Surely this isn't a surprise to anyone that pays attention. In an investigative piece for TruthOut, Matt Renner's opening salvo is this:
A think tank with close ties to the telecommunication industry has been working with a key Democrat in the Senate on a domestic surveillance bill that would provide telecommunications companies with retroactive immunity for possibly violating federal law by spying on American citizens at the behest of the Bush administration.
Well, I'll be damned..somehow I kinda figured with Rockefeller leading the charge there had to be an ulterior motive involved. Isn't 'think tank' just a code word for special interests these days?
Third Way, a non-profit "progressive" think tank that is funded and controlled by hedge fund managers, corporate lawyers and business executives has advised Sen. Jay Rockefeller on a domestic surveillance bill that includes immunity for telecommunications companies with which Third Way board members have close ties.
Rockefeller is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and has been the leading Democratic proponent of granting immunity to telecommunication companies that allegedly gave spy agencies access to their communication networks and databases without a warrant.
"I think we will prevail," Rockefeller told the Politico on January 23, referring to the disagreement over retroactive immunity for telecoms, "it's a pretty bad idea to appear cocky ... I'm not pessimistic."
Democrats connected to Third Way were integral in defeating a bill, supported by a majority of Senate Democrats, which might have prevented the telecoms from getting immunity.
Fuckers...read the rest..it's guaranteed to piss you off my dear reader. If it doesn't piss you off..well..you didn't need those pesky civil rights anyway..
