by Scott Creighton
Don’t get too excited folks. This is just more cheap theatrics setting up a “crisis compromise” on May 31.
Last night during a special midnight session of the senate, the latest House version of the USA Freedom Act was blocked by a narrow margin in a 57-42 vote. President Obama has been pressuring congress to pass the Freedom Act as a “fix” to the bulk collection authorization found in section 215 of the USA Patriot Act which is set to expire at midnight, May 31.
The senate also failed to extend the Patriot Act for a few more months as they headed off for their Memorial Day vacation.
But don’t worry, a last minute emergency “crisis compromise” session is already scheduled:
Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) scheduled a last-minute session on May 31st for one last shot at passing the bill. Verge
That gives them 7 days to have their corporate lawyers slap in all kinds of new language in the “Freedom” Act so they can dump it on the desks of Senators and Representatives at the last minute then scare them into signing it into law.
If you recall, when the Patriot Act met resistance in congress back in 2001, someone had to send some anthrax to various journalists and congressmen who opposed the bill in order to get it signed.
The Henny-Penny clucks are already starting. If this bill isn’t signed and all those companies don’t get what they want, who knows what some folks might be capable of when trying to motivate a few stubborn senators.
You might recall when they failed to pass the TARP bill back in late 2008, there was a “flash crash” in Wall Street caused by the computer trading machines and Hank Paulson threatened congress with martial law if the banksters didn’t get what they wanted back then.
You see, when terrorism is your preferred tool for foreign policy, one shouldn’t be surprised when it becomes the same for your domestic agenda.
The “Freedom”Act does not end bulk collection of data. It just privatizes it. It also allows Big Business to do with your data as they wish. They will collect it, they will store it, hell, they’ll even get the old data which the government holds today as a bonus. Decades worth for Big Business to do with as they see fit.
“The government would still be able to conduct some bulk data collection. The N.S.A. has used a section of the law that created the FISA court for vast sweeps of phone and email data. Judiciary Committee members from both parties sought to end that data-collection avenue as well, but leaders of the committee beat that effort back…” New York Times
In effect, bulk data collection of everything you do, say, write, Tweet, blog, buy and watch would not only continue in a privatized fashion, but it would be codified into law in the most sweeping reform to the surveillance state in over 40 years. And of course, the NSA and FBI and the Five Eyes program featuring foreign intelligence agencies from around the world would STILL be able to access all your data as well after they go to a “secret court” to get permission.
“Under the bipartisan bills in the House and Senate, the Patriot Act would be changed to prohibit bulk collection, and sweeps that had operated under the guise of so-called National Security Letters issued by the F.B.I. would end. The data would instead be stored by the phone companies themselves, and could be accessed by intelligence agencies only after approval of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court.” New York Times
Not only does this bill privatize the bulk collection of data, it also immunizes Big Telecom against whatever they choose to do with it.
“Rather than fundamentally changing the way the NSA scoops up data, the bill merely outsources collection to immunized telecoms, compelling them to do the NSA’s dirty work…
The so-called “transparency” provisions in the bill contain numerous loopholes..
Some civil liberties groups, like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, argue that the present bill is “a first step,” and is better than nothing. This is nonsense: this bill is worse than nothing”. Justin Raimondo
They’ll be able to use it to build profiles of you, your family, your friends. They’ll even be able to take action against you personally if they deem your activities to be a danger to “national security” a.k.a. “corporate interests”
That’s why Big Business wants the Freedom Act and President Fascist wants it as well. Everyone who knows what side their bread is buttered on is doing everything they can to push it through.
This “Freedom” Act, written by the same guy who wrote the Patriot Act, is worse than doing nothing. That’s why they have to postpone the passage of it til the very last minute so they can claim it was a “crisis” and they had to do something.
This staged moment of victory for those of us out here warning others about the dangers of this bill is just a momentary reprieve. They’ll probably make the bill even worse if that’s possible over the next 7 days while the whole time the MSM is screeching about how the FBI wont be able to stop those terrorist plots and plans they create themselves without it.
The best solution is to let the Patriot Act die as well as the Orwellian-named “Freedom” Act but unfortunately we are heading into the Fascist States of America days and Big Business has a plan for us all. On May 31, expect the great compromise to help bring about the end of this Great Experiment.
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Filed under: CIA are the Real Terrorists, fascism in America, Fascism², Fuck Obama, Globalization, Neoliberalizing America, Obama™, Scott Creighton, TPP, TTIP, USA Freedom Act