I just got back from the Senate floor...By Russ Feingold

I just got back from the Senate floor...
By Russ Feingold

...where I debated Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on the Patriot Act. I was at a press conference with Senator Sununu (R-NH) and former Congressman Bob Barr to highlight our efforts to fix the Patriot Act. After that I went straight to the Senate floor to discuss that, and our efforts on it this week, as well as our national security strategy and the war in Iraq (more on that tomorrow). When I had finished, Senator Specter asked me a series of questions relating to the conference report on the Patriot Act. An actual debate of this kind, unfortunately, is rare on the floor of the Senate, but it was an excellent opportunity for people who might have been watching to really understand some of the issues that concern those of us who are opposing the conference report. Sorry for the rough transcript but I wanted to share it with everyone right away.
I will also be talking about our efforts on the Patriot Act tonight on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Dec 13, 2005 -- 03:21:40 PM EST
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/12/13/152140/05
Transcript
http://feingold.senate.gov/Feingold_Transcript_12.13.05.html

recommend

http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-4364099-4TZ6AO9zjMHJ52UA7prCOA&t=3

Tell your friends to sign the petitions.

If this filibuster holds, Congress could vote to temporarily extend the Patriot Act as it stands—allowing time for a new, better version that addresses the big problems in the law. This would be a huge victory for those of us who believe that liberty is non-negotiable.

The tide is turning in Congress. Leaders in Washington are beginning to demand accountability from the Bush administration on everything from Iraq to the use of torture. Now it looks like President Bush's plan to pass a new and more dangerous version of the Patriot Act is also in trouble.1

In 2001, only one senator voted against the Patriot Act. Since then, people from all across the political spectrum have come to realize that the Patriot Act strikes a blow to the fundamental rights, liberties, and privacy of all Americans. Protecting freedom is something that all of us—progressives and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans—can agree on.

That's why a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Larry Craig, John Sununu, Lisa Murkowski and Democrats Russ Feingold, Dick Durbin and Ken Salazar, have been working to fix the Patriot Act. They have vowed to fight the most egregious provisions and filibuster reauthorization if necessary. We need to show them that we have their backs.

I wish he was my Senator. In either case, he speaks for me when he fights against the Patriot Act and I thank him for his service.
:applause:

Sonia

Is the Pentagon spying on Americans?
Secret database obtained by NBC News tracks ‘suspicious’ domestic groups

By Lisa Myers, Douglas Pasternak, Rich Gardella and the NBC Investigative Unit

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10454316
Updated: 7:51 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2005

(for the most part) love Russ because of his positions, and alot of the conservatives love him because of his willingness to stand alone in opposition to anything he thinks will harm our democracy. Or, as one of my redneck bush loving relatives puts it "Old Russ has a pair of big brass ones";)

Sign the petition to your Senators to support it:

http://political.moveon.org/patriotact/?id=6528-4364099-4TZ6AO9zjMHJ52UA7prCOA&t=3

Tell your friends to sign it.

illegal codesmilie_remote(':bounce:') be watching leherer show tonight t see Feingold.

He's a fighter, that's for sure!

hes DLC DINO to the MAXXXXX!!!!!!!!