FISA: Glen Greenwald Pisses Me Off!

Because he is so damn good on FISA that I want to just reprint his whole column…hell, ALL his columns on FISA. I have severe blogger envy.

So that’s how the Protect America Act — like most other laws drastically expanding the President’s unchecked powers — was born: in a climate of rank fear-mongering and exploitation of the Terrorist Threat: If you don’t give the President these new extraordinary powers, we’re all going to die.

Call Now!

# Bayh (202) 224-5623

# Carper (202) 224-2441

# Inouye (202) 224-3934

# Johnson (202) 224-5842

# Landrieu (202)224-5824

# McCaskill (202) 224-6154

# Mikulski (202) 224-4654

# Nelson (FL) (202) 224-5274

# Nelson (NE) (202) 224-6551

# Pryor (202) 224-2353

# Salazar (202) 224-5852

H/t mcjoan

Pony for Greenwald! and more below the fold.

And PLEASE don’t forget to call YOUR Senators and tell them to support Dodd as well!!! You can contact them using that form over there on the right of the page.

The administration explicitly admits that the President won’t allow an extension because he wants to repeat the success of last August — when Congressional Democrats capitulated to every Bush demand because they were told they had to act within a matter of days, i.e., before their recess, lest they cause us all to be killed by The Terrorists. “They need the heat of the current law lapsing to get this done,” said a senior administration official, courteously granted anonymity by The Politico’s Allen to issue these threats.

This veto threat is one of the President’s most brazen acts ever, so nakedly exposing the fun and games he routinely plays with National Security Threats. After sending Mike McConnell out last August to warn that we will all die without the PAA, Bush now says that he would rather let it expire than give Congress another 30 days. He just comes right out and announces, then, that he will leave us all vulnerable to a Terrorist Attack unless he not only gets everything he wants from Congress — all his new warrantless eavesdropping powers made permanent plus full immunity for his lawbreaking telecom partners — but also gets it exactly when he wants it (i.e., now — not 30 days from now).

If the Democrats had even the slightest strategic sense and/or courage — just the slightest amount — this is a political confrontation they would be uncontrollably eager to have. Just imagine if they sustain the filibuster today and instead pass a 30-day extension of the PAA, and then Bush vetoes it, knowingly choosing to leave the intelligence community without the ability to Listen In When Osama Is Calling. It would be the height of political stupidity for Democrats to be afraid of that outcome.

I am flirting with fair use there, but just a bit since it is a nice log column….and I hope Mr Greenwald doesn’t mind….or come after me! Especially since I cannot resist reposting some paragraphs from his Saturday columnthat I used in Ask A Kossak last night and a few of my scribblings in response. If this puts me over fair use…all I can say is I regret that I have but one copyright infringement to give for my country!

There is never any shortage of super-sophisticated cynics to come along and say how none of this matters, how it’s so pitifully naive to think that any difference can ever be made, how the System is so Corrupted and the Deck So Stacked Against Us that everything is doomed and defeat is the inevitable option. And there is an element of truth to the premises of that defeatist mindset. The principal reason blogs exist, after all, is precisely because all other institutions intended to provide some adversarial check on what our government does — the establishment media, the “opposition party,” the Congress — typically do the opposite: they serve as enablers of it rather than checks on it. That’s all true enough.

   But what incidents such as this one conclusively demonstrate is that it is always possible, if enough citizen intensity is mustered and the right strategy is formulated, for citizens to disrupt and defeat the best-laid plans of our corrupt political establishment. There’s a comfort and temptation in denying that truth. Those who insist that defeat is inevitable and All is Lost are relieved of the burdensome task of trying. But defeat occurs because the right strategy isn’t found, not because it is inevitable.

From Senator Dodd:

For several months now, I’ve listened to the building frustration over this immunity and this administration’s campaign of lawlessness. I’ve seen it in person, in mail, online-the passion and eloquence of citizens who are just fed up. They’ve inspired me more than they know.

Not Glen Greenwald! This is from last night’s Ask A….I can’t think of a way to ay it better, so I will just repeat myself:

This applies to everything from impeachment to ending the war to supporting candidates. Never forget it. It doesn’t even matter if we win or lose a particular fight…what matters over all is the fight itself. WE are just about the only ones fighting…and what we do DOES have an impact.  Win Or Lose, we have a seat at the table. We are changing the conversation.

And here, my fine furry Dharlings is the latest battle…and this IS one we can win. Reid an Rockefeller and Cheney’s (wow! Think about that!) have already had to change their plans. It is time, on this fine Sunday evening and into tomorrow to fill your Senators voicemailbox, to flood them with faxes and to inundate them with e-mail in support of Chris Dodd…and the Constitution.  

All that is left to say is….do all you can, this is a line in the sand. Heck even Hilary and Obama have SAID they will show up! That means we have Democrats, including Presidential Candidate Democrats….actually taking a stand against Bush!

Praise to the Democrats!

And heapings of praise on one Glen Greenwald….even though he is so damn good….that he pisses me off!!