I notice that lots of people in the Get FISA Right group seem to think that Obama is the only one who can do anything about FISA, and that he is the only one who voted for it. That is the kind of thinking that Bush/McCain't want you to have. However, there are 68 other senators and 293 other representatives who are actually to blame. That is the way the government here is supposed to work. The legislature as a group of individuals vote on things. And we are supposed to watch the actions of the legislature and praise them when they do well, and treat them badly when they do poorly.
In response to this legislation passing, since my congresswoman and both of my senators voted for this authorization to go fishing in my private communications, I am going to send each one of them a nice fish, caught right here in our local waters, to commemorate their vote. I am going to mail them all this afternoon. If I am lucky, I will have enough to send one to each of their offices in Washington and to their home offices down here too. I bet they will remember the gesture.
I have also called the people at AT&T this morning and canceled all my telephone services. I spoke directly and plainly to the person who took the information down and told them that I felt that they personally were participating in something that appeared to be spying on my personal conversations, and sharing the information with people that I had not chosen to communicate with. I also wrote a letter to AT&T pointing out that they had spent a considerable portion of the money that they had collected from me to secure this immunity, and that I wanted my part back. I figured out what 10% of my billings by AT&T since the beginning of their beginning the service of saving my telephone conversations for the perusal of unautorized people. It came to a tidy sum, and I sent them a letter explaining why I was entitled to a refund and that I intended to persue the matter through a collection agency if they did not respond in a reasonable time. I plan to call them each day and ask them about the progress of this matter. To my knowledge, the legislation in questions did not immunize AT&T from consumer action.
I will keep track of the cost of these direct actions, and I will deduct them from the amount of money that I have budgeted to give the Obama campaign. I will make sure that they get a careful accounting. And, I am going to vote for Obama for President.
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