Dodd's an Obamaniac

This morning I received an email from Senator Chris Dodd informing me that he is endorsing Barack Obama for President. What's that? You haven't received your email from a U.S. Senator today? You must be a bad citizen!

I hope that Senator Dodd has extracted a promise from Obama to support all of his (Dodd's) efforts in the Senate to avoid further erosion of the Bill of Rights, and to withdraw the carte blanche for domestic surveillance that the Congress has "granted" the Executive Branch in recent years. (I put scare quotes around granted because the Congress has no more authority to "grant" the Executive Branch permission to ignore the Constitution than the Judicial Branch has to "grant" the presidency to its favorite candidate before all the votes have been counted. But, whatever.)

Anyway, Senator Dodd urges me to become involved in Obama's campaign. We'll see.

Another letter to Barack Obama....

...in which I implore the Senator to get off the #!©k!n& campaign trail for a day or two and motivate back to Washington to block the heinous telecom immunity provisions of FISA renewal legislation. The excerpt below reprints my recommended political tactic, which I provided pro bono for Mr. Obama to use in the event that blocking the bad bill were to require a filibuster (as promised by Senator Dodd):

"I urge you to join your colleagues who are opposed to telecom immunity, including any filibuster of FISA legislation that includes retroactive immunity. Perhaps this would not even require an interruption in your campaigning for the presidency: you could take your turn at the rostrum to support the filibuster by continuously reading from transcripts of your best campaign speeches until adversaries of the Constitution get tired of hearing about you and relent. Your speeches would undoubtedly be broadcast on C-SPAN, at no cost to the Obama campaign."

Now, isn't that a piece of cunning advice? Yes, I agree with your concurrence: it is indeed.

I've already written several letters on telecom immunity to Obama and to Dick Durbin, my U.S. Senators. This stuff really matters if we want to continue living in a nation where jack-booted thugs aren't authorized to kick in our doors or our throats because they don't like something they overheard us say on our cell phones. Or write on our awesome blogs. What --- you don't have an awesome blog?!? Then write your senators and tell them you agree with StuporMundi.

Dodd delays rotten FISA bill

I wrote about this yesterday, but the headline of my post wasn't to the point. My letter, to Barack Obama and Dick Durbin (my state's so-called progressive U.S. Senators), was really about Chris Dodd's vow to filibuster a rotten revision of the FISA bill. The law would grant unconditional retroactive immunity to telecom execs and employees who may have helped rogue elements of the executive branch illegally and unconstitutionally spy on U.S. citizens. I demanded that both of my senators get Dodd's back and help make the filibuster work on behalf of the U.S. Constitution. (Obama replied with a longwinded, mealy-mouthed form letter by return robo-ping.)

Evidently, tonight Dodd succeeded in convincing the backstabbing Harry Reid to pull FISA from consideration until after the holiday Senate recess. I don't know or care about the details at this point, but hooray for Dodd! And a turd in the punchbowl for every other Democratic presidential candidate currently in the Senate who did not drop everything and haul back to DC to help Dodd line up a majority-proof filibuster. I am not interested in the purported leadership qualities of Obama or Hillary Clinton if they are not interested in showing some actual leadership on this critical issue here and now. I do not know what is the matter with these people --- more interested in being something than doing something, as the old saying goes. Trouble is, what they're being is opportunistic, irresponsible assholes.

A letter to Barack Obama

The following is the text of an email I sent to Barack Obama this evening about the Senate's impending grant of immunity to corporate executives and employees who may have cooperated in helping the current administration establish an illegal and unconstitutional domestic spying operation using U.S. telecommunications infrastructure:

Senator Obama,

I expect that tomorrow you will do everything in your power to support Senator Dodd's filibuster of the telecom immunity bill.

Nobody should be granted blanket, retroactive immunity for breaking the law or assisting others to do it. If telecom employees and executives want immunity from prosecution for breaking the laws of this land, then they need to provide their full cooperation in the prosecution of any and all government officials involved in violating the Fourth Amendment rights of U.S. citizens.

You want me, as a voter, to support your bid for President on the basis of your capacity for leadership. Fine: I want you to demonstrate your capacity for leadership by throwing your full and public support to Senator Dodd and his defense of what is left of our U.S. Constitution.

Sincerely,

[StuporMundi]

I wrote one to Dick Durbin, too, and it was even a bit snottier. Consider writing your own email along these same lines if you don't want politicians and corporations consummating their police state fantasies at the expense of our fundamental liberties.