updated 7/11 below

Sadly, yesterday the Democratic-led Senate voted 69-28 to pass the new FISA bill that increases the government’s powers to spy on Americans without a warrant and grants retroactive immunity to the telcos for their involvement in the warrantless government spying that has been going on since, at least 2004. I say ‘at least’ because very few people, including the majority of the lawmakers who passed this bill know for what they are granting immunity and for when.  That’s right - the Congress passed a bill granting immunity to telcos without even knowing what they were granting immunity for!  Unbelievable.

Senator Obama voted in favor of this bill.  He also voted for cloture on the bill despite his campaign promise to support any filibuster for any bill containing immunity.  In case you are not up on your Senate procedures, voting for cloture is literally the exact opposite of supporting a filibuster.  Senator McCain did not show up for this vote but is on the record as supporting this bill.  Hillary Clinton voted against this bill showing either incredible principle or incredible political calculation (can anyone say Primary Challenge 2012?).  I think it’s probably a little of both really and given her vote on Iraq still haunts her to this day, she was probably smart enough to realize this vote hurts one’s chances with a huge coalition of Americans who actually believe the Constitution (and especially the Bill of Rights) is sacrosanct.  Other notable legislators who ran in the Democratic primary: Dodd, Biden, Kucinich all voted Nay.  Anyway, whatever the reasons, I applaud Clinton, Dodd, Biden, Kucinich and all of the other Congressmen and women who voted ‘Nay’ and condemn Obama and the rest of the “Blue Dogs”.  Is it too late for a Convention fight?

Anyway, a lot of people have asked me what they can or should do in response to yesterday’s betrayal by the government that is supposed to work for and represent us and our rights.  I am not comfortable really telling people what they should do so I have compiled a list of what I think/suggest you can do and mixed in my personal thoughts while doing so.  However, I think the key point should be that people realize yesterday’s bill passage was simply the declaration of War.  This War begins now and quite frankly will probably never truly end - at least with the type of politician that runs for office these days and the election process itself.  But the goal - at least for me - is to get engaged and do what I can to break the stranglehold of the Republicrats that care only about their own Power, Money and Incumbency.  This won’t happen overnight.  But with sustained and prolonged engagement by We the People, I really think we can organize and begin to make a difference.  I truly believe it’s up to the collective “Us”.

Without further ado - things you can do:

1. Donate to and join the ACLU and/or EFF.

Both the ACLU and EFF announced that they will mount legal challenges to the constitutionality of yesterday’s bill.  This, to me, is the definition of defending Liberty so I can’t thank these (and other non-profit groups that fight for civil liberties) enough.   I don’t have a ton of money to throw at candidates or causes but I had been planning to donate to the Obama campaign after the primary season as a way to chip in financially.  I’ve instead given that money to the ACLU and am now a card-carrying member (not sure what took me so long).  Even if you do not want to donate money to these types of groups, their websites provide indispensable updates on the wanton assaults on our civil liberties and I recommend at least putting them on your must-read list of websites to stay informed and educated on the issues.

2. Join the Strangebedfellows/Accountability NOW PAC

So I have to admit my bias here.  I’m sure there are other PACs (I suggest looking at ActBlue to find some) that have similar motives but this is one my guru Glenn Greenwald is co-sponsoring with Ron Paul supporters at BreaktheMatrix.com and others.  Their mission is to form a non-partisan “left-right” coalition of citizens concerned about the erosion of civil liberties.  Their current plan is two-phased:  Phase I is an ad campaign, already started, that targets the most egregious of the Democrats who actively worked with the Bush Administration to get this bill passed (aka “Blue Dog Democrats”).  They are: House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA), and Rep. John Barrow (D-GA).  Full-page ads are running - as we speak - in their districts informing their constituencies what their elected representatives are doing to their civil liberties.  (Incidentally, Sen. Obama supports and endorses this “Blue Dog” John Barrow over progressive Democrat Regina Thomas.  Take a look at Barrow’s campaign ad - with the knowledge that this guy is endorsed by The Benevolent Leader Obama - if you can stomach it).  Also ads like this one (see 2nd page here) have started to run in Washington.

Phase II is the systematic and continued support for those candidates and legislators that stand strong against the erosion of our civil liberties (and by extension the systematic opposition of those who enable that erosion) in the form of “money bombs”.  Money bombs were pioneered by the aforementioned BreaktheMatrix and the idea is that folks pledge to donate money and then on a specified date the donations actually happen.  update: forgot to mention in the original post the first money bomb occurs on August 8 - the same day, in 1974 Nixon had to resign for, among other things, surveillence abuses. In this way, the statements and strength of the coalition are magnified.  Today, a few token donations of $1000 each were divvied out to some of the top opponents to the FISA bill and the real Patriots of our Congress.  I have to say, the idea of such blatant bribery kind of sits funny with me.  But when you consider most progressives are fighting against incumbents with tons of corporate money and name-brand populist politicians like Obama on their side, it’s easy to see how this money can help.  This is the system we have - might as well use it.

If donating to this PAC is not feasible, you can also help out by spreading the word and even going as far as posting one of these banners on your blog or site.  Awareness is always key.

3. Communicate with your Elected Representatives

This one is obvious.  I know writing letters is tedious and seems ineffectual.  But if you don’t communicate with your Reps, how are they expected to know your views?  Anyway, there are tons of good tools on the web that can route communications to your Reps for you.  However, personally I feel direct email or even snail mail, in your own words, from you to your elected representatives carries more impact.  That is admittedly based on nothing more than my gut instinct and anecdotal evidence.

4. Get Educated/Get Involved/Become an Activist

This is not meant to be patronizing or condescending but most people are woefully un- or mis-informed about what is going on in terms of actual legislation in this country.  It isn’t surprising because the mainstream media (and mainstream politicians) continue to be complicit by basically doing nothing but regurgitating partisan talking points, promulgating false choices and ridiculous memes, and focusing on the horserace elements and gotcha politics of the Presidential election season.  It’s sad, but it takes huge effort to dig under the fluff the Networks, the CNNs, the FNCs and the MSNBCs of the world serve up as “news” so it’s understandable so many people are clueless.  Most people simply don’t have the time to spend digging around so one of the best things one can do is to constantly educate oneself on what’s going on and then engage with the people you deal with on an everyday basis, be they friends, family or co-workers.  Again, I bias towards Greenwald because as I’ve mentioned before, he supports most of his analysis with links and sources and his credentials and writing style are quite impressive to me.  I then usually spiral out from his blog into the greater blogosphere and supplement with news sources, both foreign and domestic.  I actually prefer some of the overseas news outlets like the Guardian, the BBC, the Economist and Le Monde Diplomatique because their agendas are less apparent.  Not to wax philosophical but all news sources have a bias or agenda of some sort so the key, in my opinion, is multiple sources from across the geopolitical spectrum.

Also, don’t forget that the text of House and Senate bills are always available to be read.  I’m sure the Legal Establishment in this country would bristle at this notion but you don’t need a legal degree to read and interpret a bill.  A lot of times when there is differing and strong opinions being presented that apparently contradict each other, I like to go to the source and make the determination for myself by reading the language of the bill and sometimes even more importantly, the stricken and amended language of the bill.  It’s all there for you the citizen to read and interpret, just like our members of Congress do.

And of course as I mention in point 1 above, checking in with the ACLU and EFF are great ways to stay on top of the hot issues that attack civil liberties.

Once informed, use your knowledge (how aggressively is up to you ;) ) to override falsehoods and educate.  Even healthy discussion over happy hour can be effective.  To quote my friend Matt regarding changing one mind at a time “[it is] the wise man’s errand, not the fool’s”.  I really believe that.

5. Resist the Cynics

I’m sure we all have friends/acquaintances/coworkers who “see the Matrix” so to speak.  They understand what’s going on but take the whole “it is what it is - it’ll never change” attitude.  Resist and reject that. They are the figurative saltpeter of political discourse.  Don’t let their Eeyore-attitude discourage or belittle your efforts.  I would argue they are the naive ones not those of us who want to take our government back.  They don’t feel compelled to participate so we don’t need them anyway.

6. Vote “Fringe” not Republicrat

This is definitely a controversial suggestion and just listed here as something you can do.  It’s never been my intention to campaign for a specific candidate but for me it’s become obvious that the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats care very little about the basic rights of the common American.  The examples are too numerous to outline here but the most unforgivable manifestation of that to me is what we saw yesterday.  As such I will not be voting for Barack Obama or John McCain.  I touch on this a bit more passionately here so I won’t get on that soapbox again.  But I will add, until we show there is recourse and political consequence to showing no backbone and reneging on campaign promises to protect our civil liberties, we’re going to get screwed over and over and over again.  Additionally, none of the mainstream candidates have displayed any interest in ballot or election reform which I feel must be a pillar to fighting for change and the entrenchment of the Political Establishment.  I certainly understand the arguments for an Obama presidency over a McCain one.  But (a) I don’t trust Obama in the slightest anymore given his recent actions and (b) I firmly believe he is a populist demagogue with no principles.  Your conclusive mileage may vary and I’m sure that will inform your choice in November.  But if you believe in actual “Change” or “Hope” I find it hard to fathom how you can support this guy.  But do what you gotta do.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful.  If anyone has any other suggestions please post in the comments.

Stay strong.  Stay organized.  Stay involved.

Update 7/11: Here are some additional links in response to a commenter below regarding whether Obama did or did not endorse John Barrow:

WSJ Article and Link to Radio Ad Obama made (courtesy of TPM)