Telecom immunity
I have never been a political animal and have purposely steered clear of cheerleading in that arena. But when the very core of civil liberties in my ‘homeland’ of the US are being flushed down the toilet, it’s not politics but an absolute imperative to wake people up.
This is the case with telecom immunity, the move by Bush and every single Republican senator to give blanket immunity to whatever actions the telcos took to assist the US government to tap phones or monitor conversations (with or without a warrant) since Sepember 11, 2001. What’s even more disgraceful is the “opposition” party — voted in as a check to the corporate friendly Republicans — has been splintered and cannot even fight this provision.
So let’s just take a look at the big three candidates left, all senators, on this issue. Their vote on Feb 12.
- Bill: S 2248
- Vote description: Dodd Amdt. No. 3907; To strike the provisions providing immunity from civil liability to electronic communication service providers for certain assistance provided to the Government.
- McCain: no
- Obama: yes
- Clinton: no vote
That by itself makes up my mind, unequivocally, who should be America’s Next Top Leader.
February 13th, 2008 11:37
Thankfully the one senator of mine I bothered to call on this did vote for the amendment. That Hillary didn’t bother to vote doesn’t surprise me at all.
BTW, it’s not too late to call House members on this.
April 1st, 2008 06:35
Why go sue the telcos rather than the US government? The only other cases I’ve heard about companies being sued for aiding government actions is when the said governments run concentration camps and kill political opponents, such as nazi or communist regimes.
Going after the telcos reminds me of CAIR deciding (for a long while) to go after John Does in the flying imams case.