The "Protect America Act" is EXACTLY what Orwell had in mind

The Democratic Activist
In a 30-second video making the rounds on YouTube, Senator Russ Feingold gives a masterfully concise explanation of exactly what telecom immunity means, and what we stand to lose, if the Dems let Bush and Cheney get his way just one more time.

The "Protect America Act" (Orwellian for the "Destroy America by Eviscerating the Constitution Act") is precisely what Orwell prophesied in his prescient classic novel, 1984.

This 30-second video says it all:



Should PAA be enacted as permanent law with provisions granting immunity for telecom companies that colluded with the administration in Bush's illegal NSA domestic spying program, 1984 will have come to life in 2008. Criminal and civil cases against guilty telecoms will forever be disallowed, and we will likely never be able to find out the truth about the depth and breadth of the Bush administration's assualt on our privacy rights or hold the individuals involved accountable for these extremely serious crimes against our nation.

Earlier this week, the Democrats once again gave their lunch money to bully Republicans by passing a 15 day extension of PAA, keeping it alive until 2/15/08. In an excellent post on DailyKos two days ago, author mcjoan debriefs us on meeting Senator Feingold held on 1/29/08 "with a handful of bloggers to talk abut critical issues facing the Senate," chief among them being the proposed updates to FISA, PAA, and the urgent need to prevent the granting of immunity to telecom companies guilty of cooperating with Mr. Bush is his illegal NSA domestic spying operations. The post is a must read, and does a fine job of dissecting the complexities of the various amendments being offered to FISA.

In addition, the DailyKos post provides the following list of Democratic senators "most likely to cave to Republican pressure." It's these particular Democrats that we need to target:

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Bayh (IN)
Phone: 202-224-5623
Fax: 202-228-1377

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Carper (DE)
Phone: 202-224-2441
Fax: 202-228-2190

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Feinstein (CA)
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954

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Inouye (HI)
Phone: 202-224-3934
Fax: 202-224-6747

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Johnson (SD)
Phone: 202-224-5842
Fax: 202-228-5765
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Landrieu (LS)
Phone: 202-224-5824
Fax: 202-224-9735

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Lincoln (AR)
Phone: 202-224-4843
Fax: 202-228-1371

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McCaskill (MO)
Phone: 202-224-6154
Fax: 202-228-6326

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Mikulski (MD)
Phone: 202-224-4654
Fax: 202-224-8858

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Nelson (FL)
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183

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Nelson (NE)
Phone: 202-224-6551
Fax: 202-228-0012

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Pryor (AR)
Phone: 202-224-2353
Fax: 202-228-0908

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Rockefeller (WV)
Phone: 202-224-6472
Fax: 202-224-7665

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Salazar (CO)
Phone: 202-224-5852
Fax: 202-228-5036

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Here's what you can do:

1. Contact your own senators ... and make sure they get the message: NO TELECOM IMMUNITY! (To find your senators, click here.)

2. Contact the 14 senators listed above ... and deliver the same emphatic message.

3. Send a link to this post to everyone you know who values the rule of law and democracy in America, and urge them to do as you've done!

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Emails sent to congressional reps make a big difference, also ... especially when done "in mass." Here's a very simple way to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your emailing efforts:

A. Compose a short, passionate, generic template message (150 words or less) urging NO TELECOM IMMUNITY.

B. Go to Congress.org, enter your zip code in the field indicated for finding your representatives, select "Federal," select the the particular officials you wish to contact and the type of message you want to send (email, letter, or *Extra Impact), and send them all a copy of your message with one click!

* Select the "Extra Impact" option when sending your message ... and for just $8.95 your message will be arrive speedily in your rep's office as a hand-delivered "Advocacy Express" letter!

C. Go to the Congress.org Media Guide, enter your zip code in the "Local Media" field (be sure that "Show national media ..." is checked), select up to five local and/or national media outlets at a time, and with a single click send your message to all of them, as well!

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The senate will vote on various FISA amendments on Monday, 2/4/08, and so our energetic activity in firm opposition to telecom immunity is immensely important right now ... and will remain so until the expiration of PAA set for 2/15/08.

It will take about 20 minutes to call your own senators and the 14 listed above. Committed activists may be able to find to the time to do it each day until 2/15/08! But even just a few calls from the list above made each day would go a long way to convincing reluctant senate Democrats to finally do what's right and stand up as a group to the big, bad, scary Republicans.

Let's all do all we can at this critical time!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist