CNN

Who needs a warrant when you have Congress' approval??

Which American was prosecuted using these terror fighting tactics??

Remember when breaking the law was against the law?

Remember when "Law and Order" conservatives actually cared about the rule of law?

STUPID QUOTE OF THE DAY: "So what is Hillary's opinion on this issue? Oh I forgot, she doesn't take a firm stand on any important issue and now that this matter has been pushed back, she will not need to take any action until after the initial primaries.

I don't expect this "Do Nothing" congress to accomplish anything significant and I certainly have learned not to expect candidate Hillary to take on any issue."

Seems Senator Obama has been the one who has decided to bail on his Senate duties. Tries to blame Reid for not giving him enough notice – yet he was the only one of two Senators who didn't make it back for the Iran vote. Notice he never calls Hillary out on that!! BECAUSE HE DIN'T EVEN VOTE NOR WAS HE EVEN IN THE SENATE FOR THE IRAQ VOTE 10/11/02 Pretty easy to be a Monday morning quarter back and brag about what he would have done!!! Oh that's right the Golden Boy can do no wrong – isn't that what everyone said about Dubya?? Might almost be laughable if it weren't so SCAREY

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00349

Not Voting – 2
McCain (R-AZ)
Obama (D-IL)

The only reason 90% of the people who are voting for Obama are doing so because they are voting AGAINST Hillary as in AnyoneButHillary and StopHillaryNow. Fanatical groups so full of hatred and venom – who will reap what they sow. The message they've been spreading is NOT the one that Obama is embracing, Vote for Biden or Richardson and at least save the country from your stupidity. You may have an ax to grind, but the rest of us don't deserve another 4-8ys of GOP because you're living your lives blinded by hatred.

What sort of bogus secret memos were produced and what promises were made by Gonzales and others to coerce normally cautious corporate counsel for the telecoms to agree to participate in unconstitutional wiretapping? Inquiring minds want to know.

Sens Dodd and Feingold and rabid Bush-hating left are being childish. The companies did this to aid national security.

Bull$#!^. Name one case where illegal wiretapping aided national security. They started doing it even before 9/11, it was just a convenient justification after the fact.

Sens Dodd and Feingold and rabid Bush-hating left are being childish. The companies did this to aid national security. If you are so hell-bent on not having eavesdropping or Gitmo or other aspects of the war on terror and demand we get out of the Middle East completely FIRST. Don't demand disarmament at home while we keep on feeding the Arab rage by supporting Israel and occupying Iraq. Sacrificing civil liberties is the tax we must pay for our interventionist foreign policy.

the answer to demwit and those who have similar views and questions is simple.
The President is not king. The most basic tenet of democracy and our constitution is quite clear. Not even the president is above the law and not even the president has the authority OR the right to ask anyone to violate the law.
Did companies have a choice ? YES, absolutely. Some companies made the right choice, other did not.
Regardless of your political affiliation, you should be outraged at the callous and cavalier approach to law and accountability that this issue reveals.
"For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other. "
PERIOD.

So why doesn't Reid say why he is really doing this. He doesn't think he can win now so he is stalling as long as he can. Reid needs to stop playing games with the Senate and do the job the American people elected him to.

Of course these companies had a choice. They could respond to the government's request like sheep and betray their customers' confidence and privacy like AT & T and Verizon did, or they could tell them to get a warrant as the law requires and then we'll allow you access to our customers' records, like Qwest did. Now AT & T and Verizon want immunity for breaking the law.

Yes,these telecoms did have a choice..to obey the law and require a warrant(Quest did this)and refuse to comply with this "above the law" administration. Remember ,this started before 9/11. Congress needs to hold this Administration accountable,and in so doing,will likely reveal alot more about what laws were broken and civil liberties violated.

Did these companies have a choice? Why would the dems, all lawyers, want to prosecute private companies acting under the direction of the US President?? Oh…

Posted By demwit : December 18, 2007 10:58 am

As in the Military, An illegal order is just that: illegal...Telecoms knew it was & the only CEO that said no (Qwest CEO) now sits in jail for SEC violations...

Was he guilty; maybe, but we'll never know how & why the government went after him or what tipped them off so readily to prosicute in early the 2000s

Unfettered rule by fiat is NOT allowed in the US...Maybe all you Originalists, Neocon-baffoons should look at the original intent of the Bill of Rights for a change...

Will you liberals please listen to yourselves? Repair our image around the world.....the Evil Bush Empire spying on everybody.....bring those jobs back to America.....stop Bush from destroying the environment (that's not part of this article, but I thought I would throw it in anyway). Wake up!!!!! You guys tried the same song and dance with Kerry. How did that turn out for you? But go ahead, keep it up. Your relentlessness is going to get yet another Republican elected. Thanks!!!!!

These companies broke the law for 6 years! They had a choice. Qwest refused to hand over data without a court order. ATT illegally sent ALL of your and my electronic data to the NSA without a court order. It is described as "the largest database ever assembled in the world" according to an NSA insider.
In the last 20 years FISA court has passed 18,000 court orders to wire tap and rejected 5. Why would the President circumvent the FISA court?
If your Congressman votes yes on retro-active immunity, your right to privacy will continue to be destroyed. That is not Patriotic and is not American. Time to investigate and make sure this doesn’t happen again. Unless of course you WANT the government to read, hear and see everything you ever do.

Maybe we should think about what's best for the country, not what's best for the senate...

"We have tried to work through this process, and it appears quite clear at this stage on this bill that we're not going to be able to do that," said Reid, D-Nevada. "It is in the best interests of the Senate that we take a look at this when we come back after the first of the year."

No "retroactive" immunity! No executive clemency or pardons either in cases where the one of the conspirators/lawbreakers is the executive (President Dubya Bush)!

What ever happened to the idea of following the LAW of the land to begin with? And if the law is something that needs changing, change it FIRST, rather than just pretending you are King and doing whatever you please and then "retroactively" excusing it?

If the telecoms illegally cooperated with the criminals in the White House, they should be subject to the full remedies of the law that they are aware of.

"Retroactive" is just another excuse and way out by the lawbreakers who are running this country without regard to the constitution. The lawbreakers and their republican "enablers" are a bigger threat to our values and nation than any band of criminals hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan/Pakistan.

It goes to show you how this administration has ruined our reputation abroad, that the presidents father is willing to help a democrat restore our reputation.
S Lehto , Washington

The reason President Bush and the NSA bypassed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is because they didn't have any specific individuals they wanted to "wiretap".

They are using a technique called data mining. They gather all the emails and phone call records (from AT&T for example) in a database and run a software program that looks for suspicious activity. As one can imagine this is a very daunting task that can implicate innocent people. PBS's Frontline had great expose about this whole mess. The best thing we can do as American's is remain diligent, report suspicious activity, and get to know your neighbors.

As Dodd said, the next things being "mined" will be our medical, financial and academic records.

Live Free or Die

The reason the law existed in the first place–was to prevent the companies from having to be under the corrupt influence of the government–by legally place impediments to government access, and creating protections/ immunity if/when they refused the government without the proper legal authority. Once they accepted the governments "request" unchallenged, and without the legal authority of the law–they screwed up. No immunity from suit or prosecution should be allowed–they all knew what they were doing when they did it–and now have to belly up to the consequences. DON'T WE WISH LAWS WERE THAT WAY FOR THE REST OF US CITIZENS. COMMIT A CRIME–GET CONGRESS TO WRITE A NEW LAW AND GET IMMUNITY FROM ANY CRIMES COMMITTED UNDER THE OLD LAW. This is a "no-brainer" unless you're a Republican who seem to think skirting the laws and the constitution is O.K......

Because Senator Chris Dodd flew back to Washington from campaigning in Iowa, phone companies that allegedly assisted this administration in unauthorized surviellance of Americans do not have immunity. Your characterization of Senator Dodd's efforts as unsuccessful are not accurate and unfair.

This just confirms my worst fears about the Clintons the Bushes and the rise of thier political dynasties. This makes me even more less inclined to vote for her.

The telecom immunity part of the bill would clearly reward illegal behavior. I'm glad it's stalled.

Of course they had a choice. They could have asked for a warrant which would have been the legal thing to do. The President is not a dictator. He is not authorized to circumvent the Constitution. These companies did not protect themselves, their shareholders, or the American people. There is a right was and a wrong way to do things. The President and the telecoms made a conscious decision to do this the wrong way. Plain and simple.

I think that even though he is a republican, specter isn't to bad. Better than the candidates running for the GOP. I am a Democrat though. So I am voting for Joe Biden. I think he has the best credentials. We must have a president that can hit the ground running.

Of COURSE these companies had a choice. If you get a letter from your local police department saying, "Kick down your neighbor's door and tell us if he has drugs," its your RESPONSIBILITY to ask your self, "Is this legal?" and if you happen to have huge teams of lawyers (like these telecoms) then you will determine, "No."

They need to be held responsible for folding so easily to the White House when the law on this matter (FISA) is so clear.

I can't think of any clearer indicator that proves Hillary Clinton is a NEO-CON that supports the NWO, CFR agenda.

So what is Hillary's opinion on this issue? Oh I forgot, she doesn't take a firm stand on any important issue and now that this matter has been pushed back, she will not need to take any action until after the initial primaries.

I don't expect this "Do Nothing" congress to accomplish anything significant and I certainly have learned not to expect candidate Hillary to take on any issue.

This is ridiculous. To have a congress equally as woeful as the president. Get it done! And no way should these companies be given any kind of immunity. They are complicit in this warrantless surveillance and the lawsuits against them should go through. Otherwise, this is an abuse against the rule of law. Can we not see what is happening in this country and our Constitutional rights??? Boy, do we ever need to elect someone like Ron Paul. Someone that will be a respector of the Constitution.

i think is a great idea,thesetwo will help president hillary clinton repair our imageand bring more jobs to our country.

Is it just me or do the law/policy makers in Washington work way less than they actually should. I think if you miss 5 votes throughout the year or don't show up to sessions, that's it you're done! Aren't they supposed to be rePRESENTatives,

Or NOT

No "retroactive" immunity! No executive clemency or pardons either in cases where the one of the conspirators/lawbreakers is the executive (President Dubya Bush)!

What ever happened to the idea of following the LAW of the land to begin with? And if the law is something that needs changing, change it FIRST, rather than just pretending you are King and doing whatever you please and then "retroactively" excusing it?

If the telecoms illegally cooperated with the criminals in the White House, they should be subject to the full remedies of the law that they are aware of.

"Retroactive" is just another excuse and way out by the lawbreakers who are running this country without regard to the constitution. They are bigger threat to our values and nation than any band of criminals hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan/Pakistan.

Oh goody, maybe Senator Obama can finally find time in his busy campaign schedule to make that vote

Did these companies have a choice? Why would the dems, all lawyers, want to prosecute private companies acting under the direction of the US President?? Oh...