In an article in the Washington Post by Jonathan Weisman and Ellen Nakashima, entitled Senate and Bush agree on terms of spying bill, the government’s surveillance bill was finally agreed upon and passed. The article explains that the hopeful competing version of the Bill was dropped for a lack of votes before it was even placed on the floor. It is unclear of what was actually passed, but according to the article, the Democrats allowed Bush somewhat of a victory, or at least let him get his telecommunication buddies off the hook. Although some important provisions might have been left out, the Democrats were able to keep two important stipulations. First, despite Bush’s previous demands that the program and its “subjects” remain top secret and unrestricted, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will oversee the program. Secondly, the Democrats were able to place time restrictions on the bill, expiring it in February, and requiring renewal every six years thereafter. Unlike Bush’s desire for the bill to be permanent, this expiration and renewal will hopefully allow for stricter oversights to be placed on the program in the future.
It’s great that certain stipulations were passed about the bill, but I think we cannot forget that there are no guarantees for restrictions or safeguards against unwarranted spying on our fellow Americans. In addition, it seems like Bush was overly concerned about the immunity of his telecommunication buddies and “had repeatedly threatened to veto any legislation that lacked this provision”. Sadly, this shows that Bush can basically get anyone to do whatever the hell he wants, and then later grant immunity, including immunity for himself. Does anyone remember Enron??? In addition, Bush and his fellow party members have used ridiculous tactics such as fear mongering to bully Congress and the Senate to help pass bills. For instance this comment from Representative Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.); “the measure extends our Constitution beyond American soil to our enemies who want to cut the heads off Americans”. I just ask, why do statements such as this continue to persuade the masses???
