Update: On Friday the Charlatan issued a 15 day extension of the so-called Protect America Act which allows greatly expanded spying on Americans' telecommunications. The bill to renew FISA is stalled in the Senate because he insists on legal immunity for his corporate supporters for their cooperation with the Regime's extralegal surveillance program. Earlier the Democrats successfully blocked a cloture vote to cut off debate. The Charlatan threatens to veto any further extension of the law while berating opponents for supporting terror. We now resume our regular Britney Spears coverage.
Republicans are screaming bloody terror again over Democratic efforts to make sure wiretapping for foreign intelligence does not invade Americans' right to privacy. Also, the dispute over immunity for telecom companies that cooperated with the Regime's warrantless wiretapping of US persons has prevented the current bill from going forward. Republicans have been unable to agree on several Democratic amendments to the underlying Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act bill, approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) all offered amendments to strengthen protections for citizens, but Republicans succeeded in blocking action on those proposals. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called for a cloture vote just before the Charlatan's last State of the Union speech. Its unclear whether the Democratic Senators Obama and Clinton will leave the campaign trail and return to Washington to support their leader and the American people's right to be free from warrantless eavesdropping. Tell your Senators to support the Constitution and the rule of law by voting against cloture.