[Active-l] (ACTION ITEM) Update on FISA/retroactive immunity

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

	If you haven't read my earlier email (also posted here: http:// 
solarbird.livejournal.com/582682.html ) and called, emailed and/or  
faxed these people, for the love of the gods, _now is the time_.  
Don't wait. Tomorrow is too late. I know it's Sunday; Senator Reid is  
smart and is aware of how little people pay attention over the  
weekend. This is intentional.

	If you have, or if you haven't but have just gone back to remind  
yourself what this is about, here're some updates and additional  
actions.

	Senator Dodd is suspending his Presidential campaign to head east  
and filibuster. He's going to take the floor and not yield it - this  
is the old-school real thing. However, other Senators can take the  
floor and spend up to 20 minutes asking a very, very long question.  
So far, only two (2) other Senators have specifically prepared to do  
so; Senators Feingold and Kennedy. Senator Dodd is looking for  
statements from citizen supporters to read, and questions for them to  
ask. During these 20-minute question periods, Senator Dodd does not  
have to be on the floor; these are his bathroom breaks, basically,  
and are very important. If you have anything, comment on the thread  
linked here with your suggestions:

	http://firedoglake.com/2007/12/16/dodd-fisa-and-the-filibuster-how- 
its-going-to-go-down-and-what-you-can-do/

	Senators Clinton and Obama have not, as yet, cancelled any of their  
appearances tomorrow, nor have I found any comment by either campaign  
on Mr. Dodd's filibuster - that they stated they would support.  
Senator Edwards has similarly not indicated any plans to go east, but  
according to third parties, his schedule tomorrow is unclear. We'll see.

	In related news, the New York Times, unreliable though they are,  
report that the history of telecom direct and explicit violation of  
the law in providing domestic surveillance goes back before 2001,  
tho' it is of course dramatically wider and deeper post-2001. (Story  
here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/washington/16nsa.html?hp )  
They reference testimony from former telecom employees and others  
discussion the widespread purely domestic warrantless illegal  
surveillance of Americans with full - and separately illegal -  
telecom support.

	Let me restate: _every bit of this was explicitly, specifically, and  
entirely illegal_. But since the co-opted Justice Department refuses  
to investigate (and, in fact, is actively interfering with  
Congressional investigations into the destruction of torture  
evidence), and Congress refuses to do anything except try to cover it  
up (with the exceptions at this point of Senators Dodd, Feingold, and  
Kennedy), private lawsuits on the basis of this violation of law are  
the only investigative path remaining.

	And this is Congress, Democrats and Republicans, working together,  
to close down that investigative channel and cover it up so that  
massive spying on Americans may be continued indefinitely, law and  
democracy be damned. And make no mistake: _this is happening because  
the Democratic leadership wants it to happen_. ( http://www.salon.com/ 
opinion/greenwald/index.html ) Period. End of story.

	Get on those faxes (best, reportedly), email contact forms, and  
voice lines. Go. Now.

					- Dara