Jun 25, 2008
Barack Obama's rightward sprint is nowhere more obvious than in his betrayal on the FISA bill.
This bill allows the President to grab all incoming and outgoing international communications without a warrant.
The ACLU says it represents "an unprecedented extension of governmental surveillance over Americans."
Obama, sounding on Friday a lot like Bush, said: "Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay."
Here's what Bush said the same day as Obama: The bill "allows our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists abroad, while protecting the liberties of Americans here at home."
But it doesn't protect our liberties, and Obama ought to know that.
Obama said it "firmly reestablishes basic judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance."
But the ACLU notes that the bill "permits only minimal court oversight. The FISA Court only reviews general procedures for targeting and minimizing the use of information that is collected. The court may not know who, what, or where will actually be tapped, thereby undercutting any meaningful for the court and violating the Fourth Amendment."
What's more, in the incredibly rare instances where the FISA Court denies a warrant to the President, under the new bill the President can go ahead and do the wiretapping anyway while the appeals process continues, a process that the ACLU says can take two months.
Russ Feingold calls the idea that this is a good compromise "a farce" and "political cover."
Says Feingold: "Anybody who claims this is an OK bill, I really question if they've even read it."
Has Obama?
If not, that's a problem.
And if he has, and still approves of it, that's an even bigger one.
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine.
Copyright 2008 The Progressive Magazine
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
© 2023 The Progressive
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
Barack Obama's rightward sprint is nowhere more obvious than in his betrayal on the FISA bill.
This bill allows the President to grab all incoming and outgoing international communications without a warrant.
The ACLU says it represents "an unprecedented extension of governmental surveillance over Americans."
Obama, sounding on Friday a lot like Bush, said: "Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay."
Here's what Bush said the same day as Obama: The bill "allows our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists abroad, while protecting the liberties of Americans here at home."
But it doesn't protect our liberties, and Obama ought to know that.
Obama said it "firmly reestablishes basic judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance."
But the ACLU notes that the bill "permits only minimal court oversight. The FISA Court only reviews general procedures for targeting and minimizing the use of information that is collected. The court may not know who, what, or where will actually be tapped, thereby undercutting any meaningful for the court and violating the Fourth Amendment."
What's more, in the incredibly rare instances where the FISA Court denies a warrant to the President, under the new bill the President can go ahead and do the wiretapping anyway while the appeals process continues, a process that the ACLU says can take two months.
Russ Feingold calls the idea that this is a good compromise "a farce" and "political cover."
Says Feingold: "Anybody who claims this is an OK bill, I really question if they've even read it."
Has Obama?
If not, that's a problem.
And if he has, and still approves of it, that's an even bigger one.
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine.
Copyright 2008 The Progressive Magazine
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
Barack Obama's rightward sprint is nowhere more obvious than in his betrayal on the FISA bill.
This bill allows the President to grab all incoming and outgoing international communications without a warrant.
The ACLU says it represents "an unprecedented extension of governmental surveillance over Americans."
Obama, sounding on Friday a lot like Bush, said: "Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay."
Here's what Bush said the same day as Obama: The bill "allows our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists abroad, while protecting the liberties of Americans here at home."
But it doesn't protect our liberties, and Obama ought to know that.
Obama said it "firmly reestablishes basic judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance."
But the ACLU notes that the bill "permits only minimal court oversight. The FISA Court only reviews general procedures for targeting and minimizing the use of information that is collected. The court may not know who, what, or where will actually be tapped, thereby undercutting any meaningful for the court and violating the Fourth Amendment."
What's more, in the incredibly rare instances where the FISA Court denies a warrant to the President, under the new bill the President can go ahead and do the wiretapping anyway while the appeals process continues, a process that the ACLU says can take two months.
Russ Feingold calls the idea that this is a good compromise "a farce" and "political cover."
Says Feingold: "Anybody who claims this is an OK bill, I really question if they've even read it."
Has Obama?
If not, that's a problem.
And if he has, and still approves of it, that's an even bigger one.
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine.
Copyright 2008 The Progressive Magazine
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.