From the west side, my political boyfriend, Rep. Steve Cohen, voted no. The congressman, Rep. John Tanner, that I can cast a vote for voted yes.
The House of Representatives easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that in effect shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government’s post-Sept. 11 warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country.
The bill, which was passed on a 293-129 vote, does more than just protect the telecoms. The update to the 30-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is an attempt to balance privacy rights with the government’s assertion that some wiretapping is necessary to protect the country against terrorist attacks in an era of fast-changing technologies.
I wish just once that Tanner voted the way I wanted him to vote. Cohen just may be the only lifeline that Tennessee has for calling foul on this sort of stuff. This isn’t about warrantless wiretapping. It’s about saving corporations money.
Yeah, I’m cranky.
Newscoma 
Those of use in Cooper’s district feel your pain 🙂
Let’s move to Memphis. 🙂
No, Steve Cohen is MY boyfriend!
Heh. But Jon and are moving to Memphis. 🙂
Okay, I’ll swing and share with you, Goldnl.
I’m giving that way.
It’s not just about saving AT&T money.
Nope.
That’s pretty minor in the grand scheme. The major thang is to remove all leverage against these companies from cooperating with the coming investigations, insuring that the illegal actions by the Bush administration are never documented.
I got news for ’em: That shit ain’t gonna work.
.
I think it’s a combination of the two. And you are right about Bushie.
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