FISA

Earlier this week the Senate passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 that will greatly expand the government's ability to spy on Americans and giving full undisclosed immunity to the telecommunications companies that help out. A handful of Senators (mostly Democrats) protested this bill and affirmed their roles as protectors of the constitution.

The FISA bill of course is not being mentioned on  the main stream media. Correction . . . the main stream media does not bother to spell out the implications that this bill will bring. They treat is as a regular bill that does not warrant any attention since it does not drive up the ratings. Remember, the media is a business enterprise with "money" as their motivator. It is not in the interest of the media to hold the government accountable . . . to be the fourth branch of our government, in order to protect the people. Although, that may have been the benevolent reasons why Thomas Jefferson foresaw as the media's role in society . . . he did not anticipate the influence that capitalism would have on the industry.

Nonetheless, that has not stopped The Nation and the ACLU from filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New York. The Nation claims that, "Communications critical to their reporting could and would be monitored under the FISA Amendments Act." The issue at hand that I had with FISA was that the Bush administration would not support a bill that did not provide immunity to the big telecommunications companies. This is a major problem! What is that the Bush administration up to that granting immunity to the telecommunication companies overrides "protecting us from terrorist"? Why can't they help the government without breaking the current laws? Actions speak louder than words and if there is anything I have noticed . . . the fight for immunity by the Bush administration foreshadows the nonsense that they are up to.

With McGrady locked down, Alston steps up as Rockets take over top West spot - Rafer Alston scored 31 points and hit eight 3-pointers, both career highs, and the Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 104-92 to stretch their streak to 22 and claim sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.

Historic agreement for Israel, Germany - Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert chaired a joint session of members of the two countries' Cabinets, at which both governments signed off on a range of projects, including in education, the environment and defense. The two sides agreed to hold such meetings once a year, alternating as hosts.

U.S. Markets Volatile After Fed Actions - Stocks got off to a rocky start on Monday as Wall Street weighed a stunning series of weekend developments that confirmed investors’ worst fears about the fragile state of the financial industry.

China Blocks YouTube After Videos of Tibet Protests Are Posted - Internet users in China were blocked from seeing YouTube.com on Sunday after dozens of videos about protests in Tibet appeared on the popular American video Web site. The blocking added to the Communist government’s efforts to control what the public saw and heard about protests that erupted Friday in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, against Chinese rule.

US House passes surveillance law - The US House of Representatives has passed a surveillance bill that would allow lawsuits against phone companies. President George Bush has promised to veto the bill because it does not give immunity to companies that participated in a controversial wiretap programme. 

On Capitol Hill . . . important issues are being entertained. Finally, Congress has setup a competent committee that is distributed to millions of Americans live. There is talk about lies and misremembering. This bipartisan effort is not slacking off. They take no crap for no one and clearly demonstrate it when they speak to their witnesses. They want the truth and they will get it by the end of the hearings. They are hungry for justice and will not stop until they render it. This is great! Finally, tax payer money is going into an investigation that matters . . . or does it?

NO! Who cares if Roger Clemens shot up with HGH (steroids). Who cares if his career was successful due to performance enhancing drugs/supplements. Is it really necessary to dig and research and conclude that his wife also shot up? Must I remind the American people that we are footing a pretty penny for this investigation. The Mitchell Report and its committee are the new joke of the town. Stop wasting my money, our money investigation trivial matters that need to be handled internally by Major League Baseball.

Which begs the question . . . if CNN/MSNBC/FOX are so busy reporting on the Committee findings what is going on that we are not hearing about? Oh yeah . . . FISA aka Protect America Act (Steve breaks it down rather nicely), that bill that is sort of like the Patriot Act. Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to pass this mediocre excuse of legislation in order to protects us . . . from ourselves.