long story short, the supremes have refused to hear the ACLU’s challenge to the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping, without comment.
the importance of this decision, which puts an end to the legal challenge, in relation to the FISA statute, especially the teleCON immunity provision, is smartly summed up by Glenn Greenwald:
… This decision does mean, however, that EFF’s pending lawsuits in San Francisco against AT&T, Verizon and the other telecoms are now the sole remaining vehicle for finding out what the Bush administration actually did when spying on Americans for years without warrants, and as importantly, is the last hope for obtaining a judicial ruling as to whether the President broke the law and violated the Constitution when doing so. If Jay Rockefeller and Dick Cheney have their way and retroactive amnesty is granted to these telecoms, those lawsuits will be forever dismissed and Americans will remain indefinitely in the dark about how our own Government spied on us, and will forever lose the opportunity to have a court rule whether the Government broke the law and violated our Constitutional rights…
the house will be back in session next week, and the full court media onslaught is already underway.
chimpy, from his saturday radio address, leading the way:
“At this moment, somewhere in the world, terrorists are planning a new attack on America.”
contact your Representative… Senator…Speaker Pelosi…and Majority Leader Reid
NO WARRANTLESS WIRETAPPING
ITMF’sA
keep the pressure on!
thanks
dada, my take,
If the court takes it up & a ruling reached or decided, that`s the end.
By not taking it up, they leave it open for a lower court to make a ruling letting the supremes to rule on it later. I think there is a flaw somewhere (no kidding) where the supremes don“t want to be involved, yet by refusing to hear it at this time, if the telecom immunity passes, they have clean shorts.
I think the best thing to do is to make absolutely sure the immunity does not pass. Otherwise, it`s all over but the crying.
The torches & pitchforks are next, but maybe only years from now.
The general public do not know what is going on.
The media should be impeached.
it is now in the hands of the house, and the senate. if the immunity/amnesty provision is not struck down, there will be no accounting for the illegal acts that this administration has done, not just from nine-one-one on, but beginning in feb of 2001 when they took over…thru a coup abetted by the SCOTUS [tho SCROTUMS may be the more apropos term].
it would be nice if hillary and/or obama would make take a more forceful position of leadership and get behind the rule of law/and these issues as part of their campaigns…not that l’m optimistic that’ll happen.
regardless, those who support the investigation and /legal
resolution of this issue can contact them, as l have done, thru their respective senate.gov sites:
clinton
obama
or their campaign sites.
dada,
You`d think that the candidates` political advisors would know that promising to investigate the malfeasance committed by the present gang of tyrants (oxymoron, in this plural context) in the fascist controlled white castle, might assure them of the presidency. Whether that position failed to achieve the titular head of state in question, it would definitely assure them a place in history as possibly the last presidential hopeful to take a stand in this once free republic. As long as these candidates do not stand up, they should never sit down as leaders.
the Gavel has an excellent post up re: FISA
and KO had constitutional scholar jonathan turley on countdown discussing the supremes’ decision to not hear the ACLU v. NSA case:
recommended