Freedom Isn't Free

I was faced with this slogan today on a young mans t-shirt. Its an army recruitment shirt I suppose, with a lovely if not diluted, fear tactic emblazoned on the back. The slogan is a powerful one- bringing to mind men on a blood soaked battle field risking life and limb for liberty and justice. Except... thats not what its really all about is it? We don't fight for freedom with guns and bombs anymore- we fight with words and legislation.

FISA. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The executive and legislative branches of our government have been battling over our constitutional rights in regards to FISA for several weeks now. Battle lines have been drawn- the executive branch maintains that government MUST have unfettered access to citizens communication (your phone calls, emails, etc) in order to prevent terrorism. Further, The King threatens to veto any legislation that does not include retroactive immunity for telecom companies (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint) who cooperated with big brother sans warrant to spy on American citizens. Theres one small* problem, the Constitution of the United States forbids agencies to spy on Americans without probable cause (See Fourth Amendment). This is, in fact, why the FISA courts were created, so that government agencies with valid evidence could quickly obtain warrants in pursuit of justice.

Most FISA warrants can be obtained in less that 10 minutes. Most FISA warrants are granted, with approvals in the 90 percent range. The King and cronies in Congress claim that the telco's acted in good faith and have broken no laws. They are patriots! Esteemed members of the party who do not consider that silly piece of paper more important than security.

They want us to choose between Freedom and Safety. The party wants us to believe that if we don't abandon our principles, our children will not be safe. We will not be safe. There will be bigger and more devastating attacks on American soil. Its a false choice- a hypothetical that doesn't exist. There is no dichotomous relationship between privacy and liberty. To imply otherwise is to employ the fear tactics we have subjected to for the past 7 years. Its working. Both houses have already passed bills that include conglomerate immunity for trespasses against the constitution.

I've been emailing, calling and writing letters to pertinent individuals in the House and Senate for weeks now. It only takes a moment to make a phone call. House representatives will discuss the matter of telco immunity today March 14.

We dont need guns to fight for our freedom, we just need a voice. Call your represntative and leave them a message letting them know you DONT support telco immunity, and these people should be held responsible for violating the constitution.

Its really that simple. Find your rep here http://www.house.gov/