Recapping Immunity

This FISA battle is over for now (sort of), but it's worth one final post (for now) on the issue, just to ad perspective to this issue, and provide a snapshot of the Utah Blogosphere's reactions over the past few weeks. Despite the final turnout, it has been amazing to see the way bloggers and activists have rallied toward this issue to draw attention to the travesty of granting retro-active immunity. Here are some of the highlights from...

• JM Bell.
• SUMP.
• The World According to Me.
• Us.
• Pursuit of Liberty.
• (One of my favorite posts on the matter by) Obi Wan.
• On the Radio we had KVNU's For The People and KSL's Left of the Dial.
• And even Congressional candidate (UT-1) Morgan Bowen weighed in via YouTube.

Nationally, FireDogLake and Glenn Greewald really drove the fight against immunity. Senator Russ Feingold was a vocal critic as well.

And though the bill has passed with the support of Republicans and Democrats eager to cow to the President, both Electronic Fontrier Foundation and the ACLU have already filed suit questioning the constitutionality of granting retro-active immunity to AT&T and Verizon for participating in the surveillance without a warrant.

As a final word on the matter, a message from an unexpected source: Senator Clinton. While Clinton's campaign emulated the Republicans, her vote and statement on the bill most certainly did not.

"[A]ny surveillance program must contain safeguards to protect the rights of Americans against abuse, and to preserve clear lines of oversight and accountability over this administration. I applaud the efforts of my colleagues who negotiated this legislation, and I respect my colleagues who reached a different conclusion on today's vote. I do so because this is a difficult issue. Nonetheless, I could not vote for the legislation in its current form."

[...]"Congress must vigorously check and balance the president even in the face of dangerous enemies and at a time of war. That is what sets us apart. And that is what is vital to ensuring that any tool designed to protect us is used - and used within the law - for that purpose and that purpose alone. I believe my responsibility requires that I vote against this compromise, and I will continue to pursue reforms that will improve our ability to collect intelligence in our efforts to combat terror and to oversee that authority in Congress."

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