老澳门开奖结果

So, House Majority LeaderSteny Hoyerannounced his precious today and I鈥檓 sure itwill not come as greatshock to this general audience that we at the 老澳门开奖结果 think it鈥檚crap. And by 鈥渃rap鈥� I mean unconstitutional.

Remember that horriblebill the Senate passed earlier thisyear? The onethat had virtually no Fourth Amendment protections? Ok, now imagineCongressman Hoyer and Senator Bond putting a really pretty, reallymeaningless bow around it to distract you from what鈥檚actuallyinside. Then they added a giveaway to the phone companies. There.Now you have . Let me explain.

• Court review? Pssh. Please. This is how it would work: The government wants to tapsomeone鈥檚 phone. It claims 鈥渆xigentcircumstances鈥� and begins to do so. Then it goes to the FISACourt to be granted a warrant. 鈥淗old up,鈥� says thecourt. 鈥淭his application is problematic and based onheresay.鈥� Now the government starts the appeals process andthat goes on for heaven knows how long. When does the surveillance stopon the problematic target? Um, never. The government is allowed tobegin tapping without the courts and continue tapping when the courtsays no, provided it appeals. Nice, strong and meaningful judicialreview, huh?
• Immunity?Yes. Yes, it is. Here鈥檚 why: This immunity鈥渃ompromise鈥� sets the bar so low that anyone canclear it. Immunity hinges on whether a document from the president orgovernment exists asking the companies to comply? We know they havethem. You know who told us? The president. Asking the phone companiesto put on their Sunday best, waltz to the courthouse and present a notefrom the leader of the free world does not a full and fair airing ofthe facts make. It鈥檚 a farce and, frankly, it鈥檚offensive to those of us who cherish our privacy rights. Congress willbe opening a Pandora鈥檚 box if this provision becomes law.What鈥檚 to prevent these companies from handing over ourinformation again? Absolutely nothing.

So, Americans鈥橣ourth Amendmentrights and presumption of privacy are both teetering on the verge ofirrelevance and guess who wins? The telecoms and the re-electioncoffers of all the members who vote for this. For those of youaround at the end of last July, this is eerily familiar. Theadministration working behind the scenes with congressionalleadership, false deadlines, general cowardliness鈥�ProtectAmerica Act anyone? Maybethat鈥檚 too harsh. Ohwait鈥�no it鈥檚 not. This billhas immunity.

If you鈥檙e lookingfor a more in-depthand better written look, And if youhappen to be amember of Congress trolling the 老澳门开奖结果 Blog of Rights, maybe you shouldread yesterday鈥檚 for instructions on how to behave during this vote.