Broader Spying Authority Advances in Congress

And the Dems wonder why the public has such disrespect for them? Just as bad as the War on Drugs/Get Tough on Crack bs of the 80s - both parties trying to be macho, and passing laws furiously to defeat various straw-man criticisms. Bleh.

Broader Spying Authority Advances in Congress:
A measure to broaden the White House’s wiretapping authority was expected to be approved in the House.
A furious push by the White House to broaden its wiretapping authority appeared on the verge of victory on Friday night after the Senate approved a measure that would temporarily give the administration more latitude to eavesdrop without court warrants on foreign communications that it suspects may be tied to terrorism.

The House is expected to take up the White House-backed measure on Saturday morning before going into its summer recess.

Democratic leaders acknowledged that the bill would probably pass.

Thanks, we needed someone to champion civil liberties. Good to know it won't be the Democratic party either. Clear the air and all that. Oh, and don't bother asking me for campaign contributions anymore.

The measure “goes far, far beyond” the National Security Agency program that the president secretly approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin.

Caroline Frederickson, head of the American Civil Liberties Union office here, said: “The Democrats caved in to the politics of fear we’re seeing from this administration. They didn’t want to be depicted as soft on terrorism. But this measure removes any court oversight from surveillance on Americans in a large number of cases.”

Nobody wanted to be labeled “soft on crime” back then, so we filled our prisons to over-capacity with minor drug offenders, and haven't been able to undo the damage since. Let's not repeat the mistake, mmm-k?

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update, more discussion here

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