[HCoop-Misc] More politics

[Nathan Kennedy]

Along a similar vein to the RagingWire email but with broader 
implications, the Senate of the United States is considering the FISA, 
which normally deals with such issues as funding and spending for Social 
Security and Medicare.

But half a year ago the Bush administration pushed through amendments to 
the FISA bill that allowed onerous government surveillance provisions in 
response to some terrorist fearmongering by the Bush administration.  
Shamefully, Congress passed the bill.  But these provisions were set to 
expire in 180 days, which is coming up soon.  So there is a new bill in 
the Senate to renew these provisions and add ones that would give 
telecommunications companies immunity if they break the law in 
cooperation with the executive branch of the government.

This would basically let the President go to any telecom company in the 
USA and say "Give me all your files and records on all of your 
customers.  Let us put packet sniffers on all of your routers.  If you 
don't we'll harass and ruin you; if you do, you have nothing to lose."

Here is a letter I sent to Sen. Chuck Schumer (my senator, besides 
Clinton who is busy running for president) and the Senate Majority 
leader Harry Reid.  If you are an American and value your privacy you 
might want to send Sen. Reid and your senator a similar email or voice 
message.

Dear Senator ____:

Please continue to filibuster the FISA bill until it is appropriately 
amended to strip out the offending language with respect to government 
surveillance.

In particular, vote YES on the Dodd-Feingold amendment to the FISA 
bill.  I am a director and officer of a telecommunications 
company--HCoop Inc.   We provide our members with cooperative internet 
hosting services.  You might expect that I would welcome immunity for 
telecom companies who break the law at the executive's urging.  I 
don't.  Our clients deserve better, we would not betray them, and our 
competitors who do should not get blanket immunity.

This opinion is solely my own and does not represent the view of HCoop, Inc.