I would like to remind America that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution specifically prohibits the government from conducting any search without a warrant based on probable cause.

In the book I state in part:

I urge the House to stand firm on principle, because no one is above the law. The phone companies knowingly broke the law by handing over personal information without a search warrant. Their actions were inexcusable, and must not be pardoned.

Thus it was with nothing short of absolute and utter disgust that I heard the news that the bill in question had overwhelmingly passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bush. I am grateful to Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) for his apropos observation that:

“This bill is not a compromise. It is a capitulation.”

Feingold was in the minority, even among his fellow Democrats. In the book, I am highly critical of the so-called “opposition party” which has repeatedly failed to demonstrate any intention of actually opposing anything. The solution, which I outline extensively in chapter 7, involves drastic campaign finance reform.

Meanwhile, “disappointed” does not begin to describe how utterly our elected leaders have failed us. “Saddened” fails to invoke the magnitude of this horrific violation of our fundamental liberties which our President just signed into law. “Alarmed” is perhaps a more accurate description of how let down I feel by this extreme failure of leadership.

The Democrats, with their slim majority, should have taken a stand and filibustered this bill if they did not have enough votes to reject it outright. If the earlier bill, which this legislation was meant to extend, happened to expire because the Republicans insisted on unreasonable provisions, then the old bill should have been allowed to expire, and perhaps the Republicans would have learned that they don’t always get everything they want.

But that’s not what happened. As it turns out, the Republicans DO get everything they want, even when they don’t hold a majority in Congress. The Democrats simply rolled over, yet again; even the favored Presidential contender, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. I understand that Senator Obama was hoping to appear “tough on terror” by backing this bill, but I think that in this instance he should have chosen to appear “tough on crime” instead, by insisting that companies that broke the law should be punished for their criminal actions. He is a gifted rhetorician; he could have used his talents to turn the conversation around and point out to the American public why the Bush administration’s policy of trampling on Americans’ civil liberties is not in keeping with the American way.

We believe in freedom and individual rights as guaranteed by our Constitution. This awful bill must be overturned. Please, contribute to the ACLU to show support for the legal challenge which they have filed against this blatant violation of our Constitutionally guaranteed civil rights.