Glenn Greenwald
Wednesday September 19, 2007 07:26 EST
Are Democrats planning still worse FISA capitulations?

First, retroactive immunity turns the "rule of law" into an even greater mockery than it has been for the last six years. The central premise in granting immunity is that telecom companies did nothing wrong -- even if they violated the law -- because they cooperated with warrantless spying at the behest of the President.

But we don't actually live in a country where private actors are permitted to commit crimes and violate laws provided that the President tells them that they should. The President has no greater power to authorize others to break the law than he does to break the law himself. Quite the contrary, Article II of the Constitution imposes the opposite obligation: "he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." Lawbreaking is still illegal even if George Bush says it should be done. Does that principle really need to be explained?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/09/19/democrats_fisa/index.html

do read the whole thing, then call your member of congress

(is it any wonder that the congress's approval is @ 11% ??)

((throw. the. bums. out))