105 DEMOCRATS VOTE FOR BUSH'S IMMUNITY TO TELECOMS

I am angry at the House for going along with Bush in his quest to give immunity to the telephone companies for aiding and abetting the administration in the violation of the wiretap laws.

Bush got everything he wanted. A harsher wiretap law, immunity for the telecoms, and a victory for those repressive forces who think that everything is justified if it is for "national security."

Dan Eggen, Paul Kane and William Branigin write in today's washingtonpost.com:

"Ending a year-long battle with President Bush, the House approved, 293 to 129, a re-write of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that extends the government's ability to eavesdrop on espionage and terrorism suspects while providing a legal escape hatch for AT&T, Verizon Communications and other telecommunication firms. The companies face more than 40 lawsuits that allege they violated customers' privacy rights by helping the government conduct a warrantless spying program after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"Before the vote, President Bush today lauded Congress for reaching agreement on the legislation, saying it was vital to help thwart new terrorist attacks."

HURRAY FOR NANCY PELOSI AND DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS - NO TELECOM IMMUNITY AS BUSH SOUGHT

Wonderful news that the House left on Thursday for a twelve-day recess without approving Bush's immunity for the telecoms. If the phone companies violated the FISA law by allowing the government to spy and wiretap without a valid court-issued warrant, then they should face the music, both civil and criminal. Bush and Cheney have no right to grant them immunity. I suspect that the purpose of the telecom immunity is to shield Bush and Cheney themselves from evidence adduced in possible telecom suits that thse government officials broke the eavesdropping law with knowledge aforethought. So by proposing immunity for the telephone companies, Bush and Cheney are really trying to obtain immunity for their own illegal and reprehensible actions.

16 SENATE DEMOCRATS SHAMEFULLY VOTE TO GIVE TELECOMS IMMUNITY

How could the U.S. Senate vote to give telecom companies immunity from possible violations of the FISA Act which prohibits spying on Americans without a court order or warrant?

William Branigin and Paul Kane report on-line for The Washington Post that:

"Senators voted 67 to 31 to shelve the amendment offered by Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.). A filibuster-proof 60 votes had been needed for the amendment to move forward.

"The vote represented a victory for the Bush administration and a number of telecommunications companies -- including AT&T and Sprint Nextel -- that face dozens of lawsuits from customers seeking billions of dollars in damages.

"Approval of the amendment would have exposed the companies to privacy lawsuits for helping the administration monitor the calls of suspected terrorists without warrants from a special court following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

Here is the link to the roll call vote showing who voted for the final bill and who voted against. Sen. Clinton did not vote. Sen. Obama voted nay. All the Republicans and some 16 Democrats voted yea. Among the Democrats voting yea were Sen. Feinstein, Sen. Casey, Sen. Inouye, the two Senator Nelsons, Sen. McCaskill, Sen. Landrieu, Sen. Salazar, Sen. Lincoln, Sen. Conrad, Sen. Johnson, Sen. Kohl, Sen. Webb, Sen. Rockefeller, Sen. Pryor and Sen. Mikulski.

Shame on all these Democrats voting with Bush and the Republicans.