only senator who opposed the Patriot Act, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, also said the following today about the telecommunication tragedy: “The proposed FISA deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation.”
“The House and Senate should not be taking up this bill, which effectively guarantees immunity for telecom companies alleged to have participated in the President’s illegal program…”
Remember when Russ and McCain were friends?
The bill will allow the following…