Opinion
Senators slam bill that expands government spying
Published
11 years agoon
Tester and Baucus reject legislation, citing constitutional right to privacy
U.S. SENATE – On Dec. 28, Montana’s U.S. Senators rejected a bill that expands the government’s ability to spy on law-abiding Americans.
Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus said the extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, tramples constitutional rights by invading privacy.
The 2008 legislation allows the government to eavesdrop on phone conversations and intercept emails between lawful Americans and foreign citizens – without a warrant. Both the Obama administration and the Bush administration refused to discuss how the law is being used.
“We have a fundamental responsibility to protect the safety and security of all Americans, but we can and must do it without invading privacy or trampling on our constitutional rights,” Tester said. “Our government should never be in the business of spying on law-abiding Americans.”
“The American people deserve to know exactly how this surveillance authority is being used,” Baucus said. “Without the amendments we supported, this bill leaves the door open for American citizens to get swept up in surveillance that is meant for terrorists, and I simply cannot support extending this authority without stronger protections of the constitutional rights of Montanans.”
Tester earlier this month proposed an amendment to specifically outlaw “reverse targeting,” a controversial practice that effectively allows U.S. intelligence agents to spy on Americans who follow the law, by targeting their overseas communications.
Tester and Baucus were among 23 U.S. Senators – both Democrats and Republicans –who voted against the extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
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