Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .
Quote of the Day:
“The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.”
– Albert Camus
Subject: The clock is ticking
At the end of this week the so-called “Protect America Act” (PAA) will sunset out of existence. The House and Senate must both take action to either extend the deadline or replace the PAA with something else.
A cloture vote will be held in the Senate this afternoon. If they get 60 votes for cloture then debate will end and the Senate will move to a vote on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s replacement for PAA. This is a bad bill. It has everything we don’t want, including immunity for the telecom companies that collaborated with the Bush administration to violate the Bill of Rights.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is strong opposition in the Senate to this version of the replacement bill. If we can support that opposition it may prove impossible for the Senate to get the 60 votes needed for cloture. If we can prevent cloture then the clock could run out, and PAA will sunset.
But please take one more step. If one or more of your Senators is a Democrat, or one of the following Republican Senators — Hagel, Specter, Sununu — please pick up the phone and call them. Tell them you want the PAA to sunset, and that you want them to vote NO on cloture for the replacement for PAA.
You will see the phone numbers for your Senators when you send your message to Congress, here.
Hit them. Hit them hard.
Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC Army.
Perry Willis
Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.