2008-02-12 Senate Passes Bill to Expand Government's Spying Powers

• when: 2008-02-12
• topics: US warrantless wiretapping privacy Chris Dodd
• link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/washington/12cnd-fisa.html
• title: Senate Passes Bill to Expand Government's Spying Powers
• summary: “Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who spoke on the Senate floor for more than 20 hours in an unsuccessful effort to stall the wiretapping bill, said the vote would be remembered by future generations as a test of whether the country heeds "the rule of law or the rule of men."”

Excerpt

Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who spoke on the Senate floor for more than 20 hours in an unsuccessful effort to stall the wiretapping bill, said the vote would be remembered by future generations as a test of whether the country heeds "the rule of law or the rule of men."

But with Democrats defecting to the White House plan, he acknowledged that the national security issue had won the day in the Senate, even among many of his Democratic colleagues. "Unfortunately, those who are advocating this notion that you have to give up liberties to be more secure are apparently prevailing," Mr. Dodd said. "They're convincing people that we're at risk either politically, or at risk as a nation."

See counter-totalitarianism for ideas towards dealing this when it is finally signed.