Chris Hedges: ‘Stop the New FISA’
Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges warns in an L.A. Times Op-Ed that "If the sweeping surveillance law signed by President Bush on Thursday -- giving the U.S. government nearly unchecked authority to eavesdrop on the phone calls and e-mails of innocent Americans -- is allowed to stand, we will have eroded one of the most important bulwarks to a free press and an open society."
Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges warns in an L.A. Times Op-Ed that “If the sweeping surveillance law signed by President Bush on Thursday — giving the U.S. government nearly unchecked authority to eavesdrop on the phone calls and e-mails of innocent Americans — is allowed to stand, we will have eroded one of the most important bulwarks to a free press and an open society.”
TRUTHDIG’S JOURNALISM REMAINS CLEARChris Hedges in the Los Angeles Times:
If the sweeping surveillance law signed by President Bush on Thursday — giving the U.S. government nearly unchecked authority to eavesdrop on the phone calls and e-mails of innocent Americans — is allowed to stand, we will have eroded one of the most important bulwarks to a free press and an open society.
The new FISA Amendments Act nearly eviscerates oversight of government surveillance. It allows the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review only general procedures for spying rather than individual warrants. The court will not be told specifics about who will be wiretapped, which means the law provides woefully inadequate safeguards to protect innocent people whose communications are caught up in the government’s dragnet surveillance program.
The law, passed under the guise of national security, ostensibly targets people outside the country. There is no question, however, that it will ensnare many communications between Americans and those overseas. Those communications can be stored indefinitely and disseminated, not just to the U.S. government but to other governments.
The storytellers of chaos tried to manipulate the political and media narrative in 2025, but independent journalism exposed what they tried to hide.
When you read Truthdig, you see through the illusion.
Support Independent Journalism.
Politics
As a congressman, Sean Duffy made an impassioned legal case against executive overreach. A decade later, judges have used those arguments to rebuke him for withholding billions in transportation funding.
Economic Justice
Nearly 60% of enrollees say they are unable to cover the costs of a $300 increase in their premiums. Another 20% can’t afford a $1,000 increase.
Environment
The Tuesday vote by the House of Representatives could destabilize one of the planet's largest carbon stores.
Editorial Cartoons
Editorial Cartoons
Editorial Cartoons
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.