In yet another move to prove to the American people that NO ONE in Congress, even the Democratic majority in the Senate, seems to care about preserving the Constitution and Bill of Rights, Majority Leader Harry Reid has temporarily suspended his requirement that all votes must have 60 votes up front, which applies if the Republicans want to block legislation. That way everyone pretends they are not filibustering. Which, of course, the Republicans have done more in the past year than has been done in the past decade.

Reid has suspended this rule today, since it is two Democratic Senators threatening honesty to filibuster, so he can force Dodd and Feingold to do a real filibuster to try and stop the pending renewal of FISA legislation. The bill Reid is supporting will include immunity for the telecoms, who it turns out have been illegally spying on Americans’ communications for years at the direction of the Bush Administration. Not only will this FISA renewal further deepen the illegal, warrantless spying on all communications by Americans, it will make it impossible for court cases to continue, cases that will reveal the depth of the violation of the law and our civil liberties by the Bush administration.

FWIW, if you do care about your civil liberties, and the idea that we are a society ruled by fair and equally applied laws, you might entertain the thought of calling the Senate.

Sadly, calling Indiana’s Sen. Evan Bayh is a waste of time. When you speak about civil liberties what he hears is ‘la la la la’ since he has his Republican-Lite fingers stuck in his ears. I called his office anyway, and asked him to quit destroying the rule of law. I also suggested he call for Reid to resign as majority leader.

If you are happy at what was a slide but has become a headlong plunge into a 24 hour secret surveillance police state, do nothing.

Some good commentary on this can be found right now with full details.

The biting satirical approach, nominating Sen. Reid as Hero of the Bush Revolution

The biting factual demolition of the gutless cowards, the Democrats in the Senate, who day by day are participating in the dismantling of every vestige of the protections to civil liberties guaranteed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights:
Your Harry Reid-led Senate in action
and
Jay Rockefeller’s unintentionally revealing comments