by RepHildaSolis [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I share the concern raised by many on this blog about the FISA Amendments Act, especially the immunity it provides telecomm providers.  That I why I voted against the bill on Friday.  Below is my official statement.

"Today, the House of Representatives passed the FISA Amendments Act, which I voted against.  I am deeply concerned the legislation will provide an enormous loophole for those telephone companies that participated in the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping program.  We cannot allow backdoor immunity for telecommunications providers who spied on Americans and broke the public trust.  

"The constituents of the 32nd Congressional District and many more from around the country have spoken loud and clear that any form of immunity for telecommunications providers is unacceptable and I wholeheartedly agree.  We must work harder to not only fight against terrorism and threats to our country but also to respect our constituents' civil liberties and the values upon which country was founded."

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[courtesy of Blog for America]

The latest set-back for the Bush Administration is entitled Boumediene v. Bush and, IMHO, the conservatives are quite correct in being really upset.  Because Justice Kennedy has finally made his point that the Constitution is a limiting document, designed to define and restrict the behavior of the agents of government in exchange for their having been granted the power to use force.  As one of the commenters on the  News Hour pointed out, the implication of the decision reaches much further than the prison on Guantanmo.  In establishing that the Constitution follows the flag, it will affect U.S. government actions all around the globe.

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

After all these years and all this money, you would think the Bush administration would put some sort of priority on bringing regular water and power to  Baghdad.  If you thought that, you'd be wrong.  The New York Times reports:

Even as American and Iraqi troops are fighting to establish control of the Sadr City section of this capital, the Iraqi government’s program to restore basic services like electricity, sewage and trash collection is lagging, jeopardizing the effort to win over the area’s wary residents.

Danny
Communications Director

by Jeff Morris [courtesy of Blog for America]

   Last week, after a speech he made in San Francisco, Atty Gen MuKasey claimed that if the NSA warrant less wiretapping program was in place prior to 9-11 the attack could have been prevented.  Mukasey said that, prior to 9/11, the Bush administration knew of a telephone call made by an Al Qaeda Terrorist from what he called a "safe house in Afghanistan" to the U.S., but failed to monitor  that call? First the Bush administration ignored the August 2001 Intelligence briefing that stated "Bin Laden determined To Strike Inside The U.S". and now we learn they ignored this threat also. MuKasey's claim that if the FISA Courts hadn't required a warrant the attack could have been prevented doesn't hold water. It's another lie coming from our Justice Department. The fact is that prior to 9-11 the FISA courts allowed monitoring phone calls to the U.S coming from Foreign Countries WITHOUT requiring a warrant!

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

Adm. Fallon, commander of US forces in the Middle East was forced out by the Bush administration.  The New York Times reports:

Adm. William J. Fallon, the commander of American forces in the Middle East whose outspoken public statements on Iran and other issues had seemed to put him at odds with the Bush administration, is retiring early, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

Danny
Communications Director

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

The official position of the Bush adminstration is that Congress is "irrelevant" when its comes to Iraq. The Army Times, in a story titled "Bush Officlas: Congress irrelevant on Iraq, lays it all out:

The Bush administration says the 2002 congressional authorization to go to war in Iraq gives it the authority to conduct combat operations in Iraq and negotiate far-reaching agreements with the current Iraqi government without consulting Congress.

Danny
Communications Director

by Ilya Sheyman [courtesy of Blog for America]

We just won an incredible last minute victory in the Senate. Senate Democrats stood up to the Bush administration and stopped telecom immunity. Here's a message Jim just sent out:

We just had a huge victory. Grassroots action forced the Senate to stop telecom immunity from passing.

Earlier today, DFA members made over 1,000 calls an hour to our Senators. And they heard our voices loud and clear.

Tonight I'll be watching President Bush give his final State of the Union. As usual, he will be fear-mongering and pushing his radical agenda on the American people.

Thanks to your work today, we flipped the vote and forced Senate Democrats to have a backbone.

Jim

Thanks for all your hard work today. Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we keep up the fight!