The above is a great little snippet of how the world changes due to the new Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 2008.  When you start putting fear into reporters and informants, what you end up with is less information to the people. In an American world where it’s already difficult to search for foreign news, this is unfortunate.

There’s a bunch of blogs and all that sort that are putting together a PAC to campaign against those who voted for this to demand accountability. If you want to read more into that click here.

For the uninitiated,  the FISA bill is an update to the way government carries out its intelligence activities (read: spying) and all the rules they must abide by. The current version provides retroactive immunity for the previous FISA laws that telecomm companies broke willfully.  The government is essentially saying go ahead and break the law because we tell you to, we’ll make sure you don’t get busted. It really puts in writing the two-tiered justice system we currently have in place. If you’re a random shmuck on the street and break the law, get ready for some hard time. If you’ve got friends in high places, we can exempt you if we want. Retroactive immunity is technically unconstitutional, if I remember correctly, but that hasn’t seemed to stop much of the last 7 years and its affronts. On top of the ridiculousness of what retroactive immunity technically is, the Senate doesn’t even know what they’re granting immunity to, since all the knowledge is buried within the Bush Administration. This is nothing other than a cover up. Were retroactive immunity not to be passed and awareness of the telecomm industries domestic spying came to light, they would almost go, if not actually go, bankrupt from the civil claims ($10,000 per person per incident). Update: The Feingold amendment was a failed attempt to remove the retroactive immunity completely from the bill. The Bingamin amendment was a failed attempt to investigate the alleged crimes before granting immunity or not.

What it also does is allow the government to spy on a US citizen for a week before attempting to get a warrant. If you’re not offended by the breach of your privacy rights right now, think that this means all of your communications can be read, including all your e-mails and all your internet traffic. For a lot more detail, check out Glenn Greenwald’s numerous posts.

Then think that the Military Commisions Act of 2006 was never repealed. The administration currently has the ability to label anyone an unlawful enemy combatant and put them in jail indefinitely without habeas corpus; the right to challenge your detainment. Granted the Supreme Court recently found this unconstitutional (ONLY 5 of the 9 thought so), but you haven’t heard of any of the Gitmo detainees roaming free. Have you?

It’s seems eerily like the entrance to a security state ala Orwell’s 1984. “Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime is death.” Yes, I’m sounding like a conspiracy theorist. However, many of the systems to start the switch to this type of society are technically in place. All it takes is someone with the balls to do it.  It’s not like the American populace care about their rights.

“Those who would give up liberty to gain security deserve neither and shall lose both.” – Benjamin Franklin