Tampa ACLU March on July 4

Via Stogie: the Tampa chapter of the ACLU will hold a march on July 4th.

Time: Thursday, July 4, 2013 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Location: Greco Middle School 6925 E Fowler Ave, Temple Terrace, FL 33617

Contact: Mike Pheneger at 813-505-7562 or mphenege@tampabay.rr.com

Greco Middle School is near the USF Sun Dome and the MOSI. I would recommend not parking at USF. If you don't have a USF parking pass, the campus police are likely to Denver boot your car.

Florida House Brings Back Drug Testing

Gov. Rick Scott and Republicans in the Florida legislature haven't learned from their defeat in court. The Florida passed passed HB 1205. The bill would make it mandatory for state workers to submit to a drug

Drug-free Workplaces: Requires drug testing to be conducted within each state agency's appropriation; authorizes agencies within state government to require employees to submit to periodic random drug testing; revises provisions relating to discharging or disciplining certain employees; authorizes agency to refer employee, at employee's expense, to employee assistance program or alcohol & drug rehabilitation program if not discharged; requires employer to transfer employee to job assignment he or she can perform safely & effectively while participating in employee assistance program or alcohol & drug rehabilitation program or place employee on leave status if such position is unavailable; authorizes employee to use accumulated leave credits before being placed on leave without pay; provides that employer remains qualified for insurer rate plan that discounts rates for workers' compensation & employer's liability insurance policies if employer maintains drug-free workplace program that is broader in scope than that provided for by standards & procedures established in act; authorizes public employer to conduct random drug tests of certain employees under specified conditions; provides requirements for public sector employer assigning public sector employee to position other than mandatory-testing position.

Effective Date: July 1, 2012

The Supreme Court ruled, in Skinner v. Railway Lab. Execs Ass'n that state employees can be randonly tested, if public safety is at risk. Otherwise, it is a violation of the Fourth amendment. Florida has tried to test state workers before under Gov. Jeb Bush. Roderick Wenzel took the Department of Juvenile Justice to court. Wenzel objected to being drug-tested by the DJJ. The ACLU represented Wenzel and won. Judge Robert Hinkle found the reasoning to randomly drug test Wenzel laughable.

But as Chandler teachers, this test cannot be met by ordinary public employees , or even high public officials, who work in offices and ought to be sober, but who do not have direct contact with the drug trade, and whose impairment would not pose the kind of public safety risk that attends to operation of a train or other dangerous instrumentality.

Pressed at oral argument to explain just what a drug-using long-range planner might do with his position, the defense in the case came up short. The suggestion was made that the planner could access confidential information on juveniles, learning the identity of a drug offender, and then contact that person or his family and demand drugs, threatening adverse consequences for any failure to go along. The defense offered no evidence that in the real world any such scheme had ever been devised, let alone carried out, even once, in Florida or anywhere else. To call this theory far-fetch would be charitable.

State Rep. Joe Negron is hardly a bleeding heart liberal. Negron sees no need for HB 1205.

“I haven’t been running across drug-addled employees who haven’t been able to do their jobs,” said Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican with a libertarian streak. “I’ve heard no evidence whatsoever why we need it."

Before the unemployment compensation drug testing, signed by Scott, was blocked by the courts, only 2 percent of people applying for unemployment tested positive. The drug testing was actually increasing expenses for the state. The state had to payback unemployment recipients that paid to be tested. Scott never got the magical savings he promised. There really is no evidence that state-wide drug testing is needed.

Voter Suppression Law Hits Snag

The Federal District in the District of Columbia denied the request by Gov. Rick Scott and Sec. of State Kurt Browning to expedite for a hearing. The three judge panel told the Florida government attorneys that the state has caused several delays of their own.

In denying the state’s request for a quick hearing and decision, the federal three judge panel cited the state’s own repeated delays in getting the law approved and concurrent decision to move forward the Presidential Primary date to January. The Court cited the state’s three week delay in seeking approval of the changes from the Department of Justice, failure of the state to seek expedited review, removing provisions of the law from DOJ review after 50 of the 60 days had expired, filing in federal court, and amending their filing to challenge the Voting Rights Act as examples that any time pressure for a decision was caused by the state itself.

Scott and Browning did not wait for a Justice Department review. They implemented the new election law. That means some counties have the new election law and other counties are under the Civil Rights Voting Act protection. Short answer: Florida has two sets of election laws. This is how serious of a policy wonk Rick Scott is.

Below is a statement from Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida on today’s decision: “The Court was right to say this is a mess created by the Governor and the Legislature. In denying their request for a ‘drive by hearing’, the Court essentially said that the state’s failure to take this issue seriously until recently is no one’s fault but their own.

“Thanks to Governor Scott and Secretary Browning, Florida is in position yet again to turn our elections into a mockery by conducting an important, nationally significant election under two different sets of election rules depending on where you live. Under the system which will be in place now, a voter in Pinellas will vote under different rules than a voter across the bridge in Hillsborough.

The Florida legislature passed this law under the bogus threat of voter fraud. When Republicans are asked to name an instance of voter fraud they will say that Mickey Mouse voted. The Mickey Mouse story is bogus.

Rep. Eric Eisnaugle:

"One of my colleagues suggested that we spent hours of time on a problem that doesn't exist, also suggesting that nothing in this bill helps people vote," he said. "Well, members, it doesn't take much to find the documentation of fraud that some third-party registration organizations have committed right here in Florida. Just go on Google, and go to the news section and you can find a pretty long list of articles documenting the fraud we have seen. We have seen allegations of fraud, (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) investigations. (We have seen) falsifying of hundreds of registrations, including the registration of an actor who was already deceased at the time. In another case, Mickey Mouse was registered to vote.

Politifact rated the Mickey Mouse tale false. There are two ways to look at this. The first is that Republican legislators are poorly informed people that will believe anything printed on web sites like InstaPundit and World Net Daily. The second is that redistricting and President Barack Obama on the top of the ballot scares the daylights out of Tallahassee. Whatever reason, these Scott, Browning, and the legislators are so appallingly incompetent that may fail at enacting their horrible voting law. Republicans say government doesn't work. Especially, when Tallahassee Republicans are governing.

Fla v Usa 55 Order on Motion to Expedite

Occupy Oakland Raid

Amazing photos the the police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets on the protesters. The camp was destroyed by police. The property of the protesters was destroyed by the police. The ACLU has won cases against law enforcement agencies that have destroyed the property of the homeless.

Mayor Jean Quan issued this statement.

I commend Chief Jordan for a generally peaceful resolution to a situation that deteriorated and concerned our community. His leadership was critical in the successful execution of this operation.

That explains the riot gear and gas masks the police were wearing.

I have to wonder how are confrontations with the police and camping in public parks is going to create jobs and reform Wall Street. The Occupy movement has to do more than protest. They have to scare the Democratic Party with their votes. That is the only true way they can make a difference.

Occupy Tampa Leaves Lykes Gaslight Park

The Occupy Tampa protesters took the legal advice of the ACLU and decided to not stay overnight in Lykes Gaslight Park. There was the possibility of the protesters being arrested if they decided to camp in the park. The protesters have vowed to come back to the park.

Team Scott's E-mails Deleted Excuse

Gov. Rick Scott hasn't been known for his love of transparency. Scott's Director Of Press Relations, Brian Burgess did a major fuck you to the media by posted a picture on Twitter of documents that the Scott Administration refused to release to the media. Scott has increased the cost and red tape involved in gaining access to documents. The Scott administration do not use government email accounts to communicate government business with each other. They use private Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail accounts. This is the same strategy the Bush administration used during the Bush administration scandal involving the firing of U.S. Attorneys. Like the Bush administration, Team Scott has accidently deleted their emails.

The e-mail accounts of Rick Scott and most of the governor-elect's transition team were deleted soon after he took office, potentially erasing public records that state law requires be kept.

Scott's team acknowledged for the first time this week that the private company providing e-mail service deleted the records as early as mid January, about the time the Times/Herald first sought transition e-mails.

Team Scott is using the incompetent excuse. Hey, don't blame them because they have computer skill below that of a 12 year-old. However, believe every word about them creating jobs during one of the worst economic times in memory. Team Scott is competent. Except when they are incompetent. Got that?

The ACLU is outraged about the loss of the emails.

The reports that Governor Scott’s transition team deleted email accounts which contained public records are just the latest chapter in the Scott administration’s ongoing saga of disregard for the constitutional requirement of open government.

Time and again, the Scott administration has violated the public trust with its disdain for transparency. Now, with public records that the law requires be kept potentially being deleted, the public trust isn’t all that may have been violated.

We are disappointed, but not surprised, that once again this administration has let down Floridians who expect transparency, openness, and honesty from their government.

We have a governor who has a history of not giving straight answers during depositions.

HB 155 to be Challenged In U.S. District Court

The ACLU has and children groups have filed an amicus brief against the docs v glocks legislation signed by Gov. Rick Scott. Doctors would not be allowed to ask patients if they have guns in their homes. The Republican reasoning for HB 155 was rather unsound.

Owning guns is a fundamental right," said Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Palatka. "It's not to be infringed upon by your doctor."

I have never heard of a doctors forcibly taking a gun away from a patient's home. Van Zant believes it is against the Second amendment for a doctor to even ask if a patient has a gun. This is a violation of the doctor's First amendment rights. If Republican in the Florida legislature actually understood the Constitution and wanted to protect the privacy of gun owners they could write legislation saying patients were not legally bound to tell doctors if they owned a gun.

A doctor could face disciplinary action if he or she asks a patient if a gun is within a reach of a child. The question may make a patient uncomfortable. What the question doesn't do is take away guns from a Floridian. The legislation is restricting speech and does nothing to protect gun rights. Furthermore, doctors do not keep records of which patients own guns. The Florida legislature is making laws against gun record keeping that does not exist. Once again the Florida legislature passes a horrible bill.

ACLU v. Rick Scott on Drug-Testing

Getting sued has a way of changing a person's disposition. Rick Scott is no stranger to getting sued. As governor, Scott was hell bent on drug-testing state employees. After the ACLU filed suit Scott slammed on the brakes.

The Republican governor quietly signed the suspension memo on June 10 but it received little public notice until the American Civil Liberties Union obtained and circulated copies on Thursday.

The ACLU sued Scott last month in a federal court. It said mandating drug tests for workers who were not suspected of wrongdoing violated their constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizure, and robbed them of due process.

"We are pleased that this new order has delayed subjecting thousands of state employees to demeaning, invasive and illegal tests of their bodily fluids," Randall Marshall, legal director for the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement.

"But it does not change our Constitutional challenge. Any government search without suspicion of drug use or not directly related to public safety is a violation of privacy protections and we will vigorously move ahead with our challenge."

Federal courts have ruled against wide spread drug testing of state workers. Scott is going to lose on this.

ACLU Challenges Scott's Drug-Testing Policy

The ACLU has filed suit against Florida's new law drug-testing state employees.

Governor Scott’s Executive Order directed all state agencies under the direction of the Governor to develop plans to allow drug testing existing state employees at least quarterly. The order attempts to resurrect a policy previously found unconstitutional by a federal judge in a 2004 ACLU case against the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). That suit found the random drug testing of state employees without suspicion was unconstitutional. The plaintiff was awarded a settlement t of $150,000.

“I’m not sure if Governor Scott does not know that the policy he ordered has already been declared unconstitutional or if he just doesn’t care,” said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. “But I do know that the state of Florida cannot force people to surrender their constitutional rights in order to work for the state.”

Existing law and court rulings allow for drug testing of public employees in positions that are safety-sensitive such as police who are required to carry a weapon as part of the job or those in positions while require operating dangerous machinery. But courts have routinely found that testing of all employees without regard for safety-sensitive positions or suspicion violates the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable government searches.

The Supreme Court ruled in Skinner v. Railway Lab. Execs. Ass'n that federal rail road employees could be randomly drug-tested. The court ruled that public safety outweighed the privacy matters of the employees. What Scott's executive order is doing is drug-testing all state employees. Scott is assuming all state employees are doing drugs. Previous legal rulings deemed there must be probable cause before drug-testing a state employee. Translation: the employee has to show signs he is doing drugs.

The ACLU has not said if they will file suit against people receiving unemployment being required to take a drug test.

How Rick Scott's Drug Test Policy Will Work

Nothing says less government better than mandotory drug tests that have been ruled unconstitutional. The ACLU will beat Scott's executive order in court. Bank on it.

“I’m not sure why Governor Scott does not know that the policy he recreated by Executive Order today has already been declared unconstitutional.

“The state of Florida cannot force people to surrender their constitutional rights in order to work for the state. Absent any evidence of illegal drug use, or assigned a safety-sensitive job, people have a right to be left alone.

“Coming from a Governor who promised to protect our freedoms by limiting the intrusive reach of government into our personal lives, this massive expansion of government power at the expense of basic rights is stunning and exposes the state to serious future legal liability.

“Since we have already succeeded once in overturning this unconstitutional expansion of government power, the ACLU of Florida is willing to represent any state employee or association of state employees who will have their rights infringed upon if the announced policy takes effect.“

The taxpayers look forward to paying for Scott's pointless legal fight. Scott should brush up on the Fourth amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The courts have ruled there must be probable cause to drug test state workers. Scott can not just assume that all state workers are druggies and demand testing.

Rick Scott's Double Standard on Drug Privacy

Previous legal rulings have stated that the state government cannot mandatory force state workers to be drug tested. Gov. Rick Scott is going to disregard the law. People collecting unemployment will be forced to pay for their own drug tests.

Young Turks host Cenk Uygur made a strong case that Scott is merely targeting state workers and the unemployed, in order to demonize them. Uygur points out that Scott refuses to support a drug database.

"I don't support the database," Scott said at a news conference. "I believe it's an invasion of privacy."

Scott has no problems invading the privacy of poor people and state workers. However, drugs used by white collar people deserve to have their privacy protected. Not flip-flopping much, are we governor?

There is also a question of if Scott's medical clinic company Solantic will benefit. Scott promised to place his financal holdings into a blind trust. Instead, he gave his Solantic stock to his wife. The media is finally calling Scott on this shady deal.

“As I’ve told you, I’m not involved in that company,” Scott said, refusing to directly answer whether he would consider prohibiting the state from contracting with the firm.

A blind trust would mean there would be no way for Scott to have control over his financial properties. The same can't be said by Scott giving Solantic stock to his wife.

Update: the ACLU is preparing to file legal action against Scott's drug testing policy.

"There's federal, U.S. Supreme Court standards on all of this. I don't think the governor got very good legal advice on this thing," Simon said.

He noted that Scott has staunchly opposed a statewide computer database that would track prescriptions of Vicodin, Percocet and other dangerous narcotics, on grounds that it could intrude on privacy rights.

"That could only come from a person who is very, very selective in their principles," Simon said.

What's the Most Sexist Thing You've Heard at Work?

The ACLU has a Facebook page asking people what was the most sexist thing they heard or experienced in the workplace.

More on the Religious Licence Plates

What a future Florida licence plate may look like.

The amendments for religious themed licence plates were added into SB 0642 by Ronda Storms and Gary Siplin. Two State Senators known more for controversy and ethics investigations than good legislation. Their sinful ways doesn't stop them from loving Jesus enough to violate the First amendment.

Storms wants a $25.00 licence plate saying "I believe" to benefit Faith in Teaching. The nonprofit supposely funds education. Sen. Dan Gelber wanted to know if the company actually exist or is it just a dummy company created to issue the plate. Gelber has reason to be skeptical. The web site www.faithinteaching.org is down. (The site is available on Google cache.)

I found Faith In Teaching on Google Maps. It is across the street from a bail bond service. Google Maps street level view reveals the building is named Faith Christian University. The property is for sale. It is very strange for a company that allegedly gives money to other faith-based programs would have their headquarters in a high crime neighborhood and is trying to sell their property. This reeks of a Christian Right front company.

Siplin making the religious images in his plate more overt.

Siplin said the thought now is to make the plate say "Trinity" with maybe a "cross, and some nails and a dove, do the trinity."

Siplin didn't even have an idea what his plate would look like when he first proposed his amendment.

The ACLU and Anti-Defamation League will likely take this to court. If Crist signs the current bill into law.

Update: Faith Christian University is an online bible study school. The main campus is at 6000 E Colonial Dr, Orlando. It looks like a church next to a shopping plaza. An overheard shot reveals a baseball field on the property. The FCU web site says they are in a process of moving onto the campus.

Correction: Faith Christian University is not involved with the I Believe licence plate. I apologize for the mistake and bringing FCU into this mess.

Compassionate Conservatism: Making the Unemployed Pay to Be Drug Tested

Draconian potential law of the day: Florida Sen. Mike Bennett has the bizarre idea to randomly drug test people collecting unemployment. SB 2062 will create a "Drug Deterrence Program within the Agency for Workforce Innovation." My question is who is going to pay for the drug testing. Many companies don't drug test because it's expensive. People on probation pay for their drug testing through money they pay to county correctional systems. An estimated 800,000 people are unemployed. The cost of drug testing will be deducted from unemployment checks. Can you feel the compassioniate conservatism?

The bill requred 10 percent of unemployment recipients be drug tested. That translates into 80,000 people. No money will be appropriated for drug rehabilitation to people that fail drug testing. Bennett isn't interested in rehabilitation.

Text of SB 2062.

(a) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall implement aprogram no later than October 1, 2009, of drug testing, on a random basis:
1. Ten percent of individuals who make a claim for benefits; and
2. Ten percent of individuals who are receiving benefits.
(b) In creating and implementing the program, the agency shall:
1. Develop a procedure for random selection of individuals for testing and shall ensure that the testing occurs on a statewide basis and reasonably correlates to the population distribution in the state;
2. Make a determination of eligibility under s.443.101(1)(d) before an applicant is selected for drug testing;
3. Provide notice of the potential for drug testing to individuals claiming and receiving benefits; and
4. Require an individual to be tested to sign an acknowledgement that he or she has received notice of the agency's drug testing policy and that he or she has a right to refuse to take the drug test;
(5) TESTING; USE OF RESULTS.—
(a) An individual is disqualified from receiving or continuing to receive benefits upon:
1. Refusing to submit to testing under this section; or
2. Upon testing positive for drugs as a result of a test under this section.
(b) If the individual fails the drug test required under this section, the individual is not entitled to unemployment benefits for up to 52 weeks, under rules adopted by the agency, and until he or she has earned income of at least 17 times his or her weekly benefit amount.
(c) The agency shall provide any individual who tests positive with information on drug treatment programs that may be available in the area in which he or she resides; however, the agency or the state is not responsible for providing or paying for drug treatment as part of the testing conducted under this section.

"I guarantee people are supporting their drug habits on your unemployment," Bennett told the Brandon Herald. Any 10 percent of the American population will produce people using drugs. Bennett is testing 80,000 people. No one will be surprised to find drug users. Bennett takes the classic conservative view that poverty and unemployment are character flaws. Bennett views these unemployment recipients as lazy and worthy of punishment. Nevermind that his party's economic ignorance helped create Florida's flawed tax system and a busted real estate market. It never occurred to Bennett that his economics opportunities would be different if he was born a black child in Sudan.

“People are hurting and people are losing their jobs, and in the midst of that situation, this would treat everyone facing a job crisis and seeking unemployment compensation as a potential drug abuser,” said Courtenay Strickland, ACLU director of public policy.

Bennett responds to this sort of criticism that (in his word) he is "picking on the junkies." Bennett's sensitivity is underwhelming.

ACLU Tele-Townhall Meeting

The ACLU is hosting an telephone townhall meeting. The subject will be Florida's amendment 2 ballot. If passed by 60 percent, amendment 2 would make gay marriage and civil unions illegal under the Florida constitution. No word on if people will be able to listen to the meeting on the internet.

When: Tuesday October 14, 2008
Time: 6:30PM and 6:45PM

ACLU To Sue Over FISA Bill

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero sent out this email about the Senate's FISA vote.

****

Today elected officials in Washington sold out the Constitution -- again.

Cowed by the Bush administration's pre-election scare tactics, the Senate passed privacy-stealing FISA legislation undermining your Fourth Amendment rights.

It's outrageous, unconstitutional and un-American. That's why the ACLU is prepared to challenge this law the moment George Bush signs it -- and you can rest assured, they'll be meeting our lawyers in court.

Our lawsuit will send a powerful message to those in Congress who played it safe when they had the opportunity to defend the Constitution. You can join the ACLU in sending that message by signing on to our ad letting Congress know that if they won't stand up for freedom, you and the ACLU will.

We'll be taking out a full-page ad in a major national newspaper announcing our lawsuit and expressing our outrage at this abandonment of Constitutional principles. Our goal is to run an ad that contains the names of tens of thousands of Americans who believe in the Constitution and want Congress to hear us loud and clear: next time, stand up for our rights.

Click here to include your name in the ACLU's FISA newspaper ad.

The bill that Congress passed and George Bush is about to sign codifies a Nixonian view on executive power that states, "if a president does it, it is not illegal." The ACLU doesn't believe that, and I'm guessing you don't either.

There has never been a more important moment to demonstrate to our leaders that we believe in freedom - not fear. Our ad will carry that simple message.

The more voices we add, the more powerful our message will be. We need tens of thousands of Americans, who are committed to defending the Constitution, to speak up and stand with us right now.

Click here to include your name in the ACLU's FISA newspaper ad.

The bottom line is that no president should have the power to monitor the phones and emails of Americans without a warrant. And no president should have the power to pardon companies that broke the law. This bill was not a "compromise," as some in Congress would like you to believe. The only thing they compromised was your freedom.

George Bush will sign the FISA bill into law in a few short days, but that does not mean our fight is over.

Our lawyers are prepared to file a lawsuit challenging this unconstitutional legislation as soon as the ink dries on George Bush's signature. This is why it is so important that all of us add our names to the ACLU's newspaper ad.

Let our leaders know that you are standing up for freedom and standing with the ACLU.

Click here to include your name in the ACLU's FISA newspaper ad.

It's up to each of us to defend the Constitution. Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Anthony Romero
Executive Director, ACLU

Florida Restoration of Voter Rights Backlogged

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition has established the website www.restoremyvote.org. Florida residents with felon convictions can check the website to find out if their voting rights have been restored.

The Orlando Sentinal reports that 7,000 felons are having their rights restored every month. That is good news. The bad news is there is still a tremendous backlog. The American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way Foundation are pushing for a more streamlined process. The Racial Justice Project is advocating automatic restoration of voting rights. I don't see that happening with Bill McCollum on the Clemency Board.

McCollum and wingnut Betty Sembler were doing everything in their power to maintain the felon voting laws that were created during the Jim Crow era. Journalists should ask McCollum why he politicaly aligned himself with Sembler. Her program Save Our Society from Drugs has been accused of abusing teens. The best way to get a tough on crime conservative nervous is asking about the alleged crimes of political allies.

FISA In Wonderland

Only the Bush administration would have the audacity to admit to warrantless wiretapping and then back a Senate bill granting immunity to telecommunication companies.

WASHINGTON —An intelligence bill the Senate is scheduled to take up after it returns Dec. 3 would block Americans from learning details of any warrantless surveillance program the federal government conducted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the American Civil Liberties Union says.

The bill would grant immunity from lawsuits to communications companies for any "intelligence activity involving communications" that was "designed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack" or attack preparations. Telecoms would need to show they received a "written request or directive" from the administration vouching that the programs were "lawful" to stop lawsuits.

Liz Rose, spokeswoman for the Washington office of the ACLU, says the language is a "blank check" that would cover not only a warrantless wiretapping program the Bush administration has acknowledged but any unconfirmed or previously unknown program. Last year, USA TODAY and other media reported that some U.S. telecoms also shared customer calling information with the National Security Agency as part of an anti-terrorism program that the administration has not confirmed.

Many of the illegally monitored calls were domestic. The White House has not explained why it is necessary to listen to the calls of American citizens. What is clear is the Bush administration has used the NSA to violate the Fourth Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Christopher Dodd has been outspoken against the FISA bill. Qwest admitted they were approached by the Bush administration to paticipate in warrantless wiretapping. They declined because of legal concerns. Verizon and AT&T have been silent on the matter.

We know that the Bush administration has admitted to warrantless wiretapping. Quest told the media they were asked to paticipate. Why haven't members of the administration being brought up on criminal charges?

Another matter is how can lawmakers consider legislation that clearly goes against the Constitution? The federal government has become as surrealistic as Alice In Wonderland.

ACLU & Larry Craig

Larry Craig has an unlikely ally in the ACLU.

Sen. Larry E. Craig got an ally Monday in his fight to withdraw his guilty plea in a restroom sex sting. The American Civil Liberties Union submitted a brief to a Minnesota court arguing the Idaho Republican’s arrest was likely unconstitutional.

Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, argued that police sting operations sometimes trap innocent people. He said police must show that sex was to occur in public, not just that someone was soliciting sex.

Social conservatives have contempt for gays, sex and the ALCU. This is a perfect storm. Jerry Falwell would be going mad if was still alive.