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The Big FISA Wuss Out
The House approved a compromised update to the FISA law on Friday and with that ends any speculation of there being reasonable restraints on government eavesdropping. It appears that election year pressures to be "tough" on national security have trumped the desire to provide meaningful oversight of the once warrantless program to gather endless bytes of data on any person in the U.S.
Just looking at the large number of Dems (105) that sided with GOP members of the House signals how anxious the moderate wing of the Democratic party was get this pesky issue out of the way. I'm curious was to where all the libertarian small government types have been in this one.
The tech-news sphere of reporting seems to be the only area of the online media that is condemning the passage of the law with some certitude. Some good follow up reporting can be found at Ars Technica and the EFF website. The approval of the FISA authorization includes telco immunity and allows the NSA to use general warrants to surveil large swaths of data based on loose parameters (don't take my word for it).
The joining together of Republicans and Democrats in the House demonstrates that the idea of bipartisan compromise doesn't always bring forth sound policy. If you are one of the many Americans unaware of the significance of this concentration of power or if you just don't mind America slouching towards a police state then you are probably content with the news.
Some recognition is due to local House members Betty Sutton and Tim Ryan. Both decided to stand on principle despite the overwhelming tide against it and voted nea on the FISA bill. Don't leave them hanging, call their respective offices and thank them for their principled stand if you care. They are sure to face negative campaign adds over their votes the next time they run for re-election.
Also of note are the ten Republican members that did not vote on the FISA bill for various reasons. The most noticeable of these was liberterian leaning champion of limited government Ron Paul. Even more reason to believe the darling of the latest resurgence against the current GOP is more talk than substance.
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Just looking at the large number of Dems (105) that sided with GOP members of the House signals how anxious the moderate wing of the Democratic party was get this pesky issue out of the way. I'm curious was to where all the libertarian small government types have been in this one.
The tech-news sphere of reporting seems to be the only area of the online media that is condemning the passage of the law with some certitude. Some good follow up reporting can be found at Ars Technica and the EFF website. The approval of the FISA authorization includes telco immunity and allows the NSA to use general warrants to surveil large swaths of data based on loose parameters (don't take my word for it).
The joining together of Republicans and Democrats in the House demonstrates that the idea of bipartisan compromise doesn't always bring forth sound policy. If you are one of the many Americans unaware of the significance of this concentration of power or if you just don't mind America slouching towards a police state then you are probably content with the news.
Some recognition is due to local House members Betty Sutton and Tim Ryan. Both decided to stand on principle despite the overwhelming tide against it and voted nea on the FISA bill. Don't leave them hanging, call their respective offices and thank them for their principled stand if you care. They are sure to face negative campaign adds over their votes the next time they run for re-election.
Also of note are the ten Republican members that did not vote on the FISA bill for various reasons. The most noticeable of these was liberterian leaning champion of limited government Ron Paul. Even more reason to believe the darling of the latest resurgence against the current GOP is more talk than substance.
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