Action: MORE Wiretapping? No Thanks.

Democrats — yes, Democrats — are scrambling to expand warrantless wiretapping THIS WEEK.

So as not to appear soft on terrorism (natch), they are trying to slide the legislation in before the recess, which could start this weekend. The expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will cover "purely foreign" telephone communications, that is, foreign-to-foreign calls that get routed through the United States. Monitoring these calls currently requires court approval.

The ACLU's position is that this legislation should not speed through before the recess but should be carefully considered and discussed before Congress passes it. In the New York Times, ACLU's executive director observed, “Congress needs to take its time before it implements another piece of antiterrorism legislation it will regret, like the Patriot Act.”

Read the New York Times article.

See the ACLU page on NSA spying.

Since this legislation could be approved this week, I recommend you CALL your representatives and urge them to stop this expansion of FISA. This is a new area that has opened up to possible intelligence-gathering, and serious legal and ethical concerns should be addressed before passing this legislation.

To find your reps, see Project Vote Smart. You can enter your zip code (ZIP+4) in the box on the left, and it will pull up all your state and national reps.

P.S. Sorry to be late with the action this week, but I got distracted by the Bay Area photos. This will go more smoothly as it becomes routine!

LAST MINUTE BONUS ACTION!

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) has introduced legislation to stop unsavory and predatory credit card practices. I believe this is worthy legislation we can all get behind.

Read the New York Times editorial.

Urge your senators to support Senate Bill S. 1395.